8 Tips to Prepare your Business for a Recession

8 Tips to Prepare your Business for a Recession

Don't lose your shirt during a recession -- read on for helpful tips and tricks to keep your business thriving!

 

Recessions can be challenging times for businesses of all sizes. Due to recent events, many businesses are fearful of what lies ahead economically. Thankfully, there is wisdom abound from the financial crisis of 2008, and a plethora of strategies to help you prepare your business for a recession so that you can maintain growth!

 

Diversify Your Offerings

During a recession, customers may be more cautious with their spending. As a result, businesses that rely on a single product or service may struggle to generate enough revenue.

That's why diversifying your offerings and opening new streams of revenue is a great way to get ahead. By expanding your product or service offerings, you can appeal to a wider range of customers and reduce your reliance on any single product or service.

To do this, consider areas of value your business has the capabilities of providing that you aren’t currently making any revenue off of, or additional products that you can invest in creating that may provide a great profit for you.

For example, a restaurant might consider offering catering services or selling branded merchandise. Alternatively, you could expand your menu to include more options, such as vegetarian or gluten-free dishes.

If, like us, you’re a tech company, this concept can still apply to you! Perhaps you have an abundance of expertise in your field that you can use to create and sell courses through sites like Udemy.

You might also consider challenging your expertise and adding more value to existing clients. For example, if you are a software provider with content writing talent, you can potentially use that to create a content writing service for existing clients.

 

Focus on Customer Service

During a recession, customers may be more selective about where they spend their money. That's why it's essential to focus on providing exceptional customer service. Providing consistent, quality customer service will help you build customer loyalty while also attracting new customers through word of mouth.

To do this, consider the areas that may affect the quality of service your staff provides. If there is opportunity to boost your teams’ internal engagement and morale, be sure to tune into that. Creating a healthy and engaged working environment sets the stage for your teams servicing to improve.

It’s also wise to consider investing in additional training for your staff. Ensure that your employees understand your business's values and are equipped to handle customer inquiries and complaints. You may also want to consider offering incentives to customers who refer new business to you.

 

Invest in Marketing

History has taught us that businesses who lean into advertising and marketing during recessions tend to perform better. It can be tempting to cut back on marketing expenses to save money. However, investing in marketing can actually help your business grow during tough economic times.

For one, increasing your marketing efforts in general allows you to reach new customers and increase brand awareness. However, and most importantly, marketing during a recession means there will be less competition.

Many businesses will try to get ahead by giving into cost-cutting temptation or will sadly not have the means to advertise, giving a small amount of other businesses more opportunity to shine. That being said, you want to be sure you budget your advertising and marketing efforts appropriately.

To make the most of your marketing budget, consider investing in online advertising, social media marketing, and email marketing campaigns. These forms of marketing can be highly effective and cost-efficient.

Leaning into free marketing tactics can also make a large impact on lead generation. For this we recommend rolling up your sleeves and putting in the effort to boost your SEO and social presence as much as possible.

Another great and cost-effective strategy is collaboration. Consider partnering with other businesses or organizations to co-promote each other's products or services.

 

Improve Operational Efficiency

This part probably goes without saying but it's essential to focus on improving operational efficiency to reduce costs and increase profitability. To better help you prepare your business for recession, look for ways to streamline processes and eliminate waste.

You may also consider outsourcing certain tasks to reduce overhead costs, but we’ll discuss that more later.

To improve operational efficiency, consider using technology to automate manual tasks. For example, you could use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage customer interactions, or a project management tool to streamline your team's workflow.

If this sounds a bit overwhelming, you can also look into freelancing or booking a consultant to help you identify inefficiencies and implement solutions.

 

Keep an Eye on Cash Flow

Cash flow is critical during a recession. Make sure that you are closely monitoring your cash flow and again, taking steps to reduce expenses where possible.

If possible, try negotiating with suppliers for discounts or better payment terms, and be on the lookout for opportunities to reduce inventory levels.

To manage your cash flow effectively, consider creating a cash flow forecast. This will help you anticipate your cash needs and plan accordingly.

You may also want to think about working with a financial advisor to help you develop a cash flow management strategy.

 

Partnerships and Collaborations

As the economy slows, it may prove challenging to fund new projects or initiatives. However, by forming partnerships and collaborations with other businesses, you can pool resources and achieve common goals.

To form partnerships and collaborate with other businesses, start by identifying businesses that share your values and target market. Reach out to these businesses and propose a mutually beneficial partnership or collaboration.

Using social media platforms or attending industry events are also great ways to network with other business owners and find potential partners.

 

Outsource Non-Core Functions

During a recession, it may be difficult to justify hiring new employees to handle non-core functions. That's where outsourcing can be a valuable tool. By outsourcing non-core functions, you can reduce overhead costs and free up resources to focus on your core business.

To determine which functions to outsource, start by identifying the tasks that are not critical to your business's success. This may include tasks such as accounting, human resources, or IT support. Then, research outsourcing providers and compare their costs and services to find the best provider that fits your budget.

Keep in mind that when outsourcing, it's critical to choose a provider that aligns with your business's values and goals. Look for a provider with a proven track record of success and good customer reviews.

It's also essential to establish clear expectations and communication channels to ensure that the outsourcing relationship is successful.

 

Outsourcing for Information Systems

Diving a little deeper here into our area of expertise, outsourcing some or all of your IT services can greatly benefit your business during a recession and in general.

Read our full article on that here. But to keep it short and sweet, outsourcing your information systems can help you reduce costs, improve efficiency, and access specialized expertise.

To outsource your information systems, start by identifying the specific functions of IT that you want to outsource. This may include software development, data management, cybersecurity, or Helpdesk support. Then research outsourcing providers that specialize in these areas.

Like all outsourcing goes, you want to be sure to choose a provider with experience in your industry and a proven track record of success. Look for a provider that offers a range of services and can provide customized solutions to meet your business's specific needs.

