ICT Management > Staffing Issues
Using Your Computer > Getting Yourself Trained

Help, I’ve become an Accidental Techie!

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Are you an heroic “Accidental Techie”, without formal IT training? We know you are out there; you are not forgotten and ‘unsung’. This is an article written by an ex-accidental techie on how to survive and flourish.

Does this scenario sound familiar:

“…the organisation doesn’t have an IT person, no IT support contract, the organisation would go into’ meltdown’ if the computers stopped working and I made the mistake of telling someone over coffee that I fixed a computer once. I was employed to do the filing and manage the post, I have been labelled the organisations ‘techie’, am I supposed to know everything about ICT?.”

A statement made by an anxious staff member in a small London based charity.

Why do you exist in the organisation?

The organisation has probably grown and developed its services and incorporated ICT into the main activities and infrastructure, but hasn’t yet prioritised the need to even have a part-time ICT trained person in the organisation.

In the Voluntary Sector there is an atmosphere of ‘scarcity of resources’ and people in organisations, call in favours, know a friend who will help with the ICT, accept old donated computers, try to ‘fill in’ skills gaps, find a volunteer to help out, develop ‘unorthodox’ and creative uses for existing IT. This approach is not very sustainable for what has become a key infrastructure of the organisation.

Many smaller organisations rely on the little bits of knowledge people bring with them to; unjam the printer, download security patches and connect up a modem, build a database. This approach is not sustainable as a support process and organisations that don’t address this type of approach are already taking risks of hardware, software failure and worse, loss of organisational files and records.

Accidental ICT people are rarely in a position to influence major changes in priorities and have little authority to develop IT strategy and policies. Generally your role as an accidental techie is to minimise risks and patch up some IT holes, till someone in the management realises, all you will be able to do, ‘at best’ is ‘troubleshoot and fire fight’ and not provide a comprehensive ICT management and support solution.

A way of looking at your role? 

IT is sometimes compared to medicine, in that there are; ‘generalists’, the local doctors/GPs and the ‘specialists’ like heart surgeons. As an ‘accidental techie’ you are normally a ‘generalist’. You would know a bit about how the whole thing works, you have a good idea of how all the different parts fit together, but you aren’t able to “operate on every or indeed any internal organ”.  You would diagnose an ICT problem rather than necessarily ‘fix it’, you are more likely to make a referral.

An ICT specialist opens up computers every day; change the components, get rid of viruses and configure network devices. This type of role would normally be done by an outside IT support company, not you at this stage.

The do’s and don’ts

Don't

• Panic
• Feel under pressure or dress like a geek.
• Learn ‘techie language’ to impress or mystify others.
• Don’t feel you need know everything!
• Leave  

Do

• Take deep breaths
• Sign up on the UK Circuit Riders forum list
• Read the ‘Starting out’ articles on the ICT Hub knowledgebase
• Buy ‘The Accidental Techie' by Sue Bennett. ISBN: 978-0-940069-49-7
• Get the IT role in your job description and work programme (if you want to do the job)
• Accept mistakes and use ‘trial and error’ as learning tools.
• Identify your own training needs
• Ask for a pay rise!

Time and role

This role is probably now an additional part of your original job role, added on to your workload without recognition of the time it will take. In general terms you need to allow at least; ½ an hour per computer per week to offer basic support and fulfil ‘Typical day to day roles’. Then an additional ½ an hour per computer per week if the ‘Typical additional roles’ are undertakeon average, over a period of a year. This time needs to be allocated to your working week.

Typical day to day roles

• Regular backup of all organisational data and take a copy ‘off site’.
• Update security patches and anti-virus updates.
• Basic desktop and printer support
• Email account management and backup of email files
• Highlight computer health, safety and accessibility issues
• Log problems and solutions for each computer/device/system.
• Add new users and computers to the network

Typical additional roles

• Check the firewall is working on the Internet connection.
• Ensure computers have suitable passwords for each user to login.
• Create an IT inventory of network devices, computers, software licences, Web domain hosting and email service suppliers, etc
• Manage hardware warranties
• Administration of a server.
• Liaise with an external IT support company.
• Induct and mentor new users
• Document key procedures
• Create some; ‘How to……’ guides for other staff and volunteers
• Identify your own training and support needs
• Identify user needs and co-ordinate IT training

Strive for this role

• To help the organisation to develop an IT plan/strategy to fund, replace and develop IT use.

Remember - It is easy to feel overwhelmed by what you don’t know and what people expect of you. That’s what the “deep breaths” are for. I also had therapy.

Good luck