personnel in technology paper

8/3/2019 Personnel in Technology Paper

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Personnel in Technology 1

Personnel in Technology

Phillip Woodard

University of Phoenix


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Personnel in Technology

With the paradigm shift from a business economy to a knowledge economy, where

learning about the application and development of knowledge is central, knowledge management

systems operate with many objectives, including: improving the performance of organizational

systems and processes, persuading people to share (Havens & Hass, 2000), leveraging and using

the uniqueness of the organization to capitalize on the mix of people, processes, services and

products and making knowledge more visible throughout the organization (Allee, 1997) (Singh

& Soltani 2010, pg. 145) . Technology support is integral to the success of business success in

our service-based economy. Managers must understand the dynamics human motivation and

tailor approaches to engaging people at all levels to share information relevant to the overall

mission of the or ganization. It is not enough to hire the best and the brightest if interpersonal

skills are not part of the evaluation process for selecting customer service personnel, for instance.

Leadership has a large stake in harnessing the emotions and energy from everyone in the

company and turning every experience-good or bad, into something useful to improve business

relationships both internal and external. Treating the employee like the most important person in

the organization will carry over onto the customer, making them feel the same way. Happy

customers are good for business and building effective technology support teams is the

foundation of a good organization.

Building an Effective Technology Support Team

Teamwork is not a new idea. The basic concepts of organizing and managing teams go

back in history to Biblical times; however, it was not before the beginning of the twentieth

century that work teams were formally recognized as an effective device for enhancing

organizational performance (Thanhain 200 4, pg. 35). Taking the term technology into context


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means supporting the needs of the customer with competent individuals capable of

communicating in such a manner the experience stays with the customer for life. This seems like

a dream-like atmosphere for most employers, but with the right combination of social skills and

technical savvy, building effective technology support teams are not too difficult. Hiring the

right people to perform help-desk duties requires someone who is patient, assertive, thorough,

enthusiastic, responsible, technically competent, and empathetic; possess strong communication

skills, and the ability to work well under pressure (Regan & OConnor, 2002 pg. 249). The best

of intentions by management in selecting the right mix for the help-desk shift leaders is just as

important as hiring the direct agents themselves. College graduates with no work experience maypossess the institutional knowledge by lack the intrapersonal skills to bridge their education with

the background or experience of seasoned employees.

Hiring people and teaching them to be technicians seem to make better sense because

interpersonal skills are hard to develop in someone who does not have them. The adage it is

hard to teach old dog new tricks come to mind bu t when it comes to people skills it seems

experience outweighs education most of the time. Leaders must understand the unique

personalities each team member brings to the organization and use trained professionals if

available to assist in building strong technology support teams.

Putting personalities aside

Managers must realize the organizational dynamics involved during the various phases

of the team development process. They must understand the professional interests, anxieties,

communication needs, and challenges of their team members and anticipate them as the team

goes through the various stages of its development (Thanhain 2004, pg. 40). Team building

requires careful strategies to assess training, experience, and motivation levels. People come


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from different lifestyles with cultural backgrounds that may clash with those of the organization

or direct management. Some good steps for team building are:

Clear Expectations : Team members must have a clear understanding of the purpose,

direction, and emphasis of the technology support team.

Context: Team members must understand how their job helps the company reach its

corporate goals; the big picture.

Commitment: Technology support teams must commit to getting the job done and

understand what it takes to earn recognition.Competence: Teams must have confidence in their technical abilities and knowledge to

meet the needs of the customers and the organization.

Charter: Successful teams take ownership of the mission and may develop an internal

vision to support the companys goals.

Control: Members need the freedom and empowerment to feel a sense of ownership to

accomplish its vision. Understanding the scope of responsibility is very important.

Collaboration: Working together vertically and horizontally to solve problems, improve

processes, and resolve conflicts is very important for any organization.

Communication : This two-way channel needs support from within the company to

succeed.

Creative Innovation : Teams must understand the organizational position on change,

creative thinking, and new ideas. Maybe the status quo is perfectly acceptable.

Consequences: Grasping the extent of achievement when teams are successful and the

accountable person for submitting to leadership.


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Coordination: Determine resource allocation priorities, internal customers, or customer-

focused orientation and moving away from traditional thinking.

Cultural Change : The success of a number of the above areas will result in a change in

business culture and ultimate support from the top down.

Personalities can affect technology support teams adversely if managers take people for

granted and treat everyone the same. People on both sides of the business exchange want

satisfaction and success to walk hand-in-hand. Balancing resources to bring customer feelings

into the decision making process is very effective in building long-term relationships.

Technical staff plays an important role in building successful technology support teams,

whether used as external consultants or members of the organization. Sharing knowledge,

expertise, and information in todays service oriented society requires a better understanding of

building relationships that strengthen a companys reputation in the services industry.

Technology will continue to grow and with proper training of personnel, keep up with the

emphasis on making the customer experience the best available.

Conclusion

Personnel in technology require a commitment to excellence in service to every

stakeholder, whether internal or external. There is no magic formula for building the perfect

technology support team; it takes training and a commitment from management to support the

effort. Feedback from customers is very important in evaluating success of failure to meet

company expectations. Information received is only useful if put into practice and communicated

throughout the organization.


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References

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Singh, A., & Soltani, E. (2010). Knowledge management practices in Indian information

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