From afar, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about Workleap’s IT department, which supports roughly 450 employees each day. However, some may raise eyebrows upon learning that the team of roughly eight employees doesn’t report to an IT manager, but is instead supervised by another unsung hero department: HR.
Since August, Workleap’s IT team has reported to Cyril Boisard, Workleap’s director of people, a move he told IT Brew has been in the works for a long time and one that he made after seeing many “parallels” between HR and IT in how they support the “experience of the user.”
“It was making a lot of sense to add it to the HR because [in] HR, we define policy,” Boisard said. “We talk with users and [our] primary focus is the experience of the employee. But that’s also what we want to be the focus of IT.”
The process. Boisard told IT Brew the first steps of the transition involved him learning what was going on in Workleap’s IT department, including ongoing projects and the overall vision Martin Sirard, Workleap’s IT support manager, had for the team moving forward.
In the beginning, Sirard’s team was skeptical about the new reporting style.
“At first they were apprehensive, but basically it was my role to show them that it wouldn’t change what I had been talking about already, where we need to focus more on people,” Sirard said.
However, as time passed, Sirard said his team grew a “bit more confident” and benefitted from the new dynamic.
“I think getting the two teams together…got us to have a little bit more empathy towards what the other is experiencing,” Sirard said. “And being part of the same team, you don’t just want to accomplish your goals, but you want to help the others accomplish theirs as well.”
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Boisard added that the new management style has allowed there to be less friction between the two departments.
“There’s still some because it’s new, but it’s much better than what it was,” he said.
10/10, would recommend. Boisard and Sirard told IT Brew that the transition is still an ongoing process as the duo still needs to determine what metrics each team will focus on under the new dynamic.
“We used to look at what we call lagging metrics, so metrics that tell you what happened in the past,” Boisard said. “Where we want to put in place is leading metrics…meaning it’s going to help you predict the future.”
However, Boisard already deems the initiative as a win for his organization.
“Does IT need to be directly under HR or anything? I don’t know,” Boisard said. “But it solidified that bond that can create a workplace where people can truly thrive. In my opinion, it’s already a success.”
Sirard added that while the management change was a “good move” for Workleap, he noted that organizations looking to make a similar jump should make sure that their leadership team is aligned with the concept in order to ensure a positive outcome.
“I’m very confident in what we are doing and the results that we can achieve,” Sirard said. “But for other companies, they would have to make sure that they have the right people in place and the right mindset.”