5 simple steps on how to build a top-tier IT team

Having an IT team is essential for any business wanting to transcend boundaries and redefine excellence in the tech world. An IT team can help you to improve your efficiencies, security, and compliance, but how do you build an IT department? The question might seem like a daunting one, but as we’re a caring bunch who take a people-focused approach to everything we do, we thought it would be nice of us to let you know our 5 simple steps on how to build a top-tier IT team.

Before we jump into the 5 steps, let’s first take a look at the different types of IT jobs you can recruit for when building an IT team to power your brand.

What are the different types of IT jobs to recruit for?

Whether you’re upskilling existing talent or looking to hire IT engineers, as you build your in-house IT support team, there are a bunch of roles that can help power your business, making it well worth your while to invest in IT talent. From Computer Hardware Engineers, Software Engineers, Network Engineers and more, let’s take a look at some of the main types of IT jobs you should invest in when building your top-tier IT team.

Computer Hardware Engineer

Computer Hardware Engineers are responsible for ensuring the computer systems of a business work at optimum levels around the clock. They design, develop, and test the physical components of computers, such as circuit boards, processors, and memory devices, making sure they work hand-in-hand with the software components of a computer system.

Software Engineer

Software Engineers are unorthodox IT engineers who use their knowledge of programming languages and software engineering principles to create, install and test software applications. Responsible for ensuring the performance and functionality of businesses' software, they play a crucial part in making sure software applications meet the needs of employees and other stakeholders associated with the company.

Network Engineer

Network Engineers are another type of IT engineering role you could bring into your organisation to help plan, implement and manage your computer networks, from Wide area network (WAN), Local area network (LAN) and intranet. Network Engineers ensure your networks have maximum uptime, provide speedy and reliable connections and allow your employees to work effectively without network disruptions.

Database Engineer

Database Engineers are responsible for designing, testing and implementing scalable and highly available database solutions to meet your company's needs. These industry disruptors have a deep knowledge of SQL, data modelling and database management systems and go above and beyond to ensure your database has sufficient capacity while identifying and combating any notable performance issues.

Systems Engineer

Systems Engineers are another type of engineering professional with high-value talent. These critical and creative thinkers are critical IT team members responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining complex hardware and software systems. With expertise in operating systems, they play a crucial part in ensuring your business runs seamlessly on a daily basis, resolving any problems with your computer systems, often before you've even noticed the issue.

DevOps Engineer

DevOps Engineers shatter conventional norms and are the glue that binds your development and operations teams together, ensuring your software is delivered quickly and reliably across the business. Their skills in configuration management, infrastructure, automation and various other DevOps tools and technologies ensure your software works seamlessly day in and day out without any hitches or glitches.

Security Engineer

Security Engineers can be the trusted guardians of your company's digital assets, working tirelessly to protect your sensitive information and finances from cyber-attacks and other security threats. These renegades will set up the latest technologies, from encryption, intrusion detection systems and firewalls, to ensure the data of your employees and organisation as a whole is free from any harmful online threats.

Web Developer

Web Developers may appear last on our list here, but they're certainly not the least. These trailblazers can power your business with their expertise in programming languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript, ensuring your website looks top-notch and functions smoothly. Web Developers are undoubtedly worth investing in if you want to stay ahead of the competition and at the top of the online food chain.

These are just some of the many types of IT engineering roles your business could cash in on. If you’re interested in learning more about some of these positions and other types of IT jobs you could bring into your business, check out our blog: 10 of the most cutting-edge jobs in engineering. Before you do that, keep reading to find out 5 simple steps on how to build a top-tier IT team.

How to build an IT team to power your brand

Having an understanding of how to build an IT department is one thing, but knowing how to build a top-tier IT team to power your brand is another.

When it comes to creating your in-house IT support team, there are a few things you should do. First, you need to figure out the types of IT jobs you want to recruit before actually going out of your way to onboard this IT talent into your organisation. Then it’s a case of encouraging collaboration within your IT team, giving your engineering talent the training they need all the way through to monitoring the performance of the IT you’ve built.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this, shall we? Take a look at our 5 simple steps on how to build a top-tier IT team.

1.  Figure out which IT industry disruptors you want onboard

Before you start throwing money into the recruitment space and hiring every Tom, Dick and Harry under the sun with the hope your IT department will suddenly come together, take a step back and consider which industry disruptors you want to build an IT team around.

Make sure you know your company's short- and long-term goals and determine the IT talent who can help you achieve these objectives. For example, you might want to focus on bringing the market's best hardware into your business. In this scenario, it might make sense to hire a Computer Hardware Engineer for your IT team who can ensure your hardware works better than any business out there.

Don't forget to figure out the available budget you have to work with. If you're a start-up, you might want to consider hiring an all-around IT support specialist who can do a bit of everything and who you can build a successful IT department around. Alternatively, if you've got the funds, you could make several hires based on the areas of IT you need to fill and the IT skills gaps you want to close.

Once you've taken the time to figure out which IT industry disruptors you want onboard, you'll be ready and raring to move on to our second step.

Get looking for top-of-the-range IT talent

So, you’ve figured out who and what you need to build your IT team; taking into account your budget and the size of the IT support team you can recruit for, it’s time to look for the top-of-the-range IT talent you need.

