Break the Habit: 4 IT Codes That Can Hurt Your Business

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Digital Transformation Strategy (145-slide PowerPoint presentation). Digital Transformation is being embraced by organizations across most industries, as the role of technology shifts from being a business enabler to a business driver. This has only been accelerated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Thus, to remain competitive and outcompete in today's fast paced, [read more]

* * * *

Whether you’re a startup or a seasoned business, your IT team is as close to the heart of your everyday functionality as it gets. Making sure your IT team is on the up-and-up is always good for business. An IT person faces many challenges each day to maintain the business and help it establish itself with its regular clients, new clients and allow flexibility to the company’s employees inside and outside the office.

Some of the top issues an IT department should avoid is ignoring small issues, not keeping up with changes, not improving the company’s data back up systems and failing to keep good communication lines among administration and staff.

Ignoring Small Issues

Whether your IT department is working on a big project or tackling everyday maintenance issues for your business, if your IT team isn’t paying attention and addressing the small issues, it could turn into bigger problems for them and your business. With so many day-to-day issues flooding the IT department, it’s easy to see some items getting overlooked. But that’s only if you have a loose check system. Every IT department needs some sort of management methodology. By following certain steps every time, your IT team and the rest of your staff can work in unison to avoid having small issues grow into larger ones.

One method of keeping track of all small issues is implementing a job ticket system. Instead of your employees popping into the IT department office to ask for a “quick fix” on their computer or mobile device, have a system where anyone needing IT support emails a request. If needed, install software, like Virtual Ticket, that provides your IT team and other staff with electronic forms for paperless workflow and organized files. By being able to track, time stamp and put all these small issues on a list of priorities, the IT team can organize daily issues and take them on in a more orderly fashion.

Not Keeping up with Changes

If there is one person on your staff that should know about trends and important changes going on in the economic and tech world of today, it’s your IT director. Businesses can lose out on cost-saving ideas upgrading possibilities if your IT team isn’t on the up-and-up in business technology and maintenance. Failure to do so could actually allow technology advances to pull you behind your competition.

Paying attention to and keeping a listed track of equipment lifespan in the office is one way of staying on top of things, at least within your business’ walls. When it is time to replace equipment, it is a good idea to spend a little more for something more efficient and upgraded. That cost can be paid back in time through the new equipment’s energy savings over its lifespan.

Not Backing up Data Correctly

Dealing with day-to-day issues and keeping up with trends is one thing, but storing and protecting your business’ electronic data is a whole new side of serious business. It can take one fire, one bad virus or a careless employee leaking sensitive data to cripple your business. Small businesses cannot afford such tragedies without a good back up system.

Nowadays, businesses are “going to the cloud.” And for good reason. Transferring your sensitive data to an online storage system like Mozy can provide safeguards from those aforementioned incidents, but also file-syncing and mobile access outside of headquarters—flexible access to you and your staff’s work.

It is important for your IT team to establish a set of BYOD regulations for using mobile devices for work as that intellectual property must be secured and maintained in the best interest of the business and that your employees know the proper use of storing sensitive data to the business’ cloud.

Communication Breakdown

It’s easy for IT to operate within their own world and forget the importance of keeping administration and staff up to date on certain changes and maintenance issues. Your IT team is much like your marketing team. They are there to cater to an audience, that being both your clients and the rest of your employees. When a breakdown occurs or deadlines on projects loom, it is important for your IT team to keep the communications line open and well-oiled. IT can talk over anyone when it comes to tech issues, thus, it is important to practice patience with others, and explain issues in a simple matter so everyone can understand the details, absorb the information and carry on what needs to be done properly.

Communication is key to making each of the other issues mentioned earlier to not become issues, thus communication could be the most important key to a successful IT team. An open dialogue creates fluidity throughout the entire business.

Do You Want to Implement Business Best Practices?

You can download in-depth presentations on 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.

For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:

• Top 100 in Strategy & Transformation
• Top 100 in Digital Transformation
• Top 100 in Operational Excellence
• Top 100 in Organization & Change
• Top 100 Management Consulting Frameworks

These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.