Maine County Transitions IT Leadership
West-Central Maine County
This west-central Maine county is home to nearly 51,000 hardworking, energetic and friendly Mainers who participate in an economy as diverse as their cultural heritage. The County consists of thirty-three communities that offer the tranquility of a rural lifestyle coupled with many of the amenities of a more suburban setting in our four largest communities.
The Technical Services Department supports over 200 end-users, including critical and diverse services like the Emergency Management Agency, officers on patrol, the Sherriff’s Department, and the County Jail.
THE CHALLENGE
The County’s Director of Technical Services handed in his two weeks’ notice. Faced with not having a technical leader to keep critical projects moving forward, they needed someone to temporarily fill the specific leadership role and oversee technology initiatives until a suitable replacement was found. The County understood they had unique requirements and realized recruiting a replacement was going to be a challenge.
Since 2013, Systems Engineering has provided this west-central Maine county with remote network management services that proactively monitor the health of their network, improving system, and critical application uptime. As their established IT partner, the County turned to Systems Engineering for professional services to assist during this transitional period. Having a firm understanding of the County’s network and business, Systems Engineering was able to immediately step in to fill the gap.
THE SOLUTION
Systems Engineering’s Virtual CIO service stepped in to provide the County with the time and flexibility needed to find a suitable replacement, while keeping the internal IT team stable and initiatives moving forward. In addition, Systems Engineering focused on organizing and preparing the County for its new director. The goal was to hand the new director a comprehensive overview of business units, stakeholders, projects, strategic relationships, and other necessary information to begin effectively managing the County’s technical services team and initiatives from day one.
Systems Engineering’s IT recruiting skills were also called on by the County to fast-track their search for a new leader. The recruiting team worked with the County to identify its unique requirements for a new director. Additionally, Systems Engineering shortlisted potential candidates for the County by reviewing resumes, conducting preliminary interviews, and recommending qualified candidates to interview. Once the new leader came on board, the Systems Engineering Virtual CIO remained engaged for an additional month to facilitate a smooth transition.
“Systems Engineering was able to assist with top-notch professionals who went the distance to keep us current and help find the right candidate to take the job. The west-central Maine county strongly endorses Systems Engineering for its diverse skills, fast action, and continued guidance through the process of hiring a new Director. I would recommend them to anyone needing technical assistance,” said the County administrator.
THE RESULTS
This west-central Maine county briefly needed leadership and recruiting services for an unanticipated transition to support the technical services team and keep initiatives on track through a disruptive period. Systems Engineering’s Professional Services, including Virtual CIO and IT recruitment, filled their temporary need, enabling the County to move forward with its IT projects and keep its 200 end-users productive by continuing to serve their needs.