Two months ago, our agency's server crashed the day before we intended to replace it. Over the next eight weeks, as we restored all our users' settings and profiles, we received a steady stream of service invoices from our technology consultant. Our IT tab prompted us to consider, as most large agencies eventually do, whether it was time to hire a full-time technology guru. An article I recently read indicated that agencies with 20 to 25 employees are most likely to do so, but it's quite a leap even for an agency of that size.

Our agency consists of seven people at two locations. Although we sometimes wish we had a full-time onsite techie, we simply can't justify the expense, so instead, we hire a consultant on an hourly basis. Of course, that approach has several disadvantages. For instance, when we call for support, we don't always get an instant response. Once we reach the consultant, we must schedule a service call and wait for him to arrive. We pay for his travel to and from our site. Once he's here, if he leaves to buy a part, we pay his mileage for that too.

It is not uncommon to encounter more problems after the consultant seems to have fixed the original one, although that doesn't necessarily mean the consultant didn't do a good job. Rather, it's a characteristic of the work environment. We allow staff members to call for onsite assistance whenever technical problems prevent them from working. This policy may occasionally result in unnecessary service calls and related expenses; but since we operate a paperless office, it's important that our technological tools always work properly, so employees can complete their assigned duties.