In-house ICT support staff

Once your staff numbers more than 10 or 15 it may be time to think about having your own in-house ICT worker. At this point you could have at least 10 to 15 computers, set up in a network, with shared printers and internet connections.

Assuming you already have a budget for regular ICT support, it should be fairly easy to look at your annual spend and see whether it makes sense financially to appoint someone. Don’t just include the capital you spend on buying equipment, look at what you’re paying for support, training and advice.

A part-time position is the most likely starting point, or you could look at sharing a worker with another organisation, perhaps based in the same building or with an existing partner.

Having in-house ICT expertise means more than just having someone on call to fix problems. It can ensure much greater knowledge of your needs, based on day-to-day contact with staff and volunteers, and a better understanding of the direction the organisation is taking and how ICT can support it.

You could get more from your current systems as well as making more informed decisions about next steps. You may even ask the ICT person to help with fundraising to cover the cost of new systems.

You may still need specialist advice from external suppliers but your worker should quickly get up to speed on the system you have, and they will have access to various support networks to keep their knowledge up to date.