Ownership

It was a long work week for me. As I went through the grind, I realized that some of my coworkers lack a sense of ownership. I work in the IT industry where we are on call almost all the time (so it seems). My team, in particular, is responsible for a platform 24x7. We rotate that responsibility between the five of us. Three of us work day and evening shifts and then there are two dedicated guys - one handles over night and the other handles the weekend coverage - that never comes into the office. This disconnect could be key.

It's starting to come to light that there is a lack of ownership in our support mentality. "Oh, someone else will see that alert or page that has come in and will take care of it. It certainly isn't MY responsibility. Heck, I have other things to do." It seems individuals are content collecting a paycheck and will do the least amount of work possible to maintain employment. Maybe this is commonplace in the American workplace? As their manager, I feel that I must keep an eye on things even though they are paid a healthy salary to sit on a pager and simply respond should it go off. Fact - that comes with the territory.

SLA. We have an expectation on our team that we will respond to an alert or page within 15 minutes of receiving it. It does not mean the issue will be resolved in 15 minutes, but rather that we will acknowledge it and start on the path to resolution. We will work the issue in real time and provide status. Recently, there has been a rash of missed opportunities to show ownership. Missed pages, poorly executed deliverables, foul language, smoking grass - poor caddying. Do you want to be replaced by the NOC? Just keep it up.

How do I instill ownership? It's got to be the toughest task I've ever had. I must be particularly bad at it. If I were responsible for something and my superior asked me about something I missed, I'd damn well make sure I don't miss it the next time. That's just me. I'm not like others. Others didn't have a father that would follow up on topics to make sure you had your act together. I consider myself blessed to have that instilled in me. Why do I get myself all worked up? It's only a job...