What is a Technology Director Worth?

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I have a technology director working for me that is one of the 10 minutes late, leaves 10 minutes early guys. He is a salaried employee, yet never works more than a 40 hour week. He does not stay on task well, he does not react well to his supervisors, and he doesn't follow my instructions. I for the most part have a "hand off approach", but when I have a critical system problem with my office, I expect things to be fixed immediately, or the whole organization is in jeapordy.

I have (from a time related/urgency related/timeline related) the most essential positition within the district but he never-the-less does not understand that makes certain tasks higher priorities than others. Of my administrative team, he is the only "non-team player", is never seen in evenings/weekends, and often complains about salary.

He gets full benefits (pays zero for a family health plan)
He works a 220 day contract (8 weeks paid vacation)
He gets a damn good retirement plan

I'm trying to determine if he's just a bad apple, and I should get rid of him, or if he just really is underpaid, and I need to find more financial resources to make him a more content employee. As a rule, when budget allows, I like to reward the people that work hard, are team players, go the extra mile, and never complain about their salary. They are probably think they are worth more, and work darn hard to show me they are worth more, and are smart enough to understand that i'm not an idiot and will reward the people that work hard.

So, to recap. Technology Director (for a school), works 220 days/year excellent benefits, excellent retirement, looking for someone with say 5 years experience. What is that going to cost me? (Keep in mind that i'm in a smaller town and not in a metro area). Masters degree not needed, but a 4 year degree is a must.

Maybe Brian or some of the IT guys could give me a "ballpark" of what I should expect to pay out in salary.

[And That]

Have you tried going to salary.com? I haven't used it in awhile, so I'm not what functionality has been added, but it has helped me a lot over the years.

[igor67]

Fire him. If he was worth keeping (in any profession) he'd keep working hard and have found a way to prove he was underpaid (like using salary.com for you). Regardless of job hiring people who act like they want to be there is the most important thing a manager can do.

[hawing]

Is this a represented position? I'm just wondering how readily you could fire him if he's in WEAC or equivalent.

 

Edit: Also, what Team Canada said (though his post follows mine). I'd feel better able to comment if I knew how long he's worked for you, how/whether expectations have been communicated to him, and whether you've stated your concerns.

[Team Canada]

Have you laid out those concerns to him like you did here?

[Crazyk1294]

TC is right, it needs to be addressed and documented before it comes to just letting him go (that's a no-brainer). If this is an ongoing issue and this guy has not responded to an improvement plan, yes-get rid of him.

Am I the only one who thinks this guy wouldn't even be an issue if he had a job in the private sector? If I do a half-assed job, come in late, ect. like this guy I would be fired and replaced with someone else immediately.

[recte44]

Call him, and schedule a meeting in your office. He'll show up, and then you just look up at him and say....

 

'What would you say you DO here?" http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[logan82]

It is pretty easy to fire people who don't show up to work on time, BUT it has to be well documented that they are late. You have to have written documentation that he was warned. Something along the lines of, your salary is based on 40 hours a week and you are expected to be here from such a time until such a time. I would also lay out what the job expectations are. Since that also seems to be a concern.

 

In general, if somebody is always complaining about their salary they will never be happy with their job. If salary was the major concern I think it would have been brought up in a more professional way and in private.

[brwrsfan]

If you fire him...can I have the job? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Brian the Automator]

What does he actually DO? Does he actually do, like, work? Or does he sit and flip through IT magazines to learn buzzwords?

 

If you told me what this guy made, I could sort of figure out how important the job was, and how much a replacement would cost.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback... got swamped for a few days with the final setting of the levy & budget.

 

We talked things through a bit earlier this week, and it looks like we're back on decent terms for the time being (although I am more forgiving than others). Technically, I am his direct supervisor, though I usually let another administrator set his daily schedule. I find that I get along with just about anybody, but people get under my skin when they stop being team players and hang their colleagues out to dry.

 

Honestly, i think the guy could make alot more money in private business, but doesn't understand the benefits (both health insurance and other intangables) that make the public sector a great place to work.

 

Basically, the tech director (in my district or a similar district)

- Maintains the District Servers/Databases

- Maintains the district software packages/labs

- Sets up or oversees the set-up of new equiptment

- Coordinates a team of 5-6 "technology staff"

- Maintains the technology needs of a district with 300+ employees, approx 1500 students, and approx 300 computers

 

I'd say that an experienced tech director in a smaller size of average district probably makes in the neighborhood of $60-70K (more in a larger district), with full health insurance (schools plan), pension, dental etc etc... 12 sick days, 3-4 weeks of vacation

 

I want to salvage this, since replacing an administrator is a pain in the arse, but i also gotta realize that good chemistry in a leadership team is essential. Ultimately, the decision rests with the school board (short of a major problem developing), but we do alot of peer review in the district, and one could argue that my position could replace that person under the right circumstances. Administrators sign either a 1 or 2 year contract (that is periodically renewed) and its non-union, so there really isn't an issue of someone is "non-renewed"

[don1481]

Or does he sit and flip through IT magazines to learn buzzwords?

Come on now, Brian... you know buzzwords are what our world's all about

[Thurston Fluff]

Honestly, i think the guy could make alot more money in private business, but doesn't understand the benefits (both health insurance and other intangables) that make the public sector a great place to work.

 

Wow benefits. Something that should go away everywhere so employees really understood what they actually made. I know a few guys in the ealry 90's that went to work for themselves. They were front runners in IT and could get a job anywhere in an emerging field. Everyone of them now works for someone else because of the benefits. I really don't think the pay is what makes a person underperform as much as it reveals the type of person they are. Some work hard and hope they get appreciated or, at the very least, improve their marketability elsewhere. Some go in operation shut down. How they act should give some information on their value to the company going forward. If you do pay less you may not be able to attract someone with experience who is better but at least you can find someone less experienced with the ability to improve.

[JJHardy7]

I mostly agree with Backupcatchers. The benefit cost is huge if anything happens. I have never had a major health problem, but I have a friend who took a well paying job with small benefits. He had to have surgery (nothing major, but still surgery) and paid a ton of money for it. I know of a lot of people who would like to retire, but are worried about insurance.

 

As far as pay, I totally agree with the hard work should be there if they're that type of person. I do think, however; that if a person thinks/is paid below value for a considerable amount of time this negates their performance and is not really fair to them in their mind.

[sgtcluels]

Fire him and hire me! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

The truth is as an IT Manager myself, there is an air of "laziness" that people associate with IT services in general. The fact is, seeing as the systems have to be online during the day, a lot of maintenance work has to be done off hours. I leave work 30 minutes early a few times a week, but I make that up by having to dial into work at night and do some maintenance, as well as weekends when I can take the system completely down. But people don't see these things, they just see the system is online when they need it and that Lazy IT guy must be doing squat.

 

But, from what you say, the guy just seems to be against the system and fights back. Put it on the line, he either plays as a team or he'll be shipped out.