Have you considered what makes a good IT infrastructure professional? As one of the lesser recognised IT roles, you may have overlooked the importance of this position. However, businesses are increasingly becoming more tech-reliant, and the integration of the two is now seen as more imperative than optional. This is only going to become more prominent, with 87% of millennials thinking ‘state of the art technology’ is paramount to an ideal working environment over perks or amenities.
IT infrastructure is the underlying support of every good IT department, and as an extension, it can make a significant impact on the running of the whole company. It is therefore essential that you recruit someone who you can be sure will do a fantastic job.
Culture and team fit
Finding a candidate who fits in well with the team and the workplace culture should be a priority. Many businesses choose to hire IT infrastructure professionals based on their skills, knowledge and experience, which is all well and good. However, if you ignore how they will suit the business’s culture, their wellbeing could be negatively affected, and they won’t stay in the long-term.
Happy workers are also 12% more productive, so finding someone who will happily thrive in the culture is critical for higher levels of productivity.
Remember, you can train the right person. If there’s one candidate with a small gap in their knowledge, but they suit the culture, and there’s another candidate who has the knowledge but doesn’t fit the culture, the candidate who aligns with the values of the business is probably going to be more motivated and dedicated to your company.
Awareness of how IT impacts the business as a whole
As IT is an essential part of almost every business, an IT infrastructure professional needs to know how their actions, and the whole of the IT department’s actions, impact the business.
A big part of this comes down to communication. There needs to be open-ended communication on all sides, but an IT infrastructure professional should be proactive in discussing the various IT-based challenges faced by the multiple departments. That way, they can take action and create solutions based on what they’ve been told, rather than assuming what issues are being faced.
Maintaining this awareness also opens opportunities to find innovative long-term solutions to issues that commonly arise, rather than just dealing with each one as a separate problem as they happen. For example, attacks on small firms have gone up by 300% because of weak security policies and technology. An IT infrastructure professional who takes vital pieces of information like this can look into infrastructure upgrades as a solution, instead of dealing with one attack after the next.
Conclusion
Overall, the best IT infrastructure professionals are individuals who have the skills and are curious and confident enough to proactively find out about IT problems that are affecting the running of the business, some of which may not be obvious at first glance. In many ways, it’s similar to recruiting an employee who can fulfil the criteria as well as fitting in with the culture. The right candidates are sometimes not so apparent at the first look. GK recruitment can help you resolve this by managing your recruitment process from start to finish.
At GK recruitment, we have over 20 years of IT recruitment experience. If you need help in recruiting an IT infrastructure professional who suits your team, we can help you find your perfect match. Contact us on 01257 429 499 or email us at info@gkrecruitment.com.
