Keeping the IT staff happy is an unwritten responsibility of a boss that needs to be taken seriously. And this one responsibility towers over many others, because of the kind of effect it can potentially have on the workplace.

As seriously as they may take this responsibility, bosses often fail to do justice to it. During recruitment candidates always clearly articulate their expectations from the firm but once an employee the scenario changes. A boss, for instance, must be able to gauge what employees are looking for as a reward for their good work.

So then what is the secret for ensuring that your IT staff is happy? Understanding what they want, by thinking like them. Do employees really want typical gifts like jackets or mugs with the company’s name written on them? Perhaps bosses can ensure that the extra hours spent by the IT staff is reduced to some extent. For the IT staff unplanned work is almost as routine as planned work, yet reducing this additional burden would be welcome news. And between a free mug and reducing extra hours employees would definitely prefer the latter.

Yet another option bosses may like to try out is to compensate employees when they spend exceptionally extra time. And IT professionals often face this problem because of the nature of their work. Vacations plans often have to be postponed, if not cancelled. In return for all that exceptional amount of extra time spent by the IT professionals, bosses could compensate them with time off from work.

In case both the previous mentioned ideas seem difficult to manage, there’s yet another way in which you can constructively reward your employee. Break the monotony of routine work by engaging employees in relevant activities during the working hours. Companies often misinterpret training as something that is an additional benefit that is given to its employees. A benefit it definitely is, but both the company and the employee stand to gain from trainings. Most of the times, employees would often get put off if they are made to pay for training programs.

With companies increasingly understanding the advantage of training programs, they are starting to invest not just in the routine technical trainings but also trainings that cater to the overall growth of an employee. In order to retain employees and keep them happy, you have to treat the employee as an individual.

The work of IT professionals has a reputation for being extremely monotonous. But there are other ways in which they can help the company. For instance, much like sales people, IT professionals too have their own network and can bring business to the company. Yet, naturally, they do not take interest in going out of their way for the sake of the company because there is nothing to gain from it. Unlike sales people, IT professionals don’t get bonuses for bringing in business to the company. But what if something like that was offered to them? If employees were aware of such incentives, they would probably make that extra effort in helping the company do better.

Telecommuting is yet another trend that is catching up which keeps employees happy. Telecommuting comes with a great degree of trust and responsibility, and speaks highly of the equation shared by a manager and an executive. Specific deadlines are of course decided before any employee is allowed to work from home, but just allowing for such flexibility makes an employee feel trusted. Apart from this, companies also stand to gain in some way be because of infrastructure costs also get reduced to some extent.

Last but not the least, the attitude towards the IT staff needs to change drastically. In most companies you would see the IT staff being given brickbats more than bouquets. And this in spite of the fact that they definitely deserve the latter more than the former. Treated as a liability, companies tend to show unwillingness towards generous spending on the IT department. There can be no doubt that the IT department is simply taken for granted. This is one department that comes into focus only when things go wrong, and is forgotten when all is going well. And from the perspective of the employee, this is extremely demotivating.

Yes, come to think of it, it really is just as simple as that. It is often forgotten that the IT department forms the backbone of the organization. It is very important for bosses to find effective and meaningful ways in which to keep the IT staff happy. The reason for this is not just to retain the employees, but also to see to it that they do their work with a positive frame of mind.