Image enhancement

How is IT perceived in your organization? According to one expert, IT undeservedly gets a bad reputation.

Kenneth Rau, a senior consultant with Cutter Consortium, says the image problem that IT has in many companies is perception and not reality. “Most CIOs I speak with report delivering 80%, 90%, or 95% of projects on time and can’t understand why IT is still disliked and why the most common complaints are lack of performance or value contribution. Taken together, these two factors – high percentage of delivery and chronic complaints – represent an almost classic definition of a perception or image problem,” he says.

To overcome this problem, Rau recommends developing and delivering a clear, compelling, consistent message about IT’s direction, purpose and accomplishments. This can be accomplished through success stories that outline a description of the need or problem, the agreed-upon objectives and deliverables, and actions taken and the outcome achieved. Approach the development as a mini-project or initiative, he advises.

“A little effort in this area can significantly improve IT’s image,” Rau says.

For help in crafting your organization’s message, you might find an IT services catalog useful. This is essentially a menu of services that IT delivers. As noted in this Management Strategies article, Starbuck’s and a financial services firm found that such a catalog helped in demonstrating IT’s worth. For an idea of how Albertson’s grocers went about this, see this how-to article.

I’m eager to hear how IT is perceived in your organization and what you’ve done to enhance your image. Let me know at aschurr@nww.com.

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