As you know, many organizations are cutting back on new technology investments in 2009. As a direct result, you may be wondering what to do with your surplus of staff – that can include project managers, enterprise architects, business analysts, and quality assurance engineers. Since many of these individuals are likely valuable long term assets to your organization, you do not want to lay off these individuals. However, since your organization’s short-term objectives may involve cutting costs, and cutting back on large investments, the work these individuals normally complete in will be most likely unavailable in the short-term.
Thus, different work must be assigned to these valuable employees for the time being. That said, you should carefully consider the type of work that you will re-assign to these individuals. One consideration is to re-assign valuable staff to projects and activities that do not require a large technology spend, but are activities that will likely pay for itself in terms of the value that it provides to your organization. When thinking of the particular projects that your employees should focus on, you should also consider your specific business priorities. For instance, do your businesses’ priorities involve new sales, customer retention, cost cutting, or operational efficiencies? Very often the answer is “all of the above” to these types of probing questions.
Great project managers, analysts, architects, and quality assurance staff possess the experience and knowledge that will enable them to take on a broader set of responsibilities that are not necessarily directly associated with delivering technology projects. Your architects and analysts most likely have strong analysis skills and exceptional business knowledge. Furthermore, they know how to use their creativity to solve business problems. Along similar lines, your project managers have a keen sense of ROI, and how your organization values investments. Plus, given the appropriate lee-way, they can likely help you brainstorm numerous ways to reallocate resources to achieve new objectives. Additionally, your quality assurance staff has an intimate knowledge of your products and systems; therefore, your best quality assurance personnel can quickly troubleshoot any issue.
Why lose all of these valuable and knowledgeable assets? Instead of laying off these individuals, it makes complete sense to consider refocusing their professional efforts. After all, when selected carefully, temporary reassignments can broaden your employee’s experience (while making a direct contribution to short-term cost-cutting and revenue-generation goals).
