Allowing staff to grouse about technology is terrible for business. Fish smells from the head down and excessive employee technology complaints and grumbling are a growing cancer of poor morale and awful customer experiences. Most business owners and managers are in agreement that they want limited “drama” in the workplace. If there is a “perception” of technology woes from staff, leadership is ultimately responsible and should take steps to eliminate:

1. Analyze the problems. If you don’t have case management to analyze the support requests, you should make a list by person and then follow-up with questions. One managed services customer recently had a staff member lead an hour-long gripe session at an employee meeting about all the technology problems they had. Management reviewed our case report and found the staffer had only one support case requested all year. When confronted with this information, the staffer admitted nothing was broken and that they were overwhelmed with the workload and new software.
2. Increase communication. Some simple status announcements outlining what to realistically expect and any personal responsibilities during a project goes a long way toward lowering anxiety. A monthly or quarterly update of technology uptime and outcomes to improve business also help morale.
3. Inspect regularly. You should have a system plan, a technology forecast, and a project list. The system plan gives at-a-glance view of the current environment. The technology forecast outlines the timing and budget required for growth and upgrades. The project list provides duration and achievement of goals. Frequent review of additional health and case reports, let you identify: training needs, obsolete product replacement, faulty applications, or inadequate processes.
4. Implement continued education. A main problem for customers is a lack of regular training on new business approaches and technology. We recommend customers have their staff follow our blog and attend webinars and events when possible. These weekly updates provide informational updates for greater understanding and improved productivity.
5. Change culture. Any successful business depends upon well documented processes and high standards of personal accountability. Just like our knowledgebase, all businesses should be producing content to make employees more efficient. Not knowing how to deal with technology is not a reason to complain.

We should all stay curious and push ourselves toward self-improvement. It keeps us employed and generally makes the world a better place.

If streamlining technology is a philosophy you want to embrace, contact us for a discussion about your business needs.

Published by Kevin Fream

Many people don't understand their current situation and become frustrated in business and life, so I created the Delta Method and wrote the #1 Best-Seller "Change Your Game" - as featured at Harvard and NASDAQ as well as national TV news. Streamline your technology for competitive advantage using vetted IT support and take a divergent approach to personal growth. View all posts by Kevin Fream