support

If you were to ask your IT staff about how tech support for remote employees is going, they might say something along the lines of, “Fantastic! Never better!” However, if you asked remote workers the same question, their response could be far less enthusiastic.

This was among the findings of a report by IT solutions provider 1E entitled “2021: Assessing IT’s readiness for the year of flexible working,” which surveyed 150 IT workers and 150 IT managers in large U.S. organizations. The report strikingly found that, while 100% of IT managers said they believed their internal clients were satisfied with tech support, only 44% of remote employees agreed.

Bottom line impact

By now, over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become common practice. Some businesses may begin reopening their offices and facilities as employees get vaccinated and, one hopes, virus metrics fall to manageable levels. However, that doesn’t mean everyone will be heading back to a communal working environment.

Flexible work arrangements, which include the option to telecommute, are expected to remain a valued employment feature. Remote work is also generally less expensive for employers, so many will likely continue offering or mandating it after the pandemic fades.

For business owners, this means that providing optimal IT support to remote employees will remain a mission-critical task. Failing to do so will likely hinder productivity, lower morale, and may lead to reduced employee retention and longer times to hire — all costly detriments to the bottom line.

Commonsense tips

So, how can you ensure your remote employees are well-supported? Here are some commonsense tips:

Ask them about their experiences. In many cases, business owners are simply unaware of the troubles and frustrations of remote workers when it comes to technology. Develop a relatively short, concisely worded survey and gather their input.

Invest in ongoing training for support staff. If you have IT staffers who, for years, provided mostly in-person desktop support to on-site employees, they might not serve remote workers as effectively. Having them take one or more training courses may trigger some “ah ha!” moments that improve their interactions and response times.

Review and, if necessary, upgrade systems and software. Your IT support may be falling short because it’s not fully equipped to deal with so many remote employees — a common problem during the pandemic. Assess whether:

Your VPN system and licensing suit your needs,
Additional or better cloud solutions could help, and
Your remote access software is helping or hampering support.

Ensure employees know how to work safely. Naturally, the remote workers themselves play a role in the stability and security of their devices and network connections. Require employees to undergo basic IT training and demonstrate understanding and compliance with your security and usage policies.

Your technological future

The pandemic has been not only a tragic crisis, but also a marked accelerator of the business trend toward remote work. We can help you evaluate your technology costs, measure productivity and determine whether upgrades are likely to be cost-effective.

“I could sell water to a whale.”

Indeed, most salespeople possess an abundance of confidence. One could say it’s a prerequisite for the job. Because of their remarkable self-assurance, sales staffers might appear to be largely autonomous. Hand them something to sell, tell them a bit about it and let them do their thing — right?

Not necessarily. The sales department needs support just like any other part of a company. And we’re not just talking about office supplies and working phone lines. Here are five ways that your business can give its sales staff the support they really need:

1. Show them the data. Virtually every aspect of business is driven by analytics these days, but sales has been all about the data for decades. To keep up with the competition, provide your sales team with the most cutting-edge metrics. The right ones vary depending on your industry and customer base, but consider analytics such as lead conversion rate and quote-to-close.

2. Invest in sales training and upskilling. If you don’t train salespeople properly, they’ll face an uphill climb to success and may not stick around to get there with you. (This is often partly why sales staffs tend to have high turnover.) Once a salesperson is trained, offer continuing education — now commonly referred to as “upskilling” — to continue to enhance his or her talents.

3. Effectively evaluate employee performance. For sales staff, annual job reviews can boil down to a numbers game whereby it was either a good year or a bad one. Make sure your performance evaluations for salespeople are as comprehensive and productive as they are for any other type of employee. Sales goals should obviously play a role, but look for other professional development objectives as well.

4. Promote positivity, ethics and high morale. Sales is often a frustrating grind. It’s not uncommon for sales staff members to fall prey to negativity. This can manifest itself in various ways: bad interactions with customers, plummeting morale and, in worst cases, even unethical or fraudulent activities. Urge your supervisors to interact regularly with salespeople to combat pessimism and find ways to keep spirits high.

5. Regularly re-evaluate your compensation model. Finding the right way to compensate sales staff has challenged, if not perplexed, companies for years. Some businesses opt for commission only, others provide a salary plus commission. There are additional options as well, such as profit margin plans that compensate salespeople based on how well the company is doing.

If your compensation model is working well, you may not want to rock the boat. But re-evaluate its efficacy at least annually and don’t hesitate to explore other approaches. Our firm can help you analyze the numbers related to compensation as well as the metrics you’re using to track and assess sales. Call or email us! 205-345-9898 or info@covenantcpa.com.

Tag Archives: support

Providing optimal IT support for remote employees

5 ways to give your sales staff the support they really need