 

Final Notes

As unpleasant as economic crisis are, there are so many creative strategies and opportunities to help your business thrive. By expanding your offerings, boosting your marketing, collaborating with other businesses, outsourcing, or doing combination of these things – you can prepare your business for a recession and whatever else life throws at you!

If you’d like to learn more about IT outsourcing, let us help walk you through the process to give you a better idea of what it looks like and how much you can save!

6 Benefits of Working with a Managed Service Provider

6 Benefits of Working with a Managed Service Provider 

(For small or one-person IT teams) 

 

There is nothing wrong with having a small IT team. When your company is starting out and the caseloads are simple, that small-scale department works well! Benefits of working with a managed service provider.

However, as your company grows, and your IT needs begin to stack up – you might find that working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) could be a match made in heaven (compared to traditional in-house additions). 

We understand that outsourcing may feel like a big step, so we want to speak to that and shed some light on all the ways that teaming up with an MSP can help you and your team succeed in all things IT!

 

Save Money

You may be surprised to find out that outsourcing usually saves companies money or provides more value for a lower cost. This is primarily because when you outsource, you no longer pay for the expenses associated with hiring a new team member, or members for that matter.

Most Managed service providers offer tiered (silver, gold, platinum) packages that allow you to set a budget that works for you while giving you a larger breadth of talent and support. 

Managed Service Providers can go beyond managed services to save you and your team money. From procurement to security, there are plenty of cost-saving services and software’s that come with the right outsourcing partner.  

Many MSPs (Managed service providers) have procurement experts that can provide you with more affordable and robust licensing opportunities. Furthermore, the right MSP should also be able to help you bolster security measures to ensure that your data and networks are secured.  

The latter being especially important for cost-savings, as Cybersecurity prevention is now estimated to save businesses up to $1.4 million per incident. 

Learn more about the financial benefits of MSPs in our recent article, where we discuss how outsourcing IT can help with cost-savings and potentially boost revenue.

 

Scale Support 

With an MSP you can scale your reach as needed. For example, at Managed Solution, cases are escalated up the ladder until resolved.  

blog post image for managed solutions blog on the 6 benefits of working with a managed service provider.

Meaning that if you get a case that you would like to assign to our team, we will align it with expertise according to its priority level and it will escalate up from there until resolved. 

Another great benefit of working with an MSP, like Managed Solution, is if the MSP you work with is a Microsoft partner – you also get t Microsoft Premier Support as a final escalation for the especially challenging cases that revolve around Microsoft services/ software. 

Furthermore, as your company’s IT needs grow, you will have the support you need to increase your overall service level in real-time. 

Your MSP will monitor your needs and offer guidance on what services should be scaled up or down. Helping to optimize user-satisfaction and cost-effectiveness, simultaneously.

 

Security 

By 2025 humanity’s data will reach 175 zettabytes. We’ll take a quick pause for you to look up zettabytes. There are about 21 zeroes following that 175.  

There is a TON of data available now, and as that pool grows, so too do its attackers. Last year alone global cyberattacks increased by 38%. 

Now more than ever security should be brought to the forefront of business conversations. When considering working with an MSP make sure they are security focused and can offer the abundance of tools and services you can leverage to ensure that your data is protected.  

Another one of the great benefits of working with a Managed Service Provider? Many MSPs offer the markets’ best and most current cybersecurity products and services. These include company-wide training, email two-step factor authentication, and network monitoring.  

Some can also provide software that leverages artificial intelligence to help you detect potential viruses and attacks. Another vital aspect of security is having a solid plan for data backup and disaster recovery, which, you guessed it, MSPs can provide. 

With disaster recovery comes the benefit of minimized downtime which can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. An equipped and adept managed service provider can prove to be a vital resource for those worse case scenarios.  

But of course, with the amplified support and governance of your system and technology, the chances of disaster streaking are greatly decreased.  

 

Onboarding and Remote Work 

With an MSP, your onboarding process becomes streamlined. You can work with your MSP to acquire, track, and manage technology for new hires as well as employees throughout your company. 

This is all done through a suite of Microsoft technologies including Active Directory, Intune and Autopilot. As a Microsoft partner, we recommend one of the best active directory software on the market, Azure.  

Azure active directory allows companies to manage applications, authentications, devices, domains, maintain governance, identity protection and so much more!  

Beyond Active Directory, if you need support in multiple cities/states, you will need to find a national or international MSP depending on your locations. This way you can ensure that you’re being supported in the correct time zone so that cases are promptly worked to completion. 

 

New Technology 

With technology evolving quickly and constantly, staying up to date on all-things tech can prove to be extremely costly.  

It isn’t always financially viable to invest in single-use technology. However, with an MSP, you can access the latest tech without having to make huge financial investments.  

This is because many MSPs offer procurement services that allow you to harness the latest technology at an affordable price. 

The right MSP should provide you with expertise and guidance as to which technology licenses and opportunities best fit your current and ever-changing needs. 

 

Focus on Tasks You Love 

When you outsource IT you get to be in control of what kind of work you do in your day to day, and how much you do in your day to day. 

You’re more in control than ever when you outsource. When you delegate tasks and projects, you free yourself up to focus on areas that you enjoy more or that matter most to you! 

In our recent case study with Red Door Interactive, Dennis Gonzalez, their sole, lead IT servicer claims that he is now able to spend less time focusing on low-level helpdesk tasks. Saving him both time and stress. 

Now Dennis is able to focus more on overseeing important projects and maintenance of cybersecurity, while also leveraging a large team in support and services. 

If you are considering outsourcing some or all of your IT, but do not know where to start, reach out to us! We are happy to help give you an idea of what an MSP partnership can look like for you.

