IT's Made Out of People

If the organization isn't investing in infrastructure, it surely isn't paying its technical staff well. The result is often a poorly assembled network with an undisciplined IT department and few standardized practices. It isn't necessarily that the technical staff is poorly trained or inexperienced, though that is often a factor. In the handful of examples I can think of, including my own present circumstance, the IT department is an army of one. If offering uncompetative pay, the organization must settle on what it gets. That could mean a person lacking in technical skills, problem solving ability, and/or people skills, or a talented person stretched thin with responsibility. Additionally, the idea that an inexperienced tech can run an organization with assistance from consultants belittles just what is involved in IT management. That setup could only work in the smallest organizations but many larger ones have continued in that vein. For example, at my last gig I was one technical person among 90 end-users over five sites. This thinking also shows how disconnected non-profit administration is from the tools they need to help them surpass their goals. One of those tools is the right people for the job.

Nonprofit Curmudgeon (link) rants on the topic.