This week we're talking about Cutting Back.
Let's face it, every industry and every company goes through good times and bad times. When the bad times hit, how do you smooth out the bumps in the road? Once you are given the ultimatum to "cut back", what do you do? Where do you cut? What do you do about hardware and software? Your employees? Your users? The key to effectively responding to any situation is having a plan of action.
First you need to know where you want to be in three to five years. Will your IT department still be working on the same kind of projects? What kind of personnel are key to continuing critical projects? Do you cut from your capital budget? Projects? Personnel? As distasteful as the task is, you're going to have to prioritize what gets cut based on that type of analysis. While it's easy to cut staff to save money, beware of letting institutional knowledge out the door along with the people. Senior staff make more and are a tempting target when you have to make cuts but be judicious with your personnel changes. You may be cutting key skills and subject matter expertise that you will need once the tight budget period is over.
What about hardware and software? Annual support contracts, licensing, etc. can all be tempting targets when you are cutting back. Again, be aware of what systems are critical in nature. You don't want to get rid of a support contract and then have to suffer through an enterprise software failure on your own. Set up a triaged list of resources to evaluate. Is your desktop software of recent vintage? If so, it will last another 2-3 years without a major update. Similarly, your server software can be effective for a quite a while as long as you keep it patched. Open source software is a great choice even when budgets are not tight. You can get quality, enterprise level software and (if necessary) spend money only on support contracts and not licensing. Hardware can yield similar savings: adding RAM can be a cheaper alternative to upgrading processors. If you have blade systems, many vendors will have upgrade paths where you can incrementally replace processors and storage as your budget allows, saving you the expense of replacing entire racks of equipment. If you have aging systems that are near or at their end of life period, go ahead and phase them out. That will free up money to keep your other systems going for another year or two. Finally, contact your vendors and let them know your budget is tight. Many will work with you to extend the life of your current systems for minimal costs. They would rather keep you as a customer through the lean periods rather than have to compete for your business again once you move back to purchasing new equipment and services.
What about your staff? Many managers assume that getting rid of the highest salaries is the way to go. Stop! Salaries are relative and should not be the only consideration. What you need to do is determine which employees are giving you the most bang for the buck. You are better off getting rid of the recent college graduates you hired during the past year or so over personnel that have the institutional knowledge to handle problems when they crop up. Instead, look for redundancies. Do you have two or three people handling the same kind of projects? Redundant personnel cost you money, even during good economic times. If you have people (at any level) that have not kept up their skills, they will also be costly to carry through your next transition. Keep in mind that fewer people need fewer managers, too. Your job may be one of the ones targeted for elimination. Proving your worth to the company by identifying good ways to economize may mean the difference between you staying on and you turning out the lights after you've let everyone else go.
With both hardware and software, there are key skill sets and resources that you simply can't do without, such as infosec and compliance. Go to bat for those resources with stakeholders so they remain with the company, even if it means going into the red temporarily. A critical systems failure or security breach will cost you a lot more in the long run.
What do you do if you already gotten rid of your more experienced employees that you really needed? See if you can hire them back at some point. They may still be available, even if some time has passed. Their new position may not be working out or they may miss the perks their previous job gave them. Don't worry about awkward rehiring sessions. Be up front about needing their skill set. Just be sure that you really do have funding to carry them for at least three years moving forward. No one wants to get the reputation of a company (or manager) that is constantly laying people off. You'll end up being the last company people are willing to work for.
Finally, you need to be proactive. Don't sit back and wait for senior management to pass judgment on your department. Make your five-year plans, adjust your staff and present project options to them. You need to put the ball in play so the range of options is one that you can live with, instead of trying to choose from a bad set of choices imposed upon you. As far as project ideas go there are several you can accomplish with a fairly low capital overhead, including:
Get rid of all your desktop client software. Everyone has a web browser! Use the web to your advantage. With the cost savings from eliminating the cost of desktop client software (and maintenance) is high. You should be able to justify this as an overall cost savings project.
You've seen what Microsoft has done to the Windows and Office licensing, don't think for a minute it will get less expensive over time. CentOS is a stable server operating system. Libre Office is an alternative to Office. Google also has Office-like software that is cheaper, though not as robust.
While you are unlikely to be able to hand out substantial raises or bonuses during tight budget times, you should push hard to retain training budgets. One thing that can help retain key personnel is the chance to upgrade their skills. It is something that will improve their efficiency, too. And greater efficiency is the key to surviving slow times and prospering in good times.
This is a great way to reduce your support costs. Many problems are simply user error. However, it is sometimes difficult to conduct training sessions if people need to come to you. Instead, work on going to other departments and groups and training them on their home turf. "Lunch and learn" sessions are an efficient way to train people, especially if you bring lunch. Include training in processes and procedures so your users become proficient with the software they use and the processes that involve that software. If you have large numbers of users, institute a "train the trainers" process where you train the early adopters and influencers. They can in turn train other people in their departments. Not only will you save money through reduced support costs, but you will educate the user base on the value of your department. It is a great way to put a shine on your department's reputation.
A relatively new movement is "self-service" within a business. Instead of having training classes, users are empowered to do their own self-service training online. Done well, this setup allows your users to do the vast majority of training on their own. You can then focus on the training that can't be done online and/or for the users for whom self-service does not work well.
Get moving! Time is short. If you don't act today, you may be forced to choose from options you do not like tomorrow. Get rid of the people who are not providing value and hire (back) ones who will, and in the meantime map out your strategy for the next three to five years. It may even be your job that is saved.
Until next time, thanks for Talking Technology with me!
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