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Viva Connections: Building a More Engaged Work Environment

Viva Connections: Building a More Engaged Work Environment

Microsoft’s Viva Connections is one of four facets of the Microsoft Viva Suite along with Viva Insights, Viva Learnings, and Viva Topics. Viva connections, specifically, is an application that drills into the employee experience to enable connection and engagement like never before.

With remote and hybrid work settings becoming the norm, connecting your team and preventing isolation is more important than ever. Read on to learn more about how this powerful tool works and how you can implement it to better your organizations culture.

The Objective

Viva connections’ goal is oriented around (drum roll please) …keeping people connected! It does this by offering users a a personalized view of news, conversations and groups with the same applications and devices they already utilize in their day to day, giving your employees have everything they need to stay engaged.

This application also focuses on enabling team members to contribute their ideas easily and freely, to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Not only are you sure to gather key insights from your team, but you can drill deeper into them with polls and surveys.

These features and capabilities are imperative tools that allow you to create a culture where everyone feels their voice is heard and build trust in a fun and easy way!

Furthermore, Viva Connections lets you curate your dashboards to provide fast and easy access to company resources, such as events, holidays, even health and wellness reminders! With Microsoft Viva Connections, you can have all the benefits of a remote workspace, while still maintaining that ‘togetherness’ feeling of an in-office setting.

Primary Benefits

What Makes Connections Different?

Viva Connections amalgamates content from Microsoft 365 services like SharePoint, Teams, Yammer and more—into a fully-integrated and personalized, singular view for every employee. You can even integrate Viva Connections with other services such as stocks, weather forecasts, and vacation/ holiday schedules to boost engagement beyond Microsoft 365 content.

What ultimately sets Viva Connections apart from other engagement platforms is how customizable and scalable the service is. With Viva Connections, you can build your apps for specific objectives (as needed) and continue to personalize content to improve users’ overall experience as your company grows!

What all is Included?

Viva Connections combines the power of your SharePoint intranet with Microsoft Teams, Yammer, Stream, and other Microsoft 365 applications to allow companies to create and display more intentional content for their employees. These functionalities are delivered through three primary aspects of the application: Dashboard, Feed, and Resources.

Dashboard

As we mentioned, the Viva Connections Dashboard lets you to create a customized experience with Dashboard cards that give your employee's access to the most useful content, tools, and task lists for them. It is essentially a digital toolbelt for your team that allows you to pick the best resources for your current needs -- and change them out as you grow and evolve.

Feed

The Feed on Viva Connections allows users to connect from a tailored view and explore important announcements and relevant information -- and join in on conversations throughout the organization. You can optimize your Feed by delivering SharePoint and Yammer communities together.

Resources

Resources are the navigational links that are set up and customized in the SharePoint app bar from the home site. These resources will get displayed on both the desktop and mobile instances of Viva Connections.

In the mobile app, users can view resources by selecting the Resources tab. This type of functioning provides users with a familiar navigation structure and allows them to open sites, pages, news, and more—right from their mobile devices.

How to Increase Engagement with Viva Connections

It’s no secret that better engagement leads to higher creativity and productivity. However, a huge challenge for businesses in the remote era we find ourselves in, is developing a culture where that kind of engagement flourishes.

What we (and obviously, Microsoft), have found, is that by connecting and unifying your employee’s, you can build that spectacular culture and enthusiasm in your workplace. Viva Connections allows you to do just that in following ways:

  1. Personalize

Delivering a modern, custom experience by pushing relevant content, information, and resources to your users in one place, enables a more purposeful way for your team to engage.

  1. Simplify

Personalizing your engagement platform not only makes the experience more tailored to your team members, but it also makes it easier for them. By customizing the dashboard to your preferred settings for navigation, appearance, and etcetera… you can simplify and therefore streamline communication throughout the application.

  1. Target

Keep your eyes on the prize, so-to-speak. If your goal is to build connection and unity within your company, then you need to get involved with resources that are built to specifically target that.

Ultimately, finding an application or tool that fits your teams’ specific needs for improved connection can be a major step to reaching your engagement goals.

How to Implement

Viva Connections integrates seamlessly into with Microsoft Teams where users will be able to access it. Your organization can easily deploy Viva Connections by building onto existing capabilities in Microsoft 365. Click here and let us help you and your team adopt viva connections today!

Outsourced IT: Maintaining Growth During Economic Downturn

outsourced IT during an economic downturn blog feature image depicting happy call center workers.

Outsourced IT: Maintaining Growth During Economic Downturn

Since the pandemic began in 2020, businesses have faced one financial strain after another. The economic state we’ve found ourselves today has certainly raised concerns. Although we are not currently in a recession -- most experts agree that we may be heading for one in the following year.

That being said, no one can really predict the future – especially not when it comes to economics. However, we can prepare for it. Regardless of what is thrown your way, rest assured that there are tools and resources that can help you can tighten the financial belt while also increasing revenue.

One key area of opportunity is in your very own IT infrastructure! In fact, there are many ways that you can leverage and optimize IT assets for growth, even during economic downturns.

Reduce Costs

Reducing costs are important for an onslaught of obvious reasons, but you may be surprised to find just how much an outsourced IT infrastructure fit can help your company’s cost-reduction.

Having fully staffed senior expertise in-house can be expensive. By outsourcing, you can provide your team and clients with the support of knowledgeable IT professionals at an affordable price. You can even find a plan that is customized to your business’s specific needs – learn more here!

Leveraging a quality MSP is not only a wise-investment in-and-of itself, but the money you save by making this calculated switch is then free to be invested further into revenue-building initiatives. More on than below.

Maintain and Increase Revenue

As we mentioned, saving money by utilizing external IT will allow you to re-invest that money into your revenue operations. But furthermore, by putting necessary but mundane tasks into the hands of outsourced IT support, you and your team are free to build upon key strategic ideas to bring in even more (you guessed it) revenue.

This makes outsourced IT a wise investment of both time and money, and only enables your company more access to resources that will allow it to thrive in any climate. Not to mention, you’ll be advancing your customer service during a time-period where nurturing long-term business relations is especially crucial.

