Perhaps some of the problems between IT and the rest of a company are caused by treating non-IT as customers like the IT department is not just a separate function in the organization, but a separate organization itself. I’ve been part of internal IT departments that call other employees in the same company, “customers” and I think it’s probably a net negative for all involved. Those of us in the IT department don’t feel part of the company’s mission, or even that we have to be part of it. Our colleagues are no longer people we can relate to, but are a number on a scorecard or just the enemy of our systems. On the other side, in the company as a whole, I suppose it’s just that they don’t need to treat IT staff like human beings, which is a little bit of an exaggeration and I suppose it doesn’t really stop someone who would be an asshole anyway. For end-users, though it does get frustrating. They don’t think IT understands the business or their priorities and they are right.
I get the motivation to treat end-users as customers. First off, end-users as a term doesn’t sound that great. Mostly, though, it’s that the IT leadership wants the best possible service for the company. Calling people customers just seems to be a lazy way to say that’s happening. If they are a customer and customers are always right, then the service will be great! Not so true.
Ultimately, treating your fellow employees like customers is keeping personal relationships from occurring. No one is seeing the IT department as part of the company, so there isn’t any engagement. IT sees itself as a punching bag and the other departments see IT as a creator of rules and holder up of progress. If the IT department can start seeing itself as part of the company and the rest of the company does the same, we can get back to using technology to solve business problems instead of just being one.