IT Manager Propels Infrastructure to the Next Level
What does it take to help a national company with geographical hindrances collaborate better? As it turns out, a handful of major infrastructure projects led by a determined manager in a mere 20 months.
Taking a deep dive into new technology, RS&H Manager of Information Technology Infrastructure and Operations Jeff Daigle, working with his team, identified several technological enhancements to propel the firm’s collaboration to the next level.
Beginning his journey in June 2016 in Jacksonville, Jeff is responsible for the teams that run just about every cyber asset in operation at RS&H.
“I recruited Jeff because of his commitment to continuous process improvement,” said Vice President of IT Don Roberts. “He’s rarely comfortable with the status quo and always looking for ways to improve our operations.”
With a varied IT background, Jeff has brought experience from other A/E/C firms. He has seen successes and failures of projects, allowing him to avoid mistakes.
At RS&H, Jeff has done just that. Working with the IT team, Jeff has refreshed the core data center, transitioned the company to a new video conferencing platform, enhanced audio/visual systems in conference rooms around the nation, built the infrastructure behind a new global file system initiative, as well as implemented a cloud-ready network, a cutting-edge advancement for our data and telephone networks.
“I’m actively involved in exciting projects that will help our associates share data more effectively and collaborate between offices more efficiently when working on project data,” Jeff said.
And his project list goes on and on.
However, this is nothing new for Jeff. Since he was 16 years old, Jeff has been working in the corporate world, giving him opportunities to experience many different types of leadership styles.
He practices his leadership skills today and is excelling in the IT world because he can balance his big-picture leadership style with his detail-oriented personality type, allowing him to lead large projects with a clear understanding of the user perspective.
He said early on in his career, he learned that being successful in IT is not about deploying cool, new technologies. It’s more about implementing a process and working closely with the business to fully understand the challenges that employees are facing.
“Only then through a thorough evaluation of technology, challenges, and strategies, can we identify and recommend solutions that will positively effect and improve the way the company works,” Jeff said.
The first A/E/C firm he worked at stressed the importance of a continuous improvement strategy. Jeff explains it’s easy to identify processes or technologies that need to be improved upon. The challenge comes in implementing a program to measure and report on the success of those changes and then being nimble enough to quickly reevaluate and adjust to continually improve upon the service we’re providing. Part of that program should always consider user feedback.
“Jeff recognizes that the measure of success or failure of any technical solution is best perceived by the user,” Don said. “Technical elegance or complexities will rarely overrule user perceptions.”
Jeff also understands the complex interactions of our technical infrastructure. Technology is used everywhere. More than ever, a change in one system can create unwelcome impacts in seemingly unrelated processes anywhere.
“He’s proven that he understands the care and consideration that must be applied as he implements continuous process and infrastructure improvements,” Don added.
While Jeff may not compliment his own leadership style, he believes most importantly any level of success he’s had can be attributed to the team that he has the privilege of working with.
“We are a team that really cares for the associates that work here and are driven to make our associates more effective at their job,” Jeff said. “We support the overall culture at RS&H, which allows motivated associates to succeed.”