With a quality MSP, you’ll still be able to meet your IT needs and while also satisfying the needs of your customers. Quality IT technicians with excellent customer support are a critical part of maintaining the business of clients.

It is important to note that where you outsource to is a critical part of your success. International IT companies are notoriously unsatisfactory for callers. Likewise, a spread-thin in-house IT team simply won’t be able to meet the demanding needs of customers.

That is why we encourage you to look for companies who can offer 24/7*365 support on a national level. This quality service allows you to really boost your position in the eyes of clients, form those lasting relations, and reap in new business via word-to-mouth marketing from satisfied clients.

Protect Data During Vulnerable Times

Not only does having the support of an MSP allow you to capitalize on areas of opportunity, but it also ensures that your key data is protected. It’s no secret that hackers are increasing their attacks daily, and they know that economic stress leaves companies vulnerable and spread thin.

Thriving though economic decline makes maintaining security, compliance, data protection all-the-more important. This can be achieved with a pro-active IT management approach when you leverage the support of outsourced IT experts.

In short, working with an MSP will enable to you focus on the important strategic decisions while also ensuring your data is secured.

In conclusion, as we go forward into the economic unknown of 2023 considering IT outsourcing can give you a leg up in the game. The right managed service provider can allow you to reduce costs, increase revenue, and keep that precious data protected in even the most tumultuous climate.

Also do keep in mind that even outside of economic crisis these benefits remain true for clients that utilize an MSP.Outsourced IT Service blog featured image depicting group of helpdesk workers at their desks.

“Our switch to Managed Solution was like a breath of fresh air. They carefully and competently analyzed our entire ecosystem and suggested changes (not one option, but multiple) to better our systems. There were a number of cost efficiencies put into place…”– Jeffrey G. Penta, CEO, San Diego Eye Bank”

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Are you considering outsourcing your IT?

 

Outsource IT Helpdesk

 

There are many advantages of outsourcing your IT services; some may seem obvious, while others may surprise you. We conducted a survey of our customers and asked why they chose to outsource their IT services, here are the most common answers to that question. 

 Optimized Spend 

Far and away, the top answer was reduction of costs. One of the most significant benefits you may see when partnering with a qualified MSP is reduced costs for IT hardware (volume discounts) software and employee costs. Working closely with your Managed Service Provider can help you lower operational costs, minimize capital budget for technology expenses, and reduce overall IT spend.

Rapid Response 

Workplaces and hours are more flexible than ever before.  Which means companies choosing to build out an internal help desk are now scrambling to offer 24/7 support for the business and many are realizing that this is an expensive proposition. A MSP is available after hours, weekends, and even holidays to provide real-time support whenever you need it.    

Certified Engineers 

A huge benefit of outsourcing your IT is that you are partnered with an entire team of professionals that bring a broad depth of knowledge across industries, at a flat monthly rate. The reality is that no one person can keep up with all the changes happening in technology today, and it’s often not in the best interest of a business, non-profit, or health provider to remain “status quo”. When you partner with a qualified MSP, you receive a team of IT professionals, project managers, cloud experts, help desk professionals, and virtual CIOs that that bring best of breed solutions to help your company remain competitive.   

Security  

Cyber security is not a “set it and forget it” function anymore. In today’s world of increasing ransomware and cyber-crime, all companies need to be looking at MSPs that bring security solutions to the forefront of the conversation. Many MSPs offer the most current cyber products in the market, including training your staff, email, and network monitoring, and even leveraging software that uses artificial intelligence to detect potential issues before they become a problem.   

Scalability  

As your business grows and changes, your IT needs grow, change, and evolve, and you will need to scale your IT systems up or down to accommodate those needs. IT demands can be changed in real-time to meet your unique business needs weather you’re on premise or in the cloud. Your MSP should monitor your needs and provide suggestions to scale up or down based on your hardware usage to ensure that your user experience is maximized while costs are kept low.       

Transparency  

Many MSPs can provide detail customized reporting about your ticket resolution times and utilization of their services.  Also, the ability to log into a dashboard that can show you the health of your IT systems, both on premise and in the cloud. 

What Size Company Benefits from Working with an MSP? 

Overall any size company can receive enormous benefits when working with a Managed Service Provider. A company,  that does not have an IT department can retain a Managed Service Provider to act as an outsourced IT staff that keeps the computers and the network running, makes sure that software upgrades and patches are done, provides cyber security services to minimize the risk of hacks or ransomware, and makes recommendations about timing to replace aging internal servers and networking equipment. Or provide consulting if moving everything to a cloud environment makes more sense for greater accessibility and flexibility.  

Mid-size and large companies, that have an IT Manager, or some IT staff often outsource pieces of their IT functions to avoid hiring and training additional IT engineers and avoid the added expense of company-paid benefits or the risk of turnover that is prevalent today.    

When there is an internal IT team, the MSP staff often takes care of the “day-to-day” issues, such as helping users when they are forgetting passwords, supporting users with access to applications and data, or assisting with network issues.  Many large companies hire an MSP to manage cyber security software and provide “tier 3” technical support beyond the capabilities of internal junior-level IT staff.   

  

What Should I Consider When Selecting a Managed Service Provider? 

Now if you’ve read this far and are thinking, “I could really use the services of a Managed Service Provider,” here are some things to consider...   

Expertise  

Once you understand the range of services you need, look for a Managed Service Provider with the experience and expertise to provide reliable IT solutions for those services. Many small to mid-size Managed Service Providers across the United States specialize in specific products and specific industries. Do your plans include moving to the cloud, look for a Managed Service Provider with cloud experience. Or, if you have a particular software integral to your business, consider a MSP that understands and supports that software.   Struggling with  compliance requirements, make sure the MSP has the tools and ability to support your organization through this complex process. 

A Managed Service Provider with the right expertise can become a partner in your business’s growth, management, and health.   

