Sparing a thought for your IT technician

your IT contract,

This month I thought it would be appropriate to write about the life of an IT technician working with schools. In many cases, at this time of year, schools are considering the renewal or replacement of their IT support contracts. I would like to start off by asking you to please spare a thought for the IT Technician who has been allocated to your school.

Over the years, throughout my journey and speaking to many different people at conferences and IT exhibitions, I’ve heard so many complaints about IT tech support and their inability to understand the needs of the schools they are working with. Please consider the following points from the side of the IT technician which you might not be aware of.

The technicians are only there to fix things; the contracts that they are working under means they are only there as a firefighting solution. The future development of the technology in school is 100% reliant on the vision and planning from the school leadership working closely with the IT development manager or customer relationship manager of the IT company. As a result, in many cases, the technicians aren’t involved in the strategic plan of the school, moving forward. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the IT company has a preferred set of solutions that work for them as a business, but which may hold the school back without anything ever changing.

This may lead to the vicious circle, highlighted above, which means that many IT technicians feel undervalued, and that nobody listens to their point of view. This can lead to them seeming uninterested and even becoming quite obstructive in their approach to new ways of working. I am proud to say that I have had the opportunity to speak to technicians such as this and, in return, there’s been further discussion with the senior leaders in school to encourage a change of mindset to help make a difference.

Another very common scenario, especially in secondary schools, involves the Windows server and client set up that senior network managers or technicians love so much; it’s all they know, and they do not want to change. Whenever they are asked by the school about a different way of doing things, they become the biggest barrier to change, and present any excuse they can so that the decision-makers won’t pursue these possible changes any further.

The way to resolve all of these issues is to adopt a wider approach which includes everyone in the IT vision and plan. Talk to the technicians, listen to what they have to say about every possible consideration that needs to be made in relation all IT solutions - not just the things that have created an endless series of firefighting. Let’s aim to make the onsite time spent by technicians more proactive, rather than reactive.

As you approach the renewal date of your IT support contract, take into account all factors that you feel need to be addressed. Ask challenging questions and don’t be afraid to ask about new ways to do things.

Most importantly, don’t disregard your IT technicians; they are often a lot more enthusiastic than you may realise.