Before you use the various recruitment tools and get looking for the innovators you require, start creating the job specifications for the IT jobs you’re hiring for. Here, you should outline who you’re after, from the skills and responsibilities you need to the personality best suited to your company culture.

As the market for IT talent is a hell of a competitive one, make sure to sell your brand to potential candidates and give them an incentive as to why they should want to work for you. You could include things like company benefits like career progression and monetary incentives to the exciting prospect of being part of your new and improved IT team that will power the future of your brand - you can have that line for free.

Once your IT job descriptions start to gain attention from hungry IT talent and you get to the interview stages, make sure to assess the technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit of your potential hires. Use a mix of behavioural and situational interview questions. You could even give them a task to complete to evaluate their experience and potential for success in the role within your IT department.

To attract top-of-the-range IT talent, there’s a fair amount of strategies you can rely on to help you find the best candidates, from job boards, social media, networking events, referrals, and go-to tech recruitment services.

3. Give your IT renegades the training they need to grow

We briefly discussed the importance of incentivising candidates when writing out your engaging IT job descriptions. One of these incentives that will not only attract and retain your IT talent, as they will appreciate the investment in their personal and professional growth but will also help them grow is giving your IT renegades the regular training and development they need.

As the tech landscape constantly shifts with new tech and ways of working, your IT talent must stay ahead of the curve with the latest IT skills and knowledge. You could invest in regular upskilling or reskilling programmes to give your IT engineers opportunities to learn something new - something that will help them grow in their careers and that will help grow your brand.

Your training could focus on the latest cyber security trends and best practices for implementing cyber defences. Alternatively, you may see soft skills gaps like communication within your IT team and utilise either in-house or outsourced training providers to help close this gap in your business to ensure your IT talent knows how to communicate and work together effectively.

Think of your IT team as a bunch of pretty flowers that need watering now and again in order to grow. If you don’t invest in training and development opportunities for your IT department, how can you expect them to flourish and for your brand to grow? Simple answer, you can’t. So, instead of risking the IT talent you’ve thought so hard to onboard into your business from thinking the grass is greener at pastures new, give your IT renegades the training they need to grow.

4. Encourage collaboration and give your IT team a voice

There may be an ‘I’ in IT, but there’s no ‘I’ in Team. You should steer clear from the mindset that you’re just bringing a group of individuals together in the hope that it all works out, and remember that you’re building an IT team to power your brand. So, another crucial step you should take is to encourage collaboration and give your IT support team a voice.

By encouraging collaboration, your IT team can work together on processes like how to distribute work, the best tools to automate specific tasks and how issues with computer hardware, software and networks are troubleshot. As your IT starts to collaborate, ensure your company higher-ups keep in regular comms with your IT talent through meetings and get-togethers to allow your engineers to voice their opinions.

Whether you’re hiring one individual or making several hires as part of your IT team, make sure they not only collaborate with each other but with your wider departments too. Always remember that your IT plays a valuable role that will help to keep your business operating at optimal capacity 24/7, powering your brand into the future.

So don’t just put them in the basement to let them crack on; this isn’t The IT Crowd. Instead, take a deep interest in what they do and value their opinions. Never underestimate your IT team, their voice and continued collaboration could inspire big things for your brand.

5. Monitor your IT team and don’t be afraid to shake it up

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your IT team. So, our final step for how to build an IT team to power your brand revolves around the importance of continually monitoring your IT department and don't be afraid to shake it up.

Take time to regularly assess your IT team's performance against your goals and objectives, making sure to provide constructive feedback and support to help them improve and grow in their roles. You could monitor how long it takes your IT department to complete tasks, the number of security incidents they've resolved and how compliant your business is. The additional support you provide your IT talent could be through the training we mentioned in a previous step.

As the tech world grows, so will your IT department, so don't be afraid to shake it up from time to time. Let's say your business acquires the finances to invest in training or make one or a few more hires; use this and lean on your existing IT talent to collaborate and hear their voice about how they envision the future of your IT team moving forward.

How often you check in on your IT team will depend on how big and complex your business is. However, it's a sensible step to monitor your IT department regularly to ensure they're meeting your expectations and that they can help your organisation achieve its goals.

Let’s wrap this up

It's clear as day that there are a range of different types of IT jobs you can recruit for and several things you can do to build an IT department. By following the 5 steps, we’ve outlined in this guide, from figuring out which IT talent you need, looking for the best engineers on the market, giving your hires training opportunities to encouraging collaboration, and finally monitoring the performance of your IT department, you’ll be well on your way to building an IT team to power your brand.

Our guidance when it comes to how to build an IT team doesn’t stop here. Check out our 5 reasons to invest in IT engineers to power your business to find out more.

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Now you know the 5 simple steps on how to build a top-tier IT team, it's time to start thinking about the next steps for your IT department.

If you're a fast-growing start-up or an innovative multinational on the hunt for cutting-edge talent to build a top-tier IT team for your business, we’re here to help!

Our engineering recruitment team is committed to your future and is here to help match you with ambitious IT talent capable of breathing new life into your organisation.

Chat with one of our specialist consultants to see how we can power your business with an unorthodox IT team today.