Why You Shouldn’t Fly Your IT Staff to Execute Projects

Running a business today is more complicated than ever for most industries. Rapidly shifting demographics, lightning-fast changes in trend, economic distress, constant uncertainty, and evolving technologies mean that small to medium-sized enterprises need to be at the very top of their game to stay afloat. For example, if you’re working in the IT field, you know that staff shortages have severely hit many sectors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, you were used to flying your IT staff around to execute projects. But with evolving technologies, new solutions have been made to resolve hurdles such as those relating to human resource management. One solution commonly offered to those trying to operate with employee shortfalls, especially where a company has multiple stations, is to assign in-house employees to handle remote projects, tasks, and emergencies.

While these measures may undoubtedly have their usefulness, they also come with significant challenges. So as we all try to figure out the best way forward, let’s highlight why sending out IT staff to handle remote duties may not be a very effective means of tackling today’s challenges.

High Expenditure for flying IT Staff

The most significant argument against sending out in-house employees to work offsite is the sheer cost of the endeavor. In addition to the typical salary your employee receives while working on-site, they will incur travel and accommodation expenses which you will have to foot. Think of the number of employees and travel expenses; you can surely tell that the price is no joke.

You will have to figure out whether the task is genuinely worth the investment, considering that any unexpected complications or delays may increase your costs.

Fatigue and Burnout Risks

Employers often mistake thinking that traveling for work is the same as a field trip for their employees – a fun all-expenses opportunity to enjoy a change of scenery. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Various factors such as a change in climate, lack of companionship, unfamiliar tech setups, hostile local staff, and so on might make the assignment an arduous exercise for them.

Enduring these hardships while missing their friends and families might contribute to extreme fatigue and potential burnout among your workers. This can become exceptionally relevant during the assignments.

Cases of fatigue and burnout should never go unnoticed. Unhappy workers usually fail to perform their best. In addition, they may cause even more problems during the deployment project, and as a result, these failures may cost you more.

High Employee Turnover Risk

The IT worker shortage means that employees have a great deal of variety in job opportunities. An employee who feels ignored at your company might finally seek greener pastures elsewhere.

A staff member who wants to stay close to their loved ones might simply decide to quit, costing you time, money, and the industry experience they would have otherwise contributed to your continued success.

Added Pressure on Onsite Employees

An employee leaving their station to handle a task or emergency elsewhere will leave more tasks for their colleagues. While this might not be a problem, the current worker shortage makes this a real problem.

In addition, your company might face a potential crisis should an emergency arise in a department whose specialist is away.

Reduced Morale and Productivity

An employee working full-time at a company happily will come to think of their workplace as a second home. Let’s assume they are here now. Taking them out of the surroundings might then affect them and their colleagues. This is actually similar to taking a person out of their home and sending them to a far-off place.

This may result in a drop in morale among your workers, which will, in turn, affect their job performance and your company’s overall health.

Final Thoughts

While business owners’ challenges today are monumental, solutions are always available to creative operators. However, sending out employees to handle offsite issues may not be viable for many companies. You will need to be very keen and attentive to your employees to make this system work. IT departments are often at the heart of any organization. That means, providing utmost attention helps keep a smooth run in its operations.

Ensure that they are properly motivated and willing to take on external assignments before allocating those duties. You might be able to make it work with supportive, open communication. Either way, best of luck to you!