What would you emphasize in a memo to the board or senior management group to get approval for increasing IT staff? Background: We are a small IT-department who are capable of keeping the lights on, but are struggling to have enough time and knowledge for projects that will bring the organization forward when it comes to AI, data management, improved security posture and other.
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Headcount is usually hard - but outsourcing is easier. My suggestion is to build a plan on how to shift daily work to vendor and use your knowledgeable staff to do things only they can do. Security for smaller teams should be mostly outsourced since your team can't keep up with important things. I suggest annual audits by one company that your insurance likes (such as Kroll) and another local, less expensive company to do the hands and feet (aka after an assessment, you receive a gap analysis, but you don't have time to do it - outsource it). Build that plan and present it to the board - and remind them that cybersecurity should be owned by the board and your team needs help.
As for the rest of the stuff, finding great partners is important.
If you really want to staff up, start by looking out 5 years. What will change in 5 years (growth of the business, staff retirements, etc.)? Then work backwards with a plan. Make sure you are listening to your leadership's Long-Term Plan (LTP) and rolling that in.
Well, it boils down to business case and associated ROI. You need to demonstrate the benefits and the value for the company if additional resources are to be added; this across all the planned future initiatives (What, How, Why), which should obviously been vetted and approved by the relevant business area(s). Lastly, I would reccomend chosing carefully on which skills to hire internally as opposed as leveraging a partner expertise
Technology innovations are rapidly evolving and driving business growth in many industries. To leverage the benefits of latest technology offering, it’s important to invest in capable manpower in IT to groom business opportunities enabled by AI, Data and Cyber Security to enable business growth and competitive advantage.
You need to propose some SMEs for each of these areas to build and deliver their corresponding technology roadmaps aligned with business strategy. You may choose to ramp up manpower investments over a period of time as needed.
You may also consider using external consultants to help you develop and implement technology solutions but will need some manpower in- house to assist in governance and business engagement.
It’s hard to provide a single answer to the question without all the contexts. When I’m presented with this type of ask myself, I usually ask the person making the request, why do you need to add people when we can automate so many I&O functions? So you need to be prepared for that.
Next, can you tie the additional staff required to a specific Objective with business outcomes? That makes it easier to tie the people you need to ROI. Is there cost savings somewhere else that would justify the additional FTE? We just renegotiated all of our Service provider contracts that will give us over $250k in savings over three years and are preparing to insource another function that will save over $400k. These are the types of savings that can fund additional headcount.
One last item, I would stay away from soft cost savings, yes they make people’s lives better, but my experience is it resonates with CEOs and CFOs less than hard cost savings.
Hopefully this helps
When proposing an increase in IT staff to the board or senior management, it is crucial to consider their perspective on the broader organizational impact of headcount changes. Headcount is one of the main sources that directly impacts an organization's bottom-line costs.
When adding more IT personnel, the first consideration should be whether the increase is temporary or permanent, and how that correspondingly impacts the budget in both the short and long term (CAPEX/OPEX). For example, the organization might need to add 20 headcount over a 2-year period to deliver a complex project, but once that project is completed, what is the remaining increase in headcount required to support the new system as part of ongoing business-as-usual operations? Accounting for the overall lifetime cost of the proposed headcount increase can provide more credibility and demonstrate a stronger return on investment. It is important to have a well-justified rationale for the headcount cost, including different options with their respective pros and cons. This shows the board that the proposal has been thoroughly considered.
An alternative approach could be to frame the proposal in terms of investment spend (lifetime cost) rather than headcount. The board may be more interested in understanding how much they should invest in a particular area of technology to maintain competitiveness, leaving it up to the IT leadership team to determine the optimal staffing model (e.g., 5 senior specialists or 10 junior professionals) to support that investment.
Finally, while a written memo allows for the clear expression of ideas, following up with an in-person presentation can be beneficial, as the non-verbal cues during the discussion can help guide the team towards the most effective proposal.