Range of Services  

Every MSP has a range of services that they provide to take care of your IT and cloud needs. Those can include onsite IT resources, remote technical support and network monitoring.  Along with cyber security software products, cloud hosting and management, even virtual CIO services. Determine the services you need and partner with a Managed Service Provider that comprehensively addresses your unique needs.   

 

Security Solutions   

It is critical to work with a MSP that operates in protected environments to ensure the safety of your data. Find out what security products are available and if they’re offering the most comprehensive solutions to keep your data safe.   

If you’re in a cloud environment here are some items to consider:

Customer Experience 

Firstly make sure to discuss your needs and requirements when it comes to response times.  Dig into the support structure to make sure they have an adequate number of employees to support your organization.  What type of customer service does the Managed Service Provider provide? Customer service should be apparent at every stage of their operation, from the sales team to the technical support. A MSP is an essential part of your tech team, ensure you are working with a helpful service-minded provider. Most MSPs monitor client satisfaction, ask to see those scores to find out how their clients experience the service received.   

Reach  

If you have offices in multiple cities or states, find a MSP that can support all locations. However many MSPs work only regionally, while others have the resources to provide services nationally or internationally.   

Trust  

Turning over your IT services to an MSP is a big decision that involves a great deal of trust. Make the right decision, and you sleep well at night. Make the wrong decision, and your business will suffer.    

Understandably trust is earned over time, so be sure to ask your MSP for the following:

Cloud Customization   

Your business is unique, when considering moving to the cloud, you want a MSP that will create a custom environment. Therefore choose a Managed Service Provider that will customize its services and solutions to help optimize your business.  

Cost  

Since cost is a consideration in business decisions compare the cost of the services to the cost of hiring internally. Typically, a company cannot hire the expertise and resources available at the cost a Managed Service Provider charges. Work with the Managed Service Provider to help them understand your budget and choose services that meet your IT requirements. To stay competitive in today’s market, reduce costs and keep your data secure, consider partnering with a MSP.   

 Interested in learning more about our help desk? Click here.

 

Interviewing in a Remote World- Virtual Vetting

Interviewing in a Remote World- Tips & Tricks for Virtual Vetting

By: Amanda Hawthorne, Director of  People and Culture

Two years into the pandemic, it’s almost hard to remember life in the “before times.” At this point, it’s probably fair to say that Covid-19 might be our lifetime’s ultimate ‘disruptor’ – a word that, in Silicon Valley at least, usually signifies a unicorn organization poised to create a true paradigm shift in how the world operates. So much as changed in daily life since March 2020 because of the pandemic. Whether it’s new safety measures or even the foregoing of certain regulations (to-go cocktails, anyone?), the change is undeniable.

For many office workers, these changes are most noticeable in how and where we work. Many of us are now working and collaborating in largely digital workplaces. Whether they’re sharing files and trading gifs on Teams, or messaging colleagues over Slack, or spending yet another afternoon on back-to-back ZOOM calls, more people than ever are working remotely… and with yet another surge of cases and the fact that so many have embraced remote work, we don’t see this changing anytime soon. Remote work is here to stay!

As we adapt to these virtual work environments, business leaders had to rethink almost every aspect of their businesses. While this has often been about overcoming obstacles, it’s also been about re-examining what’s possible. In the world of HR, this shift has been perhaps most dramatic in terms of what’s possible with recruiting, and we’re so excited about the possibilities we’ve uncovered in terms of hiring in a remote world!

Broaden Your Talent Pools by Recruiting in New Geographies

Managed Solution has long prided itself on being remote-friendly. As a technology services provider, we were early adopters of tools that allowed our team to work anywhere and everywhere. Even before the pandemic, much of our team worked from home a few times a week. Still, though, most of our employees were based in San Diego, CA, and most of us were commuting to a brick-and-mortar office at some point each week.

When we told our team members to start working remotely full-time during the pandemic, many of them began exploring opportunities for relocation – to their dream houses, to be closer to family, and even to be closer to the mountains for rock climbing! Before we knew it, our team was spread out across states and time zones.

Despite some early challenges with adding payroll in new states (who enjoys navigating the red tape of various state agencies?), we quickly realized the numerous advantages of having employees in different locations. For our 24/7 IT helpdesk team, we were able to staff different shifts in time zones that made sense for our clients’ needs – and our employees’ lives. Operating on a more national basis was not only good for our team, but great for our business.

Now, when hiring for our own vacancies, we began advertising our roles to candidates in these various states and were enthusiastic to see such high-quality resumes coming through our applicant tracking systems! Broadening your geographic search criteria gives you access to more candidates, increasing your likelihood of finding that perfect match!

But while we were singing the praises of a broader talent pool, we also realized that phone calls with candidates wasn’t going to cut it in this new world: video interviews were necessary to help us build a level of rapport with candidates that’s on par with the experience of in-person interviewing. Unfortunately, interviewing candidates on a video call isn’t always a no-brainer.

To help you get started on video interviewing (or to help you up your game!), here are some of our tried-and- true tips & tricks to ensure both a strong candidate AND strong employer experience in the interview process…

Virtual Interviews: 10 Tips & Tricks for Success

  1. Get Really Clear on the Job Details.

    Ideally, this happens before you’ve even posted a role, but especially before you get to an interview, you’ll need to really understand the job itself: what skills are must-haves, which are on the nice-to-have list? Be sure to also dive into when and where this role could be performed: is this job suited to remote work in the short term, but eventually you’d require a candidate to commute to the office? If so, be sure to communicate that! Is a position remote flexible but the function needs to be performed during specific hours based on the time zone for your home office? Share that, too! Being clear about the role not only lets you recruit among the broadest talent pool, it also helps ensure a strong mutual fit with any prospective candidate -- and avoids an awkward situation down the road. Imagine accepting an offer, quitting your job, and showing up on the first day in your new role… only to discover that your understanding of your work schedule or environment was completely off?! No thank you! You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache as a hiring manager if you can get really clear on your job details before you start interviewing!

