How IT Can Steal Your Staff

We’ve all become reliant on computers and IT, so much that a lot of us can’t perform simple tasks without their help. We go into panic mode when tech stops working properly. This can cause offices or even whole organisations (depending on how big the problem is) to go into standstill. 

What Happens to Staff When You Encounter a Problem?

Although they wouldn’t admit it, a lot of staff would jump at the chance for a bit of relaxation when a computer system goes down. When computers aren’t doing their job, a lot of people can’t or won’t do their job either. Going home early or sitting around chatting are biggies. Productivity decreases. 

However, there will be staff members up for the challenge, who will stick at their work the best they can. There are others who may even use their own (limited) IT knowledge to try and solve the problem alone. Unfortunately, thanks to the complexity of IT systems, when in untrained hands, problems can get much, much worse, no matter how much someone means well.  Prevention is always better than a cure and this is true for your tech.  

Common IT Problems

There are common IT problems that arise in almost every business, so it’s best to be clued up so that if a situation arises, you’re prepared.  

Viruses 

Cyber-crime is now a huge threat to any business, not just the smaller ones. They are the most reported crime in the UK, topping burglary and assault. Cyber criminals are everywhere. Human error is, most often, the way they get themselves in and unfortunately, not much can be done to stop human error, but that’s where training is paramount.  

If a staff member is unsuspecting or untrained in this department, they may end up clicking on a ‘bad link’. Depending on the type of assault, you could lose money, data, security information, and control. Staff training and regular, consistent monitoring can make a huge difference to your business, and in turn, the productivity of your workplace.  

Blue Screen of Death (System Failure) 

The ‘blue screen of death’ is a widely known term that is guaranteed to send people into panic. The problem is a system failure, and trying to fix it yourself without the proper knowledge can not only be frustrating, but dangerous. 

If you don’t know what you’re messing with, don’t touch it is the general rule of thumb.  

Having a calm expert on call ready to sort your IT problems can get you up and running again, quickly and efficiently, and this is a big reason as to why managed IT is beneficial to almost any business.  

Loss of Files 

Everyone understands the frustration of losing a document you have been working on for hours, either by overwriting it or deleting it. 

Unsurprisingly, it’s a very common scenario and so you should have the proper people on board that can help you fix it. 

Not everything is always gone for good (as there’s most likely a backup in a lot of cases), but it takes a professional to find it again. 

Printing Problems 

While the printer goes down, so does the office. It’s surprising how much one machine can take up so much time when it goes down. If there’s a jam, it isn’t connecting or you simply run out of ink, a professional can easily fix this for you. 

This is better than the alternative, of the crowds of people all gathering to try and fix it themselves and spending an hour catching up on the latest gossip.  

Investing in Proper IT Support 

It’s easy to get and set up a new IT system and trust it to work perfectly for you, all the time. Especially when you don’t want to spend the extra money. 

Unfortunately, when you don’t want to invest that little extra into IT support, something WILL go wrong at some point. And if you don’t know what to do about it, you could be in for some major trouble. 

An example is the NHS cyber-attack that happened in May 2017. This massive organisation was caught out by something unexpected, and it cost them thousands. Not just in money, in time as well. 

Therefore, if such massive companies with their own IT staff can get so caught out, what does that mean for small businesses? Taking shortcuts will almost always come back to you in a negative way, but it’s easily avoidable. Getting a reputable IT support company to handle your network can make a huge difference to your organisation. 

How You Will Benefit?

There are many ways in which you would benefit from a support company handling your IT. 

You’ll Cut Costs 

In companies, payroll is always a major expense. Having an IT team on site isn’t always efficient, since they won’t be needed 24/7. When your IT team are sitting around, waiting for an issue to arise, they’re still costing you a lot of money. More than a lot of your other staff members, probably. 

It isn’t just SMEs that have started outsourcing their IT support. A lot of large multi-national corporations have also started saving money this way. 

You’ll Free Up Resources 

Once you decide to move to an outsources IT support team, you’ll realise you have more financial resources to play with. As well as staff resources, too. 

Therefore, more money will be able to be spent on other sectors of your business, such as building new producers, facilities and marketing. These are all core aspects of your business that need a lot of attention. Freeing up the resource for this will not only improve your business, but also the morale of your staff. 

You’ll Focus on Your Business 

As well as having a huge chunk of money being saved. You’ll also save time. This time can be redirected into focussing on the business itself. Managing staff problems is time consuming and can become a huge part of what you do day-to-day. 

When you have an externally managed team acting on your behalf, you’ll feel relieved. A huge weight will be lifted off your shoulders, and you can focus on the more important things. 

Use of Highly Skilled Experts 

Although you and your staff are great at what you’re meant to do, you might not be great with the  gritty IT stuff. Do you know the ins and outs of a multi-core processor? Or how to find data once its vanished into thin air? 

You probably don’t, but that doesn’t matter. People are trained for those exact reasons, so stop worrying about doing everything for yourself. IT experts are their own breed. Not everyone understands the inner details of the cloud. 

The IT world is always evolving, and you need to keep your eye out for that. IT professionals have this in their passion, and are going to stay on top of it all. 

Don’t blame your staff for not knowing how to fix their computer, or for taking a break when something goes wrong. Fix the problem in a fraction of the time, and hire an outsourced IT support team. It’s worth every penny.