A mature technology partner and an internal IT Coordinator deliver higher productivity at a lower cost than a fully staffed IT department. Remember the librarian coming to your classroom with the TV cart? It wasn’t that the teacher could not setup and plug in the TV. It was just easier to schedule and have the librarian bring it.
Getting a Teams call setup or plugging in a dock and monitor for a new employee is the same function an IT Coordinator can perform for your business today.
Not all businesses need this role, BUT we have found there are cases that make this role worth considering. The key is to understand this is not “IT” but actually modern day facilities maintenance.
Plenty of people can thrive in this people centric role and enjoy the “IT” aspect of the work.
More than 100 users in an office with high turnover
There are still offices with staff coming to work, shocking! When an office location has more than 100 users something always needs to be moved, plugged in, or deployed. These PHYSICAL tasks can be performed most efficiently with a dedicated IT Coordinator.
If your workforce is steady this will not be needed, even at 100+ users. If you are constantly changing your teams then this starts to make more sense.
Lots of specialized gear
Healthcare clinics and manufacturing operations utilize specialized equipment that is often vendor managed and critical to the smooth operation of the organization. An IT Coordinator can be valuable when vendors require “remote hands” on a regular basis. At smaller locations an office manager usually performs this role, but with an increase in office size this can become a bottle neck.
Your end users are not self sufficient (which is okay)
Mature professional services groups (attorneys, accountants, physicians) are used to internal IT handling anything related to plugging something in. While this is not “wrong” it does not require a skilled IT professional. The IT Coordinator can provide the “white glove” service without the expense of staffing an entire IT department.
The combination of a mature technology partner and an IT Coordinator can deliver exceptional results for your business. The key is to decide what level of “service” you want to provide for your end users and whether or not this additional staffing can be justified.