  2. Revisit Your Interview Plan.

    Start with the basics: map out your in-person interview strategy, including who was included and what the respective conversations were covering. Now, assess who else a candidate might benefit from speaking to. Perhaps now is the time to include a peer interview so the candidate can start learning who they’d be working with – not just After all, with in-person interviews, a candidate often gets to at least put eyes on the people they’d be working with. You must consciously create those opportunities in a remote work world! While you don’t want your interview process to become excessively slow – especially in today’s fight for talent – but you do want to have enough time for a clear picture of the candidate’s skills… and give them enough time to really learn what it would be like to work with you!

  3. Give Your Candidate the Info & Tools Needed to Be Successful in Your Interviews.

    Include all pertinent details in an interview invite, such as the names and positions of those who will be involved in the call. Be sure the candidate has the contact info of at least one interviewer in case something comes up last minute. Consider providing your candidate with the specific goals of each interview phase so they have some idea of what will be covered: is this a technical interview? A hiring manager interview? Peer interview? Let the candidate know what to expect. Clarity is kindness, after all – and being clear about the who/what/why of the interview also gives the candidate the chance to prepare appropriate questions for your team. (And also makes it less ok if they haven’t prepared at least a question or two ahead of time!)

  4. Make a Plan for Technical Difficulties – And Make Sure Your Interviewers Can Help Troubleshoot Common Issues! We’ve all been through those video calls where someone’s network connection just isn’t quite cutting it, so you’re hearing only every few words at best. Interviews won’t be effective if there isn’t clear audio / visual on both sides and even in today’s world where virtual meetings seem common, it’s not unusual to come across a candidate who’s never used Teams (or whatever your tool of choice is). Head off the technical issues altogether by sending some brief instructions for your candidates about how to get connected. Let them know in advance that the interview will be video on and give them insight about your ‘workplace’ dress code. Consider encouraging them to use a background filter. And then be sure your own team is well-versed on your technology so they can help a candidate who may struggle.
  5.  Show Your Team in the Best Light Possible – Literally!

    If your team is going to be on camera frequently for interviews, you may want to give them some guidance to help reflect positively on your organization. From displaying the appropriate dress code to a professional, neat background, to joining calls from a quiet space with good lighting… all can make your company appear coordinated and well-adjusted to remote work. Consider offering ring lights or monitor-mounted webcams to provide flattering lighting and angles – your interviewers will be more focused on the candidate if they’re not distracted by their own double chin in the video preview feed! Help your interviewers focus on the candidate’s video feed, or even direct them to look into the camera while speaking to give the feeling of eye contact. (Our Talent Advisor uses a sticker at the top/center of her monitor to give herself something to look at!) Remind your interviewers of good interviewing etiquette: close the door, turn off the laundry, silence your cellphone, have a glass of water nearby, and (at a minimum) have them skim the candidate’s resume in advance!

  6. Expect the Unexpected.

    Help train your interviewers on how to handle the realities of remote work: dogs barking, kids stumbling into the room, lawyers who are definitely not cats… interviewing in this new world is sometimes as weird as it is wonderful. Remind your team to keep it calm and collected, and help put candidates at ease, even when things run awry. The pandemic has reminded us that, at the end of the day, we’re all just doing our best to hold things together. Being flexible when things don’t work out quite like we expected reassures a candidate that your company values authenticity and understands that an employee is a person.

  7. Educate Your Interviewers to Make Lawful Hiring Decisions.

    When interviewing people from their home, you may see things in the background that give clues to a candidate’s life in ways you might not if they came into your office. Remind your interviewers to disregard anything they may see in the background which may suggest things about the candidate’s nationality, ethnicity, religious affiliation, marital/parent status, or other protected class status. (Remember, too, not to make assumptions based on what you’re seeing!) Give interviewers guidance on job-related questions to ask and consider rubrics for scoring candidates consistently across interviews. Work with your HR team or an outside consultant to be sure that your hiring criteria are valid and lawful, and to help you identify potential areas for bias.

  8.  If Possible, Consider Meeting In-Person – At Least Once.

    Following CDC and other relevant guidelines, consider whether meeting a prospective candidate in-person is feasible, prior to issuing an offer. For some candidates, the chance to meet a potential manager gives them a better sense of your leadership style and interpersonal dynamic. For others, it’s reassuring to meet in person to help them trust that a job offer is legitimate before handing over their confidential details for a background check or I-9 form. If an in-person meeting isn’t feasible, you might offer your top candidates the chance to connect on a call with another employee who onboarded remotely or with a top performer in your org – not necessarily so that your employee can weigh in on the candidate, but so that the candidate can get a sense of what it’s like to work on your team – and feel confident that your offer is legit.

  9. Give the Candidate Time to Interview YOU!

    Many times, as interviewers, we’re so focused on getting answers to our questions that we may forget to reserve time for the candidate to ask us any questions they may have. Some successful interviewers preface their meetings by letting the candidate know he or she will have time to ask questions at the end: this can help keep a conversation on course while also giving the candidate the floor before wrapping up the call.

  10. And our very best tip for success in remote hiring in this new world? Ask for help!

    Implementing Microsoft Teams? Trying to map out an interview plan for a particular role? Looking for help in technical vetting of your top candidates? Just not getting enough qualified applicants for your open tech roles? Managed Solution offers a range of managed, professional, and technical services – including staffing! Our Talent Advisor can help you look at your hiring needs, improve your interview strategies, and connect you with our targeted solutions for staffing – remote or otherwise. Whether it’s working together on a Direct Hire Recruiting or Staff Augmentation Resourcing basis, or even helping you validate the technical skills of candidates your team has sourced, Managed Solution can take on the heavy lifting of hiring. And we’ll also be there each step of the way making sure you, your candidates, and your interviewing team has everything they need to be successful along the way!

