During my career, I have worked in several industry sectors, including Manufacturing, Telecom, Retail, Higher Education, and Local Government. My experience in these verticals has broadened my perspective on the use of technology and providing customer service. My previous roles served to help improve the company’s bottom line, increasing revenue and reducing expenses. In my previous position at Alaska Pacific University, my role also focused on serving the community, which provided more enjoyment and job satisfaction. Working for the County has given me the opportunity to serve the community more directly and on a much larger scale.
IT Operates as Proactive Strategic Partner
A key factor in providing proactive support is maintaining staffing levels. When an organization is understaffed or struggling with retention, sometimes all you can do is work to fight fires and maintain the status quo. Most staff are already performing multiple roles to support the organization. In order to be a proactive partner, I implement the following practices:
• Cross-train resources to reduce single points of expertise and build career paths.
• Establish goals for each team member to complete important tasks or projects that improve efficiencies and leverage new technology.
• Periodically reserve time for staff to explore innovative ideas and focus on process improvements.
• Ensure standard operating procedures are current and complete.
• Continually analyze support tickets to identify trends and address recurring problems.
• Deploy staff to directly support public safety and other key departments.
• Develop self-help tools and automation for common user requests.
• Build a repository of knowledge and solutions to address FAQs and power Wikis.
• Identify opportunities for more end-users training to make them more self-sufficient and productive.
Strong support from County management and the
Commissioners has enabled us to refresh our hardware infrastructure and implement advanced tools
Strategy Differentiated by Support and Smart Adoption
Strong support from County management and the Commissioners has enabled us to refresh our hardware infrastructure and implement advanced tools. We are utilizing AI software and extensions to improve operations and user support. We have also clearly defined the strategic initiatives for the IT department to focus team efforts on common goals and improvements. Most importantly, we have created an environment where staff can grow as individuals and professionals, which benefits them as well as the County.
Projects Prioritized by Impact, Risk, and Alignment
In general, I consider the following factors to determine the priority of any projects:
• Dependencies: Determine if other projects are dependent on its completion or will need to be integrated with other applications.
• Schedule: Estimate the time required to complete the project and consider any pre-determined deadlines or due dates imposed, like grant schedules or fiscal year-end.
• Resources: Determine how many internal/external resources will be required to implement the project and will if additional training be required for the staff. Examine the current utilization of the internal resources needed.
• Budget: Determine if the budget has already been allocated or does it still needs to be requested and/or approved. This could delay the start of the project and lower the priority.
• Complexity: More complex projects will require a higher level of expertise, possibly more resources, and more time to complete.
• Risk/Impact:
o Identify any impact on public safety.
o Identify any legal requirements that will impact the schedule.
o Identify any financial impact that will be incurred if the project is not implemented or exceeds the due date.
• Strategic plan: Determine alignment with the strategic initiatives and any effect on the schedule or budget.
• Leadership: Determine if the executive team has expressed or directed any priorities or urgency that would adjust the ranking.
After weighing the projects using the information above, I use a Gantt chart to visually inspect how the projects line up and overlap. This helps to make any final adjustments to the priority, especially considering the overall resource utilization.
Security Protects Trust While Enabling Innovation
By implementing strong cybersecurity policies and procedures, we have been able to secure County data and build trust with the public. Threat detection and prevention technologies can help protect your infrastructure from bad actors, but data can still be vulnerable to cyberattacks through County personnel. Implementing a Data Management Framework is key to classifying data and defining secure storage and retention policies. Preventing sensitive information from being stored on less secure platforms (individual desktops, personal cloud storage and removable media) can provide another layer of protection. Purging data, as defined in the Retention policy, can minimize the data loss if a breach were to occur. With the advances of AI, there are many new tools available that foster innovation, but they should be thoroughly vetted before allowing wide use of the technology. Cybersecurity training for staff is also critical as phishing techniques have become more sophisticated, utilizing the same AI advancements.
Mission-First, Resourceful Mindset
Don’t expect the same level of compensation as the private sector. Public service is typically not known for having high paying positions, but they usually provide better job security. Retirement benefits are attractive but can require a long-term commitment to receive the full value.
To be successful, you will have to shift your mindset to delivering a high level of service with fewer resources. Service outages can escalate quickly, especially if they involve public safety. You will also have to provide more challenge and opportunities for growth to retain staff without the financial rewards offered by private companies. Annual performance reviews are not tied to compensation; instead, pay increases are voted on and approved by the Board. Budget constraints will require precision planning and spending to stretch available funding for maximum benefit.
