Why the Cost of IT Team Training is Worth It

Whether you’re outsourcing or have an internal data center, having efficient and innovative IT team members is the key to a smooth running operation. It may seem difficult to take control of data center components such as servers and software, but it may actually be more difficult to retain a productive team full of high-performing IT employees. A team that is well-trained and has the drive to continually grow in their career will reduce the turnover rate in your company, but it also requires resources on your part. That means an investment in their skill sets and future with the company.

Training your IT team is the most important and effective way to improve the skill set and knowledge of your employees. Here’s a couple of reasons for justifying that expense:

• Whether they are contracted IT staffers, entry-level employees or senior-level executives, you should invest in training for best results. To keep up with the times, your staff should be re-trained every year or more when possible. Encouraging advancements for your staff will, in turn, make for a more productive work environment and more loyal employees.
• The cost of training can seem like a heavy burden, but there are ways around spending a large budget on it as well. Having an in-house training season in your own facility or hosting an online training class can help reduce a venue cost. If you have a larger company and have other locations across the country, than you might have to consider a larger budget for training options. Employees may have to travel, which could require travel costs such as car expenses, hotel rooms and venue costs. However, the cost of travel definitely outweighs an trained employee who knows how to handle a disaster when it comes to your data.
• The biggest problem with the cost of training is loss of time devoted to employee responsibilities or tasks during the time away from full-time office hours. To avoid losing out on any work, consider hiring independent or contracted IT team members to fill in while your team is away for training. You could also do training sessions in chunks, so not everyone from your team is leaving at once.

Overall, you need to think about the long-term outcome, rather than the short-term outcome of costs. Taking the time to train your IT team members will increase the uptime and efficiency within your data center. Here at Lifeline Data Center, we value the importance of training our staff members or investing in certifications so that we can run the very best operations at our data center. Schedule a tour with us to learn more about our excellent facility and staff:

Other resources:

• All You Need to Know About Tier Classification, read more
• Standards for the Telecommunication Industry: TIA-942 vs. the Uptime Institute Tiers, read more
• Why Data Centers are Necessary for Enterprise Businesses, read more

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.