Ready to up your recruiting game? Check out all our Staffing Services HERE. Let us know how we can help… get in touch with our Talent Advisor HERE.

Man sitting in data center Remote World- Vetting

The Top Business Benefits for Using IT Help Desk Support [Updated for 2020]

helpdesksandiegoWhat is an IT help desk? An IT Help Desk is a resource center designed for users to contact when they are having problems with their IT services, software, applications, and more. An IT Help Desk, which can also be referred to as a Managed Operations Center or Network Operations Center, creates a multi-tiered troubleshooting approach by having personnel with extensive technical knowledge available at all times. An IT Help Desk provides your business with a team of experienced, certified engineers ready to assist your users with their technical issues.
In this article, we'll cover the various benefits of using IT help desk support and why it might be a viable option for your business.

Learn about the top 6 benefits in this video:

Business Benefits of Using IT Help Desk Support

  1. 24/7 technical support improves operational efficiencies by reducing time users spend to fix incidents or problems. This is especially beneficial if you have a fully or partially remote workforce or operate a 24/7 business yourself. With those employees working around the clock, 7 days a week, it's imperative to have someone there that can support them when software or hardware goes down or stops working.
  2. Speaking with a certified technical support specialist makes resolving IT issues quick and easy, which can reduce crankiness in the workplace. We all know how frustrating technology can be, whether it's your fancy new TV or a software update on one of your devices. By providing employees with an IT help desk, you're giving them the support they need when challenges arise, leading to less frustration and more productivity. As a result, happier employees.
  3. A local IT Help Desk provides immediate response time to support tickets and communication with an actual person (not a recording) the same day. Additionally, if they are local to you, then they can provide on-site support if necessary. Sometimes hardware needs troubleshooting that can't be done via phone, video conference, or remote sign in.
  4. Having an IT support system in place provides a smooth and easy mechanism for users to receive service while eliminating internal technical service requests, which can reduce downtime for multiple employees. Your technical employees on staff should be focusing on bigger, more strategic tasks and projects rather than the mundane, daily tasks of software and hardware issues.
  5. With diverse credentials, training and experience, technical support specialists have resources to fix a wide variety of system errors - not just basic speed bumps. Additionally, by having an outsourced IT team support you, rather than one or two internal IT employees, it widens the skillsets available to you.
  6. Having a strong technology infrastructure can boost efficiency leading to increased ROI and allows those organizations to get ahead of their competition. If your employees' technology works, they're working and ultimately, are more productive.
  7. IT Help Desk engineers practice incident management to help spot problems before they occur, identifying the root cause of frequent recurring incidents. This allows you to protect yourself from external threats, eliminate repetitive issues and complaints, and prevent issues from becoming a larger problem.
  8. IT support specialists have experience working with many different industries and likely organizations similar to your business. This can provide a strategic advantage.
  9. IT specialists not only support your employees, but they can recommend tools that make it easier to communicate and collaborate on tasks. Additionally, they can help justify or eliminate IT spend where necessary to optimize your investment.
  10. Additional support for your IT staff. Mid-size and large businesses partner with IT companies that offer Help Desk support to provide an additional resource for their internal IT staff.
  11. When you apply the cost per call for the various call flow models for IT Help Desk services, you can see financial impact.
  12. IT Help Desk support services can give your business a new way to generate revenue, attract and retain clients and compete in a quickly changing IT environment.

Interested in learning more about our help desk? Click here.

Download the Checklist: 10 Questions You Should Be Asking Every Managed IT Services Provider before outsourcing your IT help desk.

What is an IT Help Desk?

What is an IT Help Desk?

The pure definition of a help desk is this:

A help desk is a resource intended to provide the customer or end-user with information and support related to a company's or institution's products and services.

With the rise of the IT industry, clear communication within the company became an essential part of a thriving business. Often staff members need assistance with their hardware or software and a necessity for a help desk seems more than obvious. With the inclusion of a help desk, the IT industry opened a troubleshooting door for their employees. Any issue that they may encounter can be resolved in a few simple clicks. A help desk serves as a resource center for your staff that may have issues or questions regarding a product or service. The benefits of this intermediary work both ways. Information and support are provided efficiently so downtime is kept at a minimum.

A Troubleshooting Center

It is safe to say that a help desk can be defined as a troubleshooting center because it is a one-stop-shop for all sorts of technical issues your staff could encounter. There is a ticketing process involved where a staff member can submit an issue or request information by filling out a ticket that is forwarded to the technical staff of the company. Depending on their availability and working hours the ticket is then reviewed and acted upon accordingly. Apart from ticketing forms, employees have the option to contact a support agent by chat, email, phone or any other communication method provided by the help desk.

With a well-organized ticketing process, an IT help desk can keep the technology downtime at a minimum and this is a necessity for tech companies. It is also important to understand that a help desk can benefit some more than others so it is good to know who should consider having such a support center within their company.

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It's not only about support

While it may look like it, a common help desk goes beyond customer support. Getting installation instructions or basic information is just a part of what a help desk can offer. Warranty functions, employee benefits desks, and facilities service centers are also examples of a common help desk. Providing access to such resources can have a huge impact on the productivity of your staff but also keep your customers happy by providing professional assistance on-demand.

Outsourcing vs In-house

Outsourcing is very common in the IT industry and it is no wonder that some help desks work on the same principle. The support staff is hired overseas for various reasons. Mostly, this is done to cut expenses but it does come with a different cost. It is important to say that around the clock coverage doesn't always mean quality work. Language barriers and underskilled staff are just some of the drawbacks an overseas help desk might bring.

