Why We’re Happy to Reveal Our IT Secrets

A whole lot of technical training is what separates an average PC user from the IT technician servicing their malfunctioning computer. We know a lot about how technology works, and this knowledge is no guarded secret. In fact, we’re happy to share it with you.

For the most part, our clients don’t ask us too many questions about their technology problems. They seem content with handing off their broken tech and being on their merry way, which is totally fine. From a proficiency standpoint, this hand-it-off-and-fix-it method works great because it allows an employee to quickly get back to the task at hand. Despite this boost in momentary efficiency, it passes on an opportunity; an opportunity for a user to enrich their knowledge about technology by asking questions.

Thinking big picture here, your business would benefit if more of your staff were more knowledgeable about technology issues. The reason your employees need help with technology is because they can’t troubleshoot the problem themselves. Granted, there are several major computer procedures that you don’t want amateurs doing, but with even a small amount of training, your staff will be able to circumvent many common PC problems on their own--like misplacing their email inbox in Microsoft Outlook.

It’s likely that you’ve already implemented this training-outside-your-position concept in your workplace to some degree. It benefits the efficiency of your company if people are trained to cover more departments, and you may have training programs in place to help your team become proficient in different areas of your business. Do these multifaceted training initiatives include tutorials on how to take care of basic computer problems?

As fast as we are at taking care of computer issues, it would be quicker if an educated user properly took care of the issue on their own as soon as the issue was discovered. To achieve this, you can implement a training program that educates users on the basics of PC use. This would be very beneficial, but you need to be mindful that it is time-consuming.

Plus, a canned training program may not be for every worker. Educational programs work by assuming that everyone taking the program is starting off with the same level of knowledge. When it comes to computers, everybody is bringing different backgrounds and different specialties to the table. Therefore, if you require every employee to sit through the same training program on how to troubleshoot computer problems, then you may be wasting the time of the people that have some technical skills under their belts.

One good way to educate your employees about technology is to put them in contact with technology experts. For example, instead of just dropping off a broken PC or passing on a software issue to Preferred, have your team hang back a bit and interact with our techs as we resolve issues. Be sure to encourage them to ask us questions about technology issues. This dialogue is a legitimate training method called knowledge management opportunity.

Hanging back and learning from our techs may take a little bit of extra time from both parties, but you will see a huge payoff by gaining knowledgeable staff. We can show your team how to take care of common IT problems on their own, just in case the issue resurfaces. Additionally, we can share with your people new insights and time-saving shortcuts on how to better use the technology they use every day.

For example, if your employee is showing us the issue, and we notice that they’re taking a long file path in order to locate an important folder, we would suggest, “You know, if you take advantage of the Windows Search feature, you will save yourself a lot of time.” For many applications, users only use a fraction of the available features. We would be happy to share with your staff how to take advantage of these unknown features that will improve workflow.

At Preferred, we’re committed to giving great customer service. We have your company’s best interest in mind. Therefore, we’re not worried about giving away trade secrets so that you have to keep coming to us to fix every little issue. We’ll gladly go the extra mile to walk a worker through a problem so they can resolve the issue on their own. This will save everybody time in the event of the issue ever cropping up again.

Sure, we could just fix your PC and be done with it, but we’re more than your typical computer repair shop. For IT support, as well as a deeper level of consulting, give Preferred a call at 708-781-7110, and don’t hesitate to ask us questions.