Every business owner wants to achieve continued success for their business. Several processes and tasks need to be taken care of in creating and maintaining a successful business. Most owners cannot handle these because there is too much to do and not enough time. For this reason, many business owners rely on the services of IT managed service providers, or MSPs.
If you’re a regular reader of our blogs, you’ll remember that we have covered some of the most valuable services MSPs can provide for your business. Here is a quick look back at those services and how they can boost your overall business performance.
Quarterly Business Reviews
Quarterly business reviews, or QBRs, give a thorough and accurate assessment of your business performance over the last three months. While you can conduct your QBR, it is much better to relegate the job to an MSP, who will give a completely unbiased review of your business. The QBR lets you know the areas where your business needs improvement and which ones are doing well.
Technology Business Consulting
If you find it hard to understand IT processes at work or are clueless when solving IT-related problems, join the club! Most business owners are not IT experts, but the technology business consulting services offered by MSPs can be very helpful in giving you at least a solid understanding of the basic concepts and functions needed to run your business.
Business Performance Technology Hardware Programs
Like the previous service, technology hardware programs are helpful for non-techy business owners. You no longer need to confuse yourself by figuring out which hardware to use. Your MSP will recommend and help you choose the best equipment that meets your needs.
Vendor Management
If you work with suppliers of products or services regularly, vendor management services can be very beneficial. Efficient vendor management will lead to a better professional relationship with your vendors and reduce overall expenses by speeding up the onboarding process and guaranteeing that they complete all deliveries on time improving business performance.
Operating Environment
Smooth and organized operations are crucial to the success of a business, both on a day-to-day basis and in the long term. With an MSP ensuring that your operating environment is seamless, you can enjoy benefits like full coordination between multiple locations, adequate bandwidth for all business processes, and being updated with current technology trends.
Business Phone System
When your MSP sets up your modern business phone system, you can enjoy benefits like integrating several phone functions, cost efficiency, and scalability. The phone systems that are available today also have built-in functions to protect privacy, increase data security, and broaden access for your clients and business partners.
Cloud Computing
We have repeatedly stated how the cloud network has proven to be instrumental in the growth of many businesses, and we will repeat it here. For a very reasonable monthly fee, the cloud gives you access to advanced business tools that you would otherwise have to spend hundreds of dollars on. It also gives you unlimited storage space for all your business data and programs, which makes it easier for you to grow. Cloud computing also increases the productivity of your employees and minimizes system downtimes that disrupt business operations.
Security
Network and data security are crucial to businesses performance now more than ever when online threats are so rampant. One slip and you might inadvertently expose your business to serious security risks. On your own, all you can do is install an antivirus program and implement basic security precautions. But with the help of an MSP, you can safeguard your business in its entirety, and your network and data are secure.
Business Budgeting and Planning
It might seem unnecessary to use IT resources for something as basic as budgeting, but these days, even this fundamental business procedure has become quite complicated. With the prevalence of hidden costs almost everywhere you look, you will need to monitor your business spending to ensure that you don’t spend more than you should. Our hidden costs calculator can help reveal these unnecessary expenses so you will avoid them in the future.
Final Thoughts
When you look at these tasks individually, you will probably be able to accomplish them well on your own. However, you can’t just pick one or two of these processes. You’ll have to do every single one of them. How can you do that yet still have time to run your business?
We can provide all these business services and so much more. If you want to learn more, call us to discuss in greater detail just how we can help boost the performance of your business.ok in a post-Covid world. Many workers and businesses don’t see a complete return to office working anytime soon, therefore introducing a hybrid workforce.
Recent surveys tell us that over 50% of workers in the U.S. favor a mix of office and home working. Other surveys predict the numbers of remote workers will double before they begin to drop. Pre-pandemic, less than 20% of employees worked at home. Whatever the final number happens to be, businesses need to be flexible to the constant changes.
Present Arrangements
Currently, businesses are dealing with these changes in different ways. Some companies have set dates for their employees to work remotely until the summer of 2021. Others have started to bring back people into the workplace on varied schedules.
And some are letting the individual employee decide where to work. Everyone is trying to figure out the best possible life/work arrangement.
Longer-term Expectations
Companies across the globe are beginning to consider what things will look like in the long term. They’re looking at how to structure work hours, office communication, and physical presence. What many businesses are considering is a hybrid working model that combines office working with remote working.
What would Hybrid Workforce look like?
When we use the term ‘hybrid’, it sounds like we’re giving employees more freedom. With hybrid working, employees often decide where they work and when they work. This means employees have more autonomy to decide how their work fits in with other things in their lives. In an ideal world, hybrid working provides sociability and structure alongside flexibility and independence.
One common approach is to decide on specific days for working ‘at the office’. On such days, there are meetings and discussions. And on ‘remote’ days individuals can focus on their own specific tasks.
With hybrid working becoming more common, companies will likely reduce the amount of office space they rent. They simply won’t need to accommodate so many office workers at any one time. Plus, downsizing office space is a great way to trim the budget.
What is the Optimal Amount of time in an Office?
Current studies show that two days of remote working is the optimal time for balancing quiet work with collaborative work. This will also allow employees to benefit from commuting less. Of course, you need to decide what works best for your business.
What does Hybrid Working need to be successful?
Companies need to aim for equalization between workers. In an ideal world, all employees would attend the office during the same hours. However, this will make social distancing difficult.
It is also important to instill an ethos of transparent communication. This means that all communication is shared with everyone equally as needed to avoid unnecessary conflict. Every employee, no matter where they are working, needs to be on the same page.
How to make a Hybrid Workforce work.
Arguably the best legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic is the improved focus on employee wellbeing and health. This is paramount to success. Prioritizing a safe working environment and healthy work practice is going to mean businesses retain workers while improving efficiency.
Without the necessary technology, support, and resources, a hybrid team simply won’t work. The team needs to be equipped with the devices and technology they need to do their job while working remotely. Businesses need to consider video conferencing software, how to share documents and files, Wi-Fi connections, and messaging apps, just to keep track of everyone.
It’s clear to see that remote working is going to play a big part in many businesses in the coming years and the future beyond. Companies should start planning for a hybrid workforce. Proper planning will make it work well for you and your employees.
If you have any questions about setting up remote workers, or if you need to restructure your office network, contact us. We can make sure you’re set up for any workforce structure you need.