The pros of outsourcing are obvious but it also comes with some cons as well. Your issues get resolved remotely meaning that a contracted company will be handling your user-related issues. The quality of their delivery depends on your choice so it can be hard to find a good fit for your product or service. Another issue that may come up is that the problems aren't solved on-site meaning that a hardware issue could take days to be resolved. A remote assistant can only log the problem but it is not solved. This is something a local help desk can resolve a lot faster if you find a good provider that offers it.

Having an in-house support team comes with a different set of pros and cons. Having them within your company can be a big plus because they will know of your infrastructure and their actions can be monitored and adjusted to best fit the needs of your customers and staff. With your in-house staff, you can determine the exact number of employees that the department needs based on your support demand volume.

Compared to outsourcing, in-house help desks can provide an advantage but it is very important to understand the cons as well. Taking the tickets locally can be time-consuming for various reasons. Your staff picks could be wrong, their technical knowledge could have gaps and the whole process of putting together a capable team can take months. This is something that isn't the case with outsourcing where you are paying for a skilled staff that requires minimal training or no training whatsoever. Another big issue to consider is off-hours. If a ticket is submitted outside of the working hours there will be no one available to resolve it.

Service Desk vs Help Desk

To fully understand the benefits of a help desk some common misconceptions need to be addressed. Service desks and help desks are often misunderstood for being the same. While they both provide support and assistance they have some significant differences between them.

A service desk serves as the primary point of contact for monitoring and addressing user requests. A service desk can also maintain 3rd party support contracts, manage software licenses and capture change requests. Depending on the company structure, it can also be integrated into employee onboarding, acquisition integration, data access management and more.

A help desk is, as mentioned above, a troubleshooting database for customers and staff members. Any issues with your services/products are resolved directly with the customer within the shortest time possible. Staff issues are solved in the same manner with an end goal to maximize productivity and minimize downtime within the company itself.

In some cases, companies like Managed Solution can offer a full package that includes both the functionalities of a help desk and a service desk. This eliminates the need for understanding the differences and benefits of both. These services include:

Help Desks collect valuable data

With all the upsides and downsides of help desks, it is hard to overlook data cataloging. No matter how big your company is or how good your product sells data records can always make things better. Good help desks analyze support requests and communicate the results to the corresponding entity. If a tech issue keeps showing up it could be a good thing to inform your tech staff about it and work on a permanent fix before more users come knocking at your door. This doesn't only help with identifying current issues but also helps with preventing such problems from occurring in the future.

Help Desks save time and money

To fully appreciate all of the advantages of a help desk imagine coming into work for your very first day. You need to access your email account but the password doesn't work. You could always contact the person in charge and ask them for assistance but this draws them away from their work and it could take a while before the issue is resolved. Instead, you issue a ticket to your help desk and it is then forwarded to the corresponding technician. Depending on the location of the help desk (it could be on-site or remote) reactive support will be provided in a very short period. In this case, a dedicated technician acts as a convenient point of contact to provide technical support and answers additional questions you might have.

Having your workflow and problem solving well-organized in your company can save huge amounts of time and energy. In return, this results in higher profits and less downtime for your staff. Having a help desk lets companies dedicate their most valuable resources where they are needed while your support team is handling "the small things".

Money Cash GIF by Pepephone

Help Desks can serve as a personal knowledge library

During the work hours complaints come and go, problems get solved, customers get served and everything gets recorded in the help desk log. This log has many purposes but the most beneficial one is that it can provide statistics and show you what are the common problems your customers or employees are facing. By knowing this, a help desk can work on their knowledge base that would serve as an access point for individuals looking for common solutions. It shortens the communication times between the support staff and their clients but also provides technical literacy for your employees or customers. As a result, this decreases the number of tickets, reduce your staff training time and increases overall employee productivity.

Adding the personal factor

Regardless of what different people have to think or say about help desks, it is clear that they have added the long-awaited personal factor to the IT industry. Going to Google or Wikipedia for tech answers could prove successful but what happens when the information is incomplete or inaccessible? You may end up going down a rabbit hole but the problem will remain unsolved. With a help desk, the factor of human interaction is added to the troubleshooting process and we can all agree that this is the easy way to do things. The internet may have all the knowledge in the world but you need the experience to be able to solve the problem. With a multi-skilled support staff, IT-related problems are solved a lot easier and promptly.

On top of all that, it is worth mentioning that every problem is solved on a personal level. No situation is generalized with a help desk and while they may have some common solutions that might help, they will offer personal assistance to try and find the right solution to your exact problem.

Possible issues and how to spot them

Depending on your company's needs you may go for an in-house or an outsourced help desk. Both solutions are fine as long as they don't interfere with your goals and productivity. When going for in-house solutions you may end up going in circles by trying to find the best fit for your help desk staff. Here are a few helpful questions to keep in mind:

It is important to understand that setting up an in-house help desk can be time-consuming and in some cases exhausting. If you don't have the right staff to fill out those positions, finding the right people can become an issue.

Outsourced solutions are stress-free solutions for some but they need to be double-checked as well. The market is huge and with the IT industry growing rapidly there is no doubt more and more outsourced solutions will start showing up. This is why you should gather some basic information about the help desk before you start considering it.

It is not mandatory that your help desk of choice has previous experiences with similar companies but it could be a big plus. Their staff would already have knowledge about your product or service and adapting to your own needs would take less time and effort. Apart from the 24/7 coverage you definitely want to take a closer look at their average response time. If the issue is time-sensitive you don't want the ticket to be stuck in the queue for the next day.

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Conclusion

If you went through this whole article you have realized that a help desk can be more than just a problem-solving solution. Having a help desk shortens problem-solving times, prevents and predicts possible issues that may occur in the future and as a result brings downtime to a minimum. Having a help desk enables companies to manage resources more efficiently which always results in efficiency increase. Your customers get the service they deserve and your staff members get access to a personal troubleshooting center. No matter how you look at it, a help desk is a win-win solution for many companies that are struggling with reports and downtime.

Are you looking for IT Help Desk Support? Learn more about how Managed Solution can support your business today.