Uneasy feeling about IT department expansion. 2

[infinitelo]

Ive been working for a mid size company for a year now. And was told today of a plan to expand the IT department that included hireing our network consultant. Putting on the ol' tin foil hat I am led to believe ill train this guy and then get fired.
What I would like to see is a partnership between myself and the new guy that would create synergy and new possibilities within the company

I would like to see
1. better workflow
2. less redundacy/paper storage
3. better leveraging of exising equipment.

From the office of the company president.
1. focus on intra company communications.
2. better progress reporting.
3. gain competitive edge though creative use of
technology.

I guess what im looking for is reassurance that this does happen. (success stories)


if it is to be it's up to me

 

[rphips]

infinitelo

Well I can honstly say I have had it both ways

In one company I was told they are going to expand the consulting part and brought in 2 people from anothe country then after 6 months they let me go cause I was being payed to much and they now could get cheaper workers.

on the other hand

When I was in networking the company expanded its work force which worked out great. One reason I was involed in the hiring process so I got the jest of who was coming aboard (if possible you need to be involved with the hiring) The work load was now split and I had time to spend with my family and take a vacation - of course that only lasted until they expanded the company.

Plus sharing the work load made life a whole lot easier - and I am still working here and it is now going on 5 years




bob

"ZOINKS !!!!!"

Shaggy

 

[Golom]

Expand" does mean "to make bigger" ... do you have some reason to think that, in your case it means "replace the old with the new"? You may be right of course. It's really some plot to get you to train the new guy before turfing you. If you're working for a company that indulges in that sort of deliberate fabrication, do you really see a long-term career there?

It does sound like you need to broach the subject of how the "new" department will be structured; what the division of responsibilities will be; what new initiatives are planned with the additional staffing, ...

If you get good answers ... you're safe.

If you get "Don't know" or "No changes" or (worst of all) "What new Department?" then polish up your resume.

 

[Zelandakh]

The worst thing you can do is bottle it up - ask your manager to explain how you fit in post expansion. Don't be aggressive, but be persuasive.

 

[infinitelo]

When I met with the president and the new guy, He explained that the new guy and I will be responsible for structuring the new department. I think that the whole thing will depend on results. I can honestly see the advantages of keeping both of us, he has loads of networking/internet experiance and im good with programming and database. he has worked in consulting, and been in charge of large IT departments.
The president did make it clear that the new guy was my superior, but he also said that he would like to see a reduction in my non-technical work load.



if it is to be it's up to me

 

[willir]

infinitelo

As stated by Bob rphips, it can go either way.

First, if you develop synergy, this is a good thing.

Second, keep track of your accomplishments. Use this to demonstrate your technical wizardry for your next performancer review.

Third, you may be able to use the expansion to improve things. Now you have more resources, you can resovle that back-burner issue that is still gathering dust; develop a script to synchronize passwords, etc. All adding value now that you have the resouces. By your "I want list", you obviously recognize this aspect. Hopefully so does your boss.

And last, a lesson learned. A long time ago, in another life, I worked a job. I did it very well, made significant imrpovements, tripled sales and was paid okay for what I did. A consultant comes in a suggests that the owner could hire two people to do the job I was doing.

So I trained the new people (a very degrading task -- training some one to do your job, but let's stay professional) and four months later, out the door I went.

A year later, I drove by my old place of work. Closed! I happened to meet my old boss, and we "did lunch". He confided that letting me go was the worse mistake he ever made. On paper the suggestion made by the consultant seem very logical. But in action, it failed miserably.

It does not always pay to replace quality work with cheaper labour. It is important for the boss or manager to understand their business, and to understand the importance of quality work. Often times, high quality work has a hidden value until the cost of poor quality becomes very visible.

 

[GlenJohnson]

Been there, done that. I was let go because after almost 15 years, the company decided I was making to much money. (Had a different reason on record, but some of the higher ups that I got along with let me know the skinny.) On the other hand, the experience has helped me with my own consulting company. ALWAYS try and look at the positive side of what life dishes out. Things will work out.

Glen A. Johnson
If you're from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin check out Tek-Tips in Chicago, Illinois Forum.

TTinChicago

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

 

[rfr100]

Try this on for size.
A company I used to work for (keep reading) hired a network consultant to carry out an evaluation.

Surprisingly he thought the network was a steaming pile of cackola - he was right though. So he gets hired to design and install a complete new network - servers, switches, NOS, Mail the full monty. He consults to us for another 2 years when his contract is up with his company.

My company offers him a job as IT Director on around 5 times my salary. 8 months later the IT budget is completely screwed up, sales are down and someone from IT has to go.

So, hmm, lets see, we could drop the guy earning over 110k USD or the UK tech who earnt 21k GBP and has worked for the company for three years doing a good job.

I'll let you figure it out.

Still, now Im at a much bigger company, much better salary and also better perks and promotion opps.

Who's better off ?
Me

 

[infinitelo]

Thanks for the responses, this is working out as i expected. Ive seen the new guy in action and he is very good. The projects that he has been given are large and will keep him really busy. Looks like Im safe for at least the summer.

if it is to be it's up to me