3 Quick Tips for Mapping out Your Tech Team Needs

Many small and medium-sized organizations have tech needs that spill all over the place. Fulfilling these needs takes time and effort that could otherwise be devoted to operating the business, scaling the organization, and finishing projects.

Additionally, the urgency to fill tech needs becomes greater as the demand for your product or service grows. At this point, almost every organization will turn to hiring a new employee or getting in touch with a consultant to join your tech team. This is likely the right choice to make - but how do you know exactly which position your tech team is missing?

Map Out a Plan

It’s good that you, first and foremost, are aware of your team’s growth. Being conscious about your team’s development will help you make better decisions when scaling your team. Continuously (and frequently) check in with your teams to determine where they need an extra hand (or hands) and how to fill it. This insight will help you develop a hiring plan that enables you to locate your needs today, next quarter, and even five years from now. A short and long-term strategy is essential since progress is rarely made through responsive rather than proactive activity. Planning provides your organization with benefits that facilitate progress even when faced with challenges and uncertainties in a constantly changing environment.

Embrace Your Work Culture

Your organization is probably linked to creativity, innovation, and a blank-slate mentality: there are no bad ideas - and a poorly made plan is better than no plan at all. However, a degree of structure is needed to embrace (and most importantly, implement) work culture. In short, let your structure serve as an enabler for embracing creativity, open-mindedness, out-of-box thinking, and flexibility when identifying what skillsets your teams are missing.

Outsource Your Problems

Hiring a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to implement and manage a tech team can be the absolute perfect solution to your problems. But most small and medium organizations don’t just have the money lying around to hire a CIO. Outsourcing a Virtual Chief Information Officer (VCIO) however, may be a solution. A VCIO is a person who provides consultation for your technology strategy as a third party, as opposed to an in-house CIO. They oversee the client’s entire IT infrastructure, ensuring everything in a business’s network runs smoothly. And an outsourced VCIO doesn’t have the same price tag as an in-house CIO, making it a lucrative solution for small organizations with big tech needs.

Conclusion 

First, a thorough sit-down with key stakeholders will help you map out the skillsets you need to reach your product and financial goals. Also, consider how this structured approach will enable creativity and implement culture in your search for talent. Then, think about what positions could be outsourced (e.g., VCIO) and how outsourcing can help you manage and tailor your technology and organizational development phases. With these considerations in mind, you should be equipped with the insight necessary to scale your tech team. We wish you the best of luck in implementing your initiatives!