Addressing Risk of Mass Resignation by Key IT Personnel in IT Governance

Primary Responsibility of IT Governance: Mitigating the Risk of Key Personnel Mass Resignation

Question

A contracted company employs key IT systems operational personnel to oversee technology used to manage a critical line of business.

Management is concerned that a mass resignation by many disgruntled personnel may lead to a shutdown of these key systems.

Which of the following should be the PRIMARY responsibility of IT governance to address this risk?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

D.

The PRIMARY responsibility of IT governance in this situation would be to develop a resourcing strategy that quickly replaces staff. This strategy should be proactive and focus on identifying potential candidates to replace key personnel, as well as implementing contingency plans to ensure business continuity in the event of a mass resignation.

Option A - Renegotiating employment agreements may help to lessen the likelihood of a mass resignation, but it does not address the root cause of the issue, which is employee dissatisfaction. Furthermore, contractual changes may not be feasible or practical, depending on the nature of the employment agreements and the legal or regulatory framework that governs them.

Option B - Cross-training management to assume support of the technology may be a useful backup plan, but it is not a scalable or sustainable solution in the long term. Management may not have the same level of expertise or experience as key operational personnel, and the burden of supporting critical systems may detract from their core responsibilities.

Option D - Surveying key support staff to determine what is causing them to be disgruntled is an important step in understanding the underlying issues and addressing them. However, it may not be sufficient to prevent a mass resignation or to mitigate the risk of a shutdown of key systems.

Therefore, the best option is C - developing a resourcing strategy that quickly replaces staff. This strategy should include identifying potential candidates to replace key personnel, such as recruiting from within the organization or seeking external talent. The strategy should also include contingency plans to ensure business continuity in the event of a mass resignation, such as cross-training staff, implementing temporary measures, or outsourcing support. IT governance should work closely with human resources and senior management to develop and implement this resourcing strategy.