3 IT Shortcomings That Drive Employees Crazy, and What You Can Do About Them

For small and medium-sized businesses, technology management can be a tricky situation. You want to ensure that your IT doesn't break your budget, but you also want to make using your technology as easy as possible for your end users. Unfortunately, for many employees, your business’s technology conduct and practices could be driving them insane.

Much of it has to do with efficiency on their part. They see their technology as tools that can help them do their job correctly, but only if the organization makes a deliberate attempt to help them take full advantage of it. Otherwise, a poorly implemented system or unreliable solution is often used by employees as an excuse and can actually hinder productivity. Here are three ways that your employees could be struggling to get the most out of their workday, thanks to lackluster IT management and maintenance practices.

They Don’t Like Slow, Outdated Technology
Businesses need to equip their employees with the hardware and software they require to perform their position’s responsibilities. If your business fails to provide the technology necessary for your employees to do their jobs correctly, you could be cutting into your own profits and return on investment without even knowing it. If your team is struggling to deal with slow and outdated technology, they could be wasting time grappling with their tech instead of being profitable for your business. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t happen by giving them the tools they need. This can reduce your employees’ frustration significantly. On top of that, if you can’t provide what they need to get their jobs done, a more diligent worker might attempt to jury-rig their own solution, which may lead to additional issues when it comes to control and security. This leads us to the next point.

They Want to Use Their Own Devices
Employees using your organization’s workstations might think it redundant to use systems that they know nothing about. If your employees already have their own devices that they’re familiar with, like smartphones and laptops, they will see little need for your company’s technology (especially if their technology is better than yours). In this case, it can be beneficial to implement a BYOD policy based around keeping your data secure, while still allowing your team to be productive by using their personal devices. Utilizing an infrastructure that supports these devices is entirely possible in the modern office; A-players can be given the ability to work from anywhere while you retain control over your data.

They Don’t Like Communicating with Your IT Department
Employees don’t like communicating with a help desk. This could be due to a variety of reasons, though one of the most common issues is that your IT is too busy to handle their request promptly. This is a notable issue for small and medium-sized businesses that have their own in-house IT department. Their IT departments are usually too busy to implement new solutions, or they’re too busy putting out fires to focus on proactive and preventative maintenance and internal initiatives.

For companies who don’t have their own in-house IT department, coping with IT issues when they happen adds a whole separate set of frustrations to the mix. Who sits on the phone with the vendor? Who can approve billable time? How quickly can an emergency get fixed? Who really understands the entire scope of your IT infrastructure?

There are plenty of ways that your business can make it easier for end-users to handle their office technology, all through outsourcing to Preferred. If your business has trouble keeping up with the latest technology trends, we can sit down with you and your team and provide consultation. If your employees want to use their personal devices for work purposes, we can help you enforce policies designed to limit your corporate data’s exposure to threats while being used on employee devices.

Last but not least, Preferred offers a comprehensive help desk service that your team can contact with any and all IT-related issues. Regardless of whether you have an internal IT department, Preferred’s help desk is a valuable investment. If you do have an IT department, they will have more free time to perform other initiatives, since your team’s tech-related questions would be directed at our professional IT technicians.

For more information about any of Preferred’s managed service offerings, reach out to us at 708-781-7110. We would be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have about your IT.