As the work year starts to mount up, I have come to realize and respect the importance of a group that makes much of what we all do possible. Can you guess who? That’s right – the secret support group to supply chain is… the IT folks out there. Often, I found myself in awe of how a group of professionals, who may have absolutely zero experience about a particular subject matter such as supply chain, manage to design, create, and successfully execute a technological solution. I tend to view IT professionals as not only the folks who can create a new system or dashboard, but interpreters between the business/operations teams and the IT groups that build solutions for our teams.

I have worked on a number of projects over the years now that have required intricate system creation or manipulation, design of new reporting tools or dashboards, and capabilities for our team that may not have previously existed in our day-to-day. IT has been able to make most of those challenges successfully completed projects to ease the pain of our routine. Many cases include highly specific language and methodology for supply chain that someone outside this field may not understand. IT groups manage to absorb the needs of supply chain, translate that into something meaningful, and execute on it—sometimes with a number of revisions to make sure it is correct.
​
This group is often overlooked for their feats, but recognizing this significant group of people and the value they are constantly bringing to an organization is imperative. Many took supply chain for granted prior to the pandemic. Supply chain has gained great recognition globally for overcoming the many crises we have faced, but we should also give the IT teams credit for helping us achieve these great successes. This goes for outside of supply chain as well. IT impacts all aspects of an organization as well as our daily lives. Many IT groups can be credited for making our flexible work-from-home schedules possible. Did you schedule your COVID-19 vaccine through an online portal? IT teams everywhere were scrambling to get those built and played a crucial role in curbing the spread of the virus.

We need to make sure to tip our caps and give a big thank you to our IT personnel, our secret support group to supply chain. Without those critical folks involved in our organizations, much of what we are capable of would not be possible. Think about it. How many projects have you worked on that would not have been possible without your organization’s IT group?

An important topic during the holiday is taking time for yourself. Anyone who knows me will be able to tell you that this is something that I struggle with personally, but still understand the importance of. After all, I usually travel with my work computer even if we are just going away for a weekend in case something comes up.

Getting time off and a moment to reset is extremely important for our mental health. We are constantly plugged in due to email being connected to our phones or coworkers having our cell phone numbers. What we need to remember is that it is okay to let that inbox have a few emails sitting in it on your day off. It is okay to miss that call when you are using a vacation day. This is where I struggle. I struggle to trust that others will be able to handle my usual responsibilities while I am away. One of my worries when taking a day off is that my responsibilities will be a burden on my team members. The teams we are on are integral to our success everyday and it should be no different when covering for you while you take that hard-earned day off. Trust that those you work with will have your back and just as you have their back when they are out of the office.

We also need to be better at encouraging coworkers and employees to disengage from the day-to-day of work. Approving a vacation day is one thing, but it is entirely different to hear a manager say, “Approved—and really take this day off. Don’t log on. You earned this time to rest and relax. Your team can cover for you on this day off.” Validation from a manager can go a long way, but it is also nice to hear from your peers. Encouraging your coworkers to disengage is a wonderful way to begin to shift the culture and mindset surrounding time off.
​
I have been working to be better about this and separate work time and personal time. This is something we should all strive to do because it goes without saying that we need that time to ourselves and to our families or loved ones. If you are taking some time off over this holiday season, try to really take that time for yourself. You deserve it and you NEED it.