Lessons from 'The IT Crowd'

For a generation of techies, it all started with ‘The IT Crowd’. What ‘Mad Men’ is to advertising, ‘ER’ is to the medical profession and ‘Bojack Horseman’ is to washed-up, half-man/half-horse actors trying and failing to be a better person (or horse), The IT Crowd is to many of us working in Digital.

While increasingly bold and bleak shows like ‘Black Mirror’ and ‘Rick and Morty’ have since won the hearts of geeks the world over, the IT Crowd was in many ways ahead of its time, providing a light and loving satire of digital culture.

It’s also a phenomenal workplace comedy. Under the erratic leadership of Douglas Reynholm (and formerly his ‘affectionate father’ Mr Reynholm), Reynholm Industries veered from one disaster to the next, usually due to the hijinks of the titular IT department.

But along the way, there were some near misses. Ideas that threatened to work out. Innovations that were stifled by poor management and a lack of process.

It’s easy to laugh at the dismissiveness with which Reynholm Industries treat their IT department. But many organisations continue to marginalise the contributions of their Digital team – even if they don’t go as far as banishing them to the basement.

Here’s what the show can teach us about digital culture, and the mistakes that organisations make when attempting to ‘do digital’.

Digital was not integrated with other departments

"All the way down to the basement."

- Denholm Reynholm

These are Reynholm’s famous words as he sentences Jen to life in the basement. The IT department are completely separated from the rest of the organisation. They are the perfect example of working in a silo.

While Reynholm Industries should be commended for recognising the valuable contributions of their custodial staff, the work of the IT department isn’t just unnoticed – it’s actively ignored.

There is a lack of understanding of digital throughout the organisation. This lack of understanding leads to dismissiveness and contempt of the Digital team’s work. As a result, the IT department is a vestigial part of Reynholm Industries.

Some of the blame for this must fall on Jen. As Relationship Manager, she does not do enough to make the contributions of her team visible. Her experiences of trying to explain their work to the CEO will be familiar to many of us in Digital. Often we will be met with a lack of understanding. It is important to explain why the work we do is beneficial and to provide evidence of success.