By YEC
For many companies, technical teams are the backbone of operations.
For many modern companies, technical teams are the backbone of operations. Business leaders can support their IT staff in many different ways, from allocating an adequate IT budget to acknowledging and acknowledging technical staff. Here, eight Council for Young Entrepreneurs members share ways to set up your tech department for success.
A company’s technical team plays a key role in the company’s ability to operate. What is one way a business leader can better support his technical team so that they can do their job well?
1. Provide technical teams with the necessary resources
One way a business leader can support their technical team is by providing them with the resources they need to do their jobs well. This may include things like adequate funding for new equipment or software, access to training and development opportunities, and a clear understanding of the company’s goals and priorities. Fostering a positive work environment is also a must! —Andrew Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings
2. Collaborate instead of delegating
Build relationships with your technology team and share overall business goals and problems to solve, not just your requests and proposed solutions. If you share more context with your team, they will have a better understanding of the problems to be solved, come up with more creative solutions and have more support for the end results. —Andrew Powell, Learn to win
3. Allocate a budget
Every year I have allocated a budget to my technical team that they can freely use to try different tools to make their work easier. It motivates the technical team to find better tools and also makes them feel more involved in the business. We are a technology company, so our operational efficiency depends on the efficiency of the technical team. —Piyush Jain, Sim palm
4. Use Slack and Calendly
A channel on Slack dedicated to technical issues helps other team members share their experiences. It enables instant, real-time messaging, so there are no back and forth emails, and communication is both streamlined and efficient. Calendly allows tech support to get into someone’s calendar for 15 minutes to share a screen or get a two-factor authentication code. —Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Firm
5. Get the technical team involved
Your technical team may feel they have a role on the side, overlooked until needed. Make sure you maintain a strong relationship with your technical team. Make sure they know they play a key role in the smooth running of your business. Don’t leave them in the dark. Share goals and important issues. By understanding the bigger picture, they are better equipped to provide creative solutions. — Blair Thomas, eMerchant Broker
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6. Connect technical teams directly with customers
A business leader can support his technical team by enabling them to interact directly with customers when it comes to dealing with a customer’s website or other technical issues. Often a business leader wants himself or a salesperson to be the only point of contact for the customer, but things get complicated when he tries to convey technical messages and jargon. —Baruch Labunski, Rank safe
7. Standardize the tools your tech team uses
You can support your technical team by making sure everyone has the same tools and resources. Confusion quickly arises when everyone uses different tools and software to do the same job. We make sure our technical team has everything they need to do their best work. We are also open to requests if a team member has a tool they think is better than what we are currently using. —John Turner, SeedProd LLC
8. Set clear goals and be transparent
Business leaders can support their respective technical teams by setting clear goals and creating transparent workflows. This will help leaders clearly communicate their expectations of the team, identify the right deliverables, and assess how the team’s efforts translate into results. This also helps leaders close the gap between what the tech team does and what the company wants them to do. —Chris Klosowski, Simple digital downloads
About the author
Council for Young Entrepreneurs (YEC) is an invite-only organization made up of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs.
