The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/43128
How IT Can HR's Arsenal Help Build (and Utilize It) As you go through the recruiting process with HR, it is also helpful to explain which technologies are legal-industry specific and which are not. The ILTA job posting board is an excellent place to start a search, particularly if part of the criteria is law firm experience. But for much of the work in law firm IT, law firm experience is merely a bonus. The technological challenges involved in setting up clustered SQL servers are mostly the same in any kind of environment. However, when it comes to the desktop, mobility or industry applications, time previously spent in a law firm is a differentiator. Be Clear About Requirements As mentioned before, being exact is important, but if your requirements are flexible, let HR know that. If you're looking for a business analyst to help with requirements gathering and definition, maybe individuals with a range of backgrounds and experience might be suitable for the position. Perhaps you recently implemented a Shoretel VoIP system and are looking for someone to get the most value from it. Would a Cisco or Avaya expert suffice? Conversely, let HR know which requirements are deal breakers. Don't allow time to be wasted chasing after candidates that will not fit the bill in the end. Screening out candidates that you will not be interested in is one of the most valuable services HR can provide. Empower HR's Resourcefulness As we all know with technology, the one constant is change. Most IT professionals spend a significant amount of time and effort keeping abreast of the latest advances in technology. In fact, the flood of information is overwhelming, and the biggest challenge is separating the meaningful data from the noise. It's difficult for an IT pro. For someone who's not immersed in it every day, it's nearly impossible. Help your HR department by pointing out emerging trends of which they should be aware. Keep them up-to-date with where you think your future requirements might lead. Try to warn them of techie and industry buzzwords they might start hearing that really have no significance. Make sure information flows in both directions. Let HR know how they can best provide you service. Ask for feedback on job postings. Request updates on job searches. Like most professionals, your HR department wants to excel at their job. Do what you can to enable that. Finally, get out of their way and let them do that at which they excel. Many IT professionals are more interested in how things work than what makes people tick. Not to generalize, but it is probably safe to say that someone who has no interest in people would not be wise to pursue a career in HR. You just can't take the "humans" out of it. HR professionals Unruly mail files frustrating eDiscovery? Stymied by email files or formats you can't access or search? LEXBE eDISCOVERY services are the perfect solution. > OutlookPDF+ converts Outlook PSTs — and attachments — to searchable PDFs that are joined to original email, making page-level Bates stamping possible. > PDF OCR+ makes masses of PDFs searchable; TIFFs can be searchable too,with TIFF OCR+. > Native file extraction, conversion. Prep native MS Word, Excel and others for review in Concordance, iBlaze and other litigation support programs. > Quick completion of even the largest jobs with our highly- scalable, proprietary eDiscovery processing architecture. > GB pricing makes costs reasonable and predictable. LITIGATION UNLEASHED for details or a quote see MailStorm.lexbe.com Peer to Peer have unique skills in interpersonal communications, diplomacy, character assessment and other areas that make them effective. Take advantage of those skills. Just as you would delegate tasks and responsibilities to your reporting staff, trust the HR professionals with whom you've developed good relationships to do their jobs and add value. What Are You Waiting For? A strong and effective HR department is a tremendous asset for any organization. They can help you attract and retain better talent, while reducing the burden on IT in the hiring process. If you think your relationship with HR could stand some improvement, today is the day to make that happen. Otherwise, you are wasting a very significant asset within your firm. ILTA Thomas E. Bennett is a Manager of Information Technology at Thompson Coburn LLP. He joined the firm in 2003 after working in a variety of technology roles at several companies, including software development, system administrator, project manager and IT team lead. Tom is a member of ILTA's Desktop and Application Services Peer Group Steering Committee, and he can be reached at tbennett@thompsoncoburn.com. the quarterly magazine of ILTA 51