Technology, in particular well managed IT support & services, has a huge and lasting impact on workplace positivity. In fact, US workers who are given outdated technology at work feel less productive, are 750% more likely to be frustrated, and are 450% more likely to consider quitting. So if businesses want to keep their employees happy, motivated, and productive, they need to provide the right technology.
Business owners know how important it is to keep employees happy. Happy employees are more productive, have fewer sick days, and stay in their jobs longer. Not only that, happy employees easily translate to happy customers. “The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers,” adds Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. A pharmaceutical company’s study even revealed that a customer’s loyalty increased when employees were happy and engaged.
As a business manager, you can make your employees happy by:
#1. Providing them with the right tools needed for success
You can’t expect your team to work efficiently if they spend a huge chunk of their day staring at a frozen computer. Business IT support & services have become so vital in the workplace that tech issues or outdated tech usually mean employees cannot perform their jobs. Unfortunately, more than half of employees surveyed across 20 countries report that they do not have the tech needed to be successful at work. This has led to decreased worker satisfaction since they feel that the company wasn’t investing in their professional success.
Your team needs access to modern and well-functioning tech to better serve your customers. For example, a customer relationship management (CRM) system allows easy customer data collection and segmentation, so your sales team can personalize their interactions with your clients. Live chat tools also enable your customer support team to interact with your customers in real time. Some even have features like screen share, video chat, and file sharing to improve turnaround time in resolving client issues.
#2. Enabling better collaboration
A collaborative workplace cultivates a sense of community within the company. What’s more, a study shows that companies that promote collaborative working are five times more likely to be high-performing than those that do not.
IT collaboration tools such as Google Docs empower employees to effortlessly share up-to-date files, work on the same ones together at the same time, and give and receive feedback in real time. Since many of these tools can be accessed over the internet, collaboration is even possible with teammates who are working remotely.
#3. Ensuring workload balance
If you dump too much work on just a few people and force them to work overtime, they may experience burnout. Project management tools like Asana and Basecamp allow you to assign tasks to other members, add teammates to tasks, and monitor deadlines. This enables you to properly distribute work, so everyone in the team stays productive and motivated but not overworked.
IT departments, in particular, are commonly overloaded and struggle to keep up with the increasing complexity of enterprise IT. For these, outsourcing IT help desk services to a managed IT services provider (MSP) like Frontline is a great option. Partnering with an MSP ensures better IT support & services for your company while freeing up your internal IT staff, so they can focus on more strategic or revenue-producing activities. Your tech staff will definitely be grateful for the extra help.
#4. Allowing more work flexibility
Flexible and virtual work is now a big thing. In fact, 3.9 million American workers said they telecommuted at least half of the time in 2015, which is a 115% increase from the 1.8 million US employees who said the same in 2005.
Workers now want to be able to do their job anywhere, even while on the move. Most employees feel that a flexible working arrangement makes them more productive. Not only that, a survey shows that 82% of workers who telecommute are less stressed, 80% have higher morale, and 69% missed fewer days of work.
Investing in cloud-based technologies such as Dropbox and Google Drive allows employees to easily access their files wherever they are, so they can stay on top of their work. Companies that provide these agile, modern tech solutions can reap the benefits of a happier, more motivated, and more productive workforce.
Learn how our Frontline’s IT Support & Services means happier employees
With Frontline as your partner, your employees will have great IT support & services to keep them happy. Call us today!