Whether you own a business or are working in management, you know that it’s essential to keep your staff happy. Ensuring everything works well and that staff members feel supported is one of the most critical aspects of your work. If your team isn’t content, it will result in poor customer service, internal conflict, and low productivity. It can also mean a high turnover of staff which comes with a hefty price tag.
The IT department is an essential part of any company. Without them, many of the systems you use to function professionally wouldn’t work correctly. But often, their needs can go overlooked. Tucked away at the back of the office and non-client facing, we often don’t look at how they are getting on. Here are some handy ways to keep your IT department happy, ensuring your business continues running smoothly!
Give them the tools they need to succeed
When was the last time you checked in on the IT department to see if they have all the software and hardware they need? Chances are, several new developments in their world could help them conduct their work more efficiently.
In IT departments, monitoring software and dashboards are particularly useful as they enable a level of automated oversight, meaning there’s less chance of them missing an issue. Software that oversees systems, services, and applications is one of the best investments you can make to ensure business continuity. The top 5 incident management software 2021 guide is a great place to start, along with actually asking your employees. These tools are important because they put in place a structure for business services to resume after some type of incident has occurred.
Get them involved with the rest of the team
Teambuilding is an integral part of building a healthy work culture. While many departments, such as HR, sales, and accounting, cross paths daily, people only call IT when something goes wrong. Bringing the entire team together regularly to get to know each other, iron out issues, and have fun can help your company run much smoother. Organize lunches, after-work drinks, or team-building activities. You can even organize fun activities in the office after hours, such as yoga, a quiz, or a fundraising day. Additionally, if your team works from home, you can play online escape rooms or virtual trivia games for Zoom meetings, adding excitement to work get-togethers.
Invest in staying up to date
If you’ve invested in tools, kits, and equipment for the IT team, but you haven’t invested in keeping it up to date, the exercise is futile. In the technology world, updates and new developments occur much more quickly than in other sectors. Be sure that they have the most recent hardware you can afford, including computers, devices, servers, switches, and anything else. Additionally, ask whether all software is up to date or whether you need to buy updates or more licenses. This will help your team respond better to evolving issues while being happier to come to work.
Just implementing a few small exercises such as these can make a huge difference to the dynamic in your workplace. When it involves a team with such a critical function, this becomes even more important!
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