In working with IT teams in many leading companies, I’ve seen how having a unified system of talent, tools and processes can take technology teams to the next level.

In my experience, the best IT teams work because each element of talent is running at its highest potential. That’s why taking a step back to audit and optimize your IT department is one of the best investments you can make for your team.

Contrary to popular belief, conducting an IT audit isn’t a long, drawn-out and expensive process.

Here are 3 reasons why leaders should invest in an IT audit:

1. Gain critical feedback: One of the first steps to an audit of any kind is collecting a broad range of stakeholder feedback about what’s working and what’s not. Here, think beyond your current team members, and include those you serve in other areas of the business, as well as external clients.
This feedback should uncover insights about the current strengths of your team and help you focus your attention on the areas you can improve.

2. Identify best practices: It’s easy to get caught up in your own way of doing things. Sometimes that’s OK. But sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know. Look at best practices in your IT processes, requirements, development, quality assurance and delivery to identify small tweaks or major shifts you need to make to help your team do its best work. It can be particularly helpful to start with your company’s core values and make sure they are represented loudly, clearly and proudly throughout each of your best practices. This is a good time to take each individual step in your best practices processes and ask yourself if you are truly applying your core values.

3. Make data-informed decisions: When it comes to your IT teams, it’s often best to make decisions that are grounded in research. Going through an audit process gives you the data you need to make sound recommendations for changes that will optimize the success of your team. Evaluate performance and delivery data to ensure you have the right person in the right seat who gets it, wants it and is capable of delivering it; this will help you optimize your team’s performance and make sure everyone is headed in the same direction.

Like in any team environment, it takes the right mix of talent, tools and processes for IT teams to work at their highest potential. Doing a smart IT audit can be one of the best steps a technology leader can take to help the team achieve optimal success by working smarter, not harder.