[Root] Access is an advice column for IT professionals.
I'm a One-Person IT Department: How Do I Make a Case for More Resources?
An IT professional is the entire IT department and needs more help. Here's how to effectively communicate that need for additional resources.
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Dear [Root] Access,
I'm the entire IT department for a midsize company. What started as a manageable workload has ballooned over the years. My responsibilities now include everything from resetting passwords to managing our network security . Anytime something tech-related comes up, everyone turns to me. I'm so busy putting out fires that I have little time to plan for long-term improvements.
I've asked my bosses for additional resources, but they keep telling me to make do for another quarter before revisiting the budget. I don't want to keep pushing the issue aside or seem like I'm complaining, but I'm struggling to keep my head above water. Whether it's hiring more staff, outsourcing, or investing in better tools, I need help. They keep delaying.
I'm starting to think I'm not effectively communicating the urgency of the situation and what I need. How do I make my case for more resources without sounding like I'm just complaining?
—Solo Sysadmin
Dear Solo Sysadmin,
Congratulations on keeping your midsize company afloat as an IT team of one. I wish we lived in a world where I didn't have to write that sentence! Leadership is responsible for supplying the staffing and resources needed to meet their goals. In this case, they're missing expectations for their role.
Related:How to Move from Technical Roles to Leadership Positions
However, leadership can only get more budget if there's a clear, demonstrated need. That's where you come in. Let's make your message communicate the urgency it deserves.
What does the business need, and why now? Frame it from leadership's perspective in terms they understand. Let's break it down by the points you make in your letter:
When raising the need for overdue long-term improvements, identify what will happen if you get stuck in maintenance mode. For example, if there weren't enough resources to fix bigger problems, how would that hold the business back from meeting its quarterly goals? It could be that a sales team, blocked from getting new phones, can't call customers quickly enough. Or managers could get locked out of their laptops when doing site visits, and an IT team of one just can't reply fast enough. Paint a picture that even the most fickle leader can't ignore.
A midsize company is likely to keep growing. If the employee count has increased, certainly the number of IT tickets has grown. It's also likely that the complexity of your tech stack, or the volume of tools, has increased. These are all reasons to expand IT resources.
Finally, I imagine the business would be disappointed to see incomplete or lower quality work. As a team of one, you're a single point of failure. When you take a day off or must focus on a single top priority, the company's IT needs don't stop. They need another IT expert.
Related:I Want to Switch to IT, but I Don't Know Where to Start
After identifying what the organization needs and how expanding the IT team could help, be strategic about how to propose more budget. When does budgeting happen? At most companies, this is a defined process that leadership works through once a year. Figure this out by asking your manager. If they're not sure, ask them whom to ask. A specific question like this gets your bosses to expose the underlying issue. Maybe the company is cash-strapped, or budgeting is a complicated bureaucratic process they'd prefer to avoid, or they're getting pressure from Finance to cut costs.
Whatever answer you get, you can then work backwards. For example, perhaps you learn that "budgeting for fiscal year headcount," which is Corporate for "the company decides how much money to spend next year on salary and benefits," happens in September. Your company's leadership likely starts informally proposing higher budget requests months before, at the start of summer. You'll want your direct supervisor to have enough time to review this request, so you can persuade them to forward it to the right people. It is now spring, so in this example, now would be the time to draft this proposal.
Related:Underpaid and Overlooked? How to Ask for the Raise You've Earned
The point? It's never too soon to soft-pitch a higher line item in the budget. Start drafting a proposal now, and frame it from leadership's perspective about what the business needs.
In the meantime, I hope you take a day or two off to decompress and take your eyes off the ticket queue.
About the Author
Contributor
Danielle has driven learning and development at tech companies like Zapier, Dropbox, and Guild. She loves to help people grow and learn. You can find her in Atlanta taking long walks with her adopted miniature poodles, Rosie and Daisy.
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