While we might like to think that all computer problems are an easy fix, there is only so much you can do in certain circumstances. That being said, having a couple of computer maintenance “hacks” under your belt can make things loads easier for you when you do have to get your computer repaired. Here are some tips to consider before it’s time to get your computer repaired.
If you were asked to describe your average tech support experience, chances are that you remember a time when you had to either wait around for the technician to come around, dealing with downtime the entire time; or, worse yet, unplug your technology and schlep it across town to the break/fix store only to be told that it may be done in the next few days (code for over a week). Today, we’ll tell you how managed IT services can keep you from playing the waiting game.
When employers and employees aren’t on the same page, conflicts arise and work grinds to a halt. This bad-for-business scenario is especially true when it comes to technology. You may not have realized this, but certain IT policies may actually be driving your staff crazy! Here are three common examples of how this plays out.
Using Technology That’s Slow and Outdated
It’s important to keep in mind that the entire goal of business technology is to equip everyone in your organization with the tools they need in order to do their job better, and thus, make you more money. Therefore, if the provided technology is slow, outdated, and gets in the way of employees doing their jobs as well as they can, then your decision to hang onto outdated technology just to save a few bucks is actually working against you, and employees can even latch onto this reality as an excuse for a poor job performance. In addition to hindering an employee's job performance, using outdated technology is bad for morale. By providing your staff with crummy technology, you’re communicating that you don’t care about their work, so why should they?
Banning Personal Devices in the Workplace
For security and control reasons, many businesses ban employees from using their personal devices for work purposes. When you first heard about the security risks of mobile devices, you might of had a knee-jerk reaction and decided to ban them. However, mobile device management technology for enterprises has come a long way in recent years, and by outright banning the use of personal devices in your office, you may be foregoing the benefits of these devices, like increased productivity and improved employee morale.
If you’re unsure if allowing employee-owned mobile devices in your workplace will benefit your company or not, then have a conversation with your staff about it. You may be surprised to learn that they’re much more comfortable and even efficient at their jobs using the mobile apps on their own devices than they are having to use the clunky and complicated tools that you’re currently providing them.
More often than not, what this reality leads to is a diligent worker becoming frustrated with the technology they’re asked to use, so they seek out an alternative solution on their own. This might end up putting your company’s data at risk. However, now that you’re aware of this reality, you can take action and utilize measures for your IT infrastructure that supports employee-owned devices in a safe and effective manner. PCSOFT can help equip your business with a mobile device management strategy that will allow your employees to be productive with their personal devices, while protecting the integrity of your network.
Requiring Staff to Deal With Their Own IT Issues
Nobody likes having to do a task that lies outside of their job description, and for most non-IT employees, resolving IT issues isn’t part of the job package they signed up for. Yet, too many employers require their employees to resolve their own IT issues, or at the very least, contact an assigned IT technician about it. For a worker who’s rockin’ a project and taking care of business, having a PC issue quash their momentum and then requiring them to “look into it,” can be demoralizing. Plus, this should have you asking a more important question: are your employees even qualified to troubleshoot the issue at hand?
Instead, it’s much better to prevent these IT issues in the first place by having PCSOFT proactively maintain your company’s equipment. With our remote monitoring service, we’re able to catch and resolve IT issues so that your staff doesn’t have to. This frees them up from putting out fires around the office and getting bogged down by time-consuming maintenances, allowing them to actually work on money-making initiatives. Plus, in the event that your workers do have to reach out to us in order to resolve an issue, you’ve got our promise that the issue will be resolved as quickly and as painlessly as possible so that your valued worker can get back to doing what you hired them to do--making you money.
Now, for organizations without their own in-house IT department, experiencing IT issues can be extra frustrating for your staff because they may be asked to resolve IT issues that they know very little about. This is why it’s so advantageous for businesses to outsource their IT responsibilities. This way, your staff won’t have to handle such tasks as being on the phone with a technology vendor, approving billable time, assigning time to resolving issues, and dealing with IT problems that require specialized knowledge.
Can your company relate to any one or more of these three IT issues keeping workers from being as productive as possible? When it comes to your company’s technology, it should make things easier for you and your staff, not make things more difficult and hold your team back. To that end, call us to take advantage of IT consultation services so that you and your team will always have access to expert advice. We can guide you in implementing a mobile device management strategy for your company so that your staff can use their own devices and get work done more efficiently. And lastly, don’t limit your team with outdated equipment. Instead, talk to us about upgrading your company’s technology so that your team is equipped with the latest and greatest solutions.