Compounding the effects of a lack of vendor support is the ongoing battle IT executives face securing, and retaining, suitable staff.
"Finding the right staff to ensure service delivery is provided to the highest standard is my greatest concern," says Tim Allen, IT manager, Oceania region for DHL International.
Although he works for a company he describes as IT-savvy and keen to provide a clear career progression path for its employees, Allen still suffers from the dreaded IT executive curse of insufficient resources.
In a familiar tale, Allen wishes he could offer his staff more training to enhance their skills and build their loyalty, but the reality of day-to-day demands on their time prevents him from doing so.
"It's a time factor," he says. "If I had another two hours a day I'd like to be able to offer them more training but taking them out of the department [under current constraints] affects the quality of our service delivery."
Slamen also finds himself short-staffed, especially when unexpected system glitches crop up.
"If something goes wrong in the accounts department, for example, the problem can be pushed to the next day but the nature of the business is such that if the IT system goes down it has to be attended to immediately, even if we already have a bunch of other urgent projects on our plate."
Such pressures are no surprise to Maeve Castle, a psychologist with Corporate Health Services.
Castle believes information technology is one of the most stressful industries to be involved in, and it is IT managers who often bear the brunt of that pressure.
"A heavy workload seems to be a common problem for people working in the IT field, with a lot of pressure to meet deadlines and take on a lot of projects at once, but IT executives have the added stress of having to negotiate and communicate between different levels [involved in the IT function] and being responsible for those various projects being delivered on time."
"These executives also have to take responsibility for maintaining morale amongst their staff, which means they have to manage personalities and often deal with conflicts that may arise when the people under them are feeling pressured."
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The pressure in this position is often so intense it feels like I'm stuck in a small room with all four walls closing in on me," says Fred Slamen, IT manager for Collins Booksellers.It's a sentiment most senior IT executives can relate to. The constant strain of maintaining a high standard of service delivery to demanding users with insufficient or limited resources available is in itself a recipe for stress.
Add to that the burden of acting as conduit between upper management and a harried IT department and it's easy to see why stress management experts suggest the role of IT executive is one of the most arduous in the modern workforce.
For Paul Fahey, superintendent of systems support at Comalco Aluminium, the challenges are exacerbated by the increasingly globalised nature of his company.
"Comalco has worldwide projects that impact on the availability of staff and resources for local projects and makes it difficult for us to maintain a standard operating environment."
"Sometimes an international directive [for an upgrade to our IT infrastructure] will come down a month before final implementation is due which puts my department under the pump."
"Management dictates how many staff you can employ and you have to manage with that number, so juggling resources to meet all of our project deadlines can be difficult."
Especially when the support you receive from vendors is less than satisfactory.
"When you ring vendors about a problem and they can't offer a solution, even when they know the problem exists, it's very frustrating," Fahey says.
"The excuses wear thin after a while, especially with users."
Eric Chant, IT operations manager for Mission Australia, also finds it a challenge dealing with vendors.
"It's always a struggle, particularly because we are a charity operating on a shoestring."
"We always want things done yesterday for the cheapest price possible, while the vendors want to delay them as much as possible and charge as much as possible."
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Castle's key recommendation for stressed IT executives is communication.She argues that by opening the lines of communication with the staff in your department you will not only help relieve some of the pressure they feel, boosting morale, but their feedback will provide useful background for dealing with your other constituency, upper management.
"Organisations are beginning to adopt a corporate culture emphasising the importance of a work/life balance because they see benefits in the productivity and morale of their staff, but the realisation of those benefits only comes when the negative effects of stress are communicated back up the line to senior management."
"Stress and low morale causes conflict in the workplace and can have quite serious effects on mental and physical health, an outcome that impacts on productivity and often results in staff taking stress leave which in turn leaves other team members with extra work and the company with an increased turnover in staff."
Allen agrees that communication is a vital tool for IT executives.
"Honesty is a key word on both sides of the fence, whether it be senior management or my staff."
"If you're up front with both, it provides a clearer working relationship and makes your job a lot easier."
Fahey, too, believes in the importance of maintaining an open relationship with his staff, conducting regular meetings to update the progress of projects and listen to his team's suggestions for improved service delivery.
But he says while carefully presented business cases coupled with ongoing dialogue have always been the most effective methods of securing the resources needed to alleviate pressures in the IT department, there is no substitute for a knowledgeable senior management team who appreciates the value of IT.
"Our users have always seen us as valuable, but in the past 12 months upper management has also changed its focus after [a survey of services within the Comalco organisation] helped them realise how much we deliver."
"Prior to that, IT was just a cost to the company, but now we are considered a resource and that helps us get what we need."
Most common stresses for it executives
1. Lack of adequate staffing.
2. Difficulty maintaining a standard operating environment.
3. Lack of support from IT vendors.
4. Meeting project deadlines.
5. Demanding users.
Workplace stress relief techniques
Psychologist Maeve Castle recommends IT executives take some steps to alleviate stress:
1. Prioritise relaxation time and promote exercise and other forms of physical fitness as a balance to your work life.
2. Develop open lines of communication with your subordinates and superiors.
3. Determine the factors in the workplace that are causing the most stress for you and your subordinates and communicate these to upper management so they are aware of the pressures faced.
4. In conjunction with senior management, establish individual strategies to combat each of the issues separately.
5. Canvass senior management to establish a corporate culture that encourages a work/life balance for all employees.