Tech roles at nonprofits

Tech roles and responsibilities (Lisa (facilitator) / Max / Ryan)

In nonprofits: Sometimes someone becomes the “accidental techie” - the body of knowledge is vast!

Tech Support Someone should be holding tech support (but not necessarily solely responsible for solving) Rule of thumb: It generally requires 1 hour per week per person for tech support One solution: outsource tech support Another solution: empower others to research it OR share your problem-solving skillsets to those who seem interested in addressing issues on their own

Tech needs & Individual tool management If someone is good at something, they should be the one that does it (given that it’s written in their job description) Periodically assessing the tools being used - can two be consolidated into one, etc,? Designate an owner for each tool (maybe the person who uses it the most) Keep an inventory (whether it’s in your password manager or elsewhere) with notes: who’s responsible for the tool Offboarding process should include a passing the torch of knowledge

Documentation It’s irresponsible not to have documentation It may feel like no one reads it, but nails down organizational practices Focus on the 95% of the tool/process usage (the edge-use cases don’t need as much focus) Pretend you’re leaving next week - what do you want your replacement to know? New people will read it and they have fresh eyes Training new people is sometimes a good reason to update documentation (the trainees can even help you) FAQs - can point people to resource if something is asked repeatedly Example: “How do I set up my out of office message?”,

Planning, Implementation, Delegating Shadowing is a valuable tool Time/project management: blocks of time on your calendar specifically for projects (even if you have to later move it) Ask yourself, “Is this really urgent?” or “Can it wait?” when receiving new requests, issues. Etc., Being interruptible (available) vs not - it takes time to refocus after interruptions Taking a day “off” when you’re actually devoting time for non-interruptible projects Orientation to organizational culture (part of onboarding process) Communication channels - text versus call versus instant message versus email versus desk visits Helps differentiate what’s urgent Provides expected wait time for different types of responses Expectation management

Notes: NTEN Technology Staffing Reports are worth exploring: Report page