Employees may be in for a long wait when it comes to finding help with technical glitches at work. Chief Information Officers interviewed in a recent survey say their companies technical support teams are, on average, 42 percent smaller than they would ideally be.
The survey of more than 1,400 CIOs -- conducted by Robert Half Technology -- found that the ratio of internal end-users to technical support employees is currently 112:1. The ideal ratio would be 65:1, CIOs said.
Small firms with 110 to 249 employees were furthest from their ideal technical support ratio, while midsized companies (250 to 499 employees) were closest, the survey found.
"As companies implement upgrades and invest in new technology, it becomes more challenging for technical support professionals to keep pace with end-user demands," said John Reed, executive director at Robert Half. "Ultimately, the time employees spend waiting for technical help can result in lost productivity."
How would the results fare at your agency? Do you wait too long for technical help? Or are you an IT worker who is stretched thin due to staffing shortages and increased demands?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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