Re: Number of admins per number of users

[paul.joslin@sdrc.com (Paul R. Joslin)]

Bennett> There are only two of us, administrators, at the site.
Bennett> Lately I have become overwhelmed with things to do.  It
Bennett> is probably a common thing but I was wondering
Bennett> "typically" how many admins are there at a site like
Bennett> ours.
Bennett>
Bennett> At the risk of "boss bashing" I am the only technical
Bennett> person at the site.  They, (HR), have mad mention about
Bennett> hiring a person to support me.  I don't know what the
Bennett> norm would be.
Bennett> 1) Should we all be working on the same things?

For a small shop, IME this is the way to go.

Benefit: Having all resources able to work any task helps increase
the timeliness of response.  Vacations and sick time don't cause a
crisis.  You're forced to better document your work, since someone
else might be the next person to pick it up.

Drawbacks: The overhead of keeping each other informed goes up.
It's easier to justify training if each person specializes. If
each person specializes, the time to resolve a problem drops
because that person has more relevant experience.  (I once worked
in the electronics shop of a mid-size hospital.  We had a tech who
maintained over 400 aging televisions in a few hours a week.  He
had literally seen it all - he could usually diagnose the ailing
part over the phone.)

Bennett> 2) Should we departmentalize?

Not in a shop of this size, unless you have data to show that
you can divide the areas in such a way that the work is roughly
equal.

Bennett> 3) Am I "not really" overwhelmed, but just think I am?

You really can't determine how many sysadmins are needed by
looking at the number of machines.  There are too many free
variables, such as how much OJT you are expected to provide, how
time-critical different problems are, and the diversity of
problems you encounter.

I would suggest that if you feel overwhelmed, you are.  However,
this may not indicate a resource problem.  I would talk to your
boss, and ask whether your job is to make the computers happy or
to make the users happy.  (Don't accept his/her first answer,
"Both!").  Tell him/her that you will work a reasonable number of
hours a week (negotiate a number between 40-50).  Indicate that
you are willing to work off-hours if needed to avoid
inconveniencing users; ask for a scheduled downtime if it will
help.  You want to be seen as a team player.  If you're routinely
working more than 45 hours a week something is wrong, or you
should be receiving additional compensation.  Then - tell your
boss that you intend to do a ruthless prioritization based on what
he/she told you your job was, and that some users may complain.
>From that day on, every request fits into this 2-D continuum:

	      Important     ---->     Less Important
         ----------------------------------------------------
Time     |
Critical |
|	 |
|	 |
|	 |
|	 |
V	 |
Less	 |
Time	 |
Critical |

Start working jobs in the upper left corner, and tell users that
jobs in the bottom right corner probably won't get done.  Then let
the users and your boss decide whether they need to apply more
resources.
--
Paul R. Joslin          YOU KNOW YOU'RE TOO STRESSED IF...
paul.joslin@sdrc.com    Teddy bears begin to bully you for milk and cookies.
+1 513 576 2012