Provide some community service
Working in an IT shop of any size boils down to helping people with computer issues. This simplification bothered me for a while because there were many different avenues that support or IT related activities could take, but helping people has been a root function of IT shops probably since the dawn of IT.
I still find myself cringing at some email subject lines or voicemail messages, or I did until recently. Sure sometimes it still happens, but it is very rare as of late.
Community service, in both the technical and non-technical communities, has been floating around my brain for a while now and seems to be a good way to both give back to the community and to put the helping people portion of IT pro work back on the front page of the agenda.
Surely all of you who read this are glad that it is the 22nd of July so the sticky post about the Seminar I am participating in can hide from view, but it is this seminar that got me thinking for this post. It is funny to admit that I haven’t been in this good a mood about giving a presentation ever. Putting this seminar together and participating in the class to help attendees create (or update) their resume has been a great experience. I have met and gotten to work with some great people and am in the hopes that tonight’s class goes well enough for future workshops to be discussed.
Is community service or pro-bono work a huge effort? Yes. Does it help to change your perspective on helping others? Absolutely. I hope to not only help those attending the class, but change the way I work with others at my job to help make their experiences better as well.
One event will not likely change all these things or improve all my typical IT faults but it is a star. Not to mention, helping others just because you can, feels pretty good.
As an IT Manager, community service is a great thing to look for in a staff member. Suggesting this to employees will likely cut into some time for other things, but can be worthwhile for all involved. It might even become something you or your staff members begin to enjoy and look forward to.
Have a meeting with your team and discuss the possibility of community service if you aren’t doing so already. The experience may improve more than your standing in the community.
