Believe it or not, your employees and customers do care about the technology decisions that you make for your business. The old saying “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” is not how you want to think about technology today.
Business agility is a sign of a mature and well-run business. Digital transformation is no longer a choice; it’s a necessity to remain competitive in today’s modern workplace.
Your ability to leave behind the old school approach to IT and embrace cloud-based technologies to run your operations is critical to your success and will make a lasting impact on your business.
Here are 5 ways your small business IT strategy – or lack thereof – can influence your employee and customer happiness and overall corporate culture.
- Company Reputation
Most people want to work for a company that is innovative and one that is set up for success. Businesses that do not stay up to date on technology are often viewed as old-school, and this negative connotation (whether accurate or not) is often perceived as cheap and on the decline.
Your clients and employees should be your top ambassadors. If your plan is to grow, make sure you’re adopting modern solutions that improve your overall operations and service delivery. When your technology investment is aligned with your business goals, your ambassadors will trust that you’re making smart business decisions which trickle down to their satisfaction. They will be more inclined to speak highly of you to their colleagues and friends and as a result, your overall brand and reputation will shine.
- Employee Retention
If technology is a constant source of pain, chances are you have some disgruntled employees in the workplace. Take their complaints seriously! If your employees are working late - or even worse - failing to hit their performance goals/bonuses because a computer crashed or they had connectivity issues, chances are your hardworking employees will go elsewhere to maximize their potential.
The first steps of your digital transformation journey should focus on adopting cloud technologies that solve your biggest problems and weaknesses. If your technology is failing on your employees and their productivity is suffering, that is likely your starting point and a key indicator that your business needs to reinvest. There are several affordable SMB cloud solutions such as Office 365 that will make your employees far more productive (and happier) than ever before.
- Hiring Top Talent
New generations entering the workforce are “born in the cloud”. They are accustomed to working from their phones, tablets or might even prefer their personal MacBook. If you are failing to close the deal on top talent, solicit feedback. You will be surprised to learn that they chose your competitor over you because of the (lack of) tools and resources at their disposal.
Microsoft 365 gives each of your employees 5 licenses, so they can work from their preferred device – even if it’s their personal Mac or PC. Maintaining a consistent experience across any devices, is one of the benefits of Office 365. Additionally, M365 has new and improved cloud security tools and features that keep your data protected regardless of the device, and makes it easy to prevent, track and even alerts your IT department if there is any suspicious activity going on.
- Work-Life Balance
Working from home has made a big impact on the quality of life for many people, freeing up time and money from the daily commute. It has allowed your employees to save money on tolls, gas and public transportation passes, it has extended the life of their cars, and has given back invaluable hours of time to spend with their families. This work-life balance is so important when it comes to keeping your employees happy.
The pandemic forced businesses to move to the cloud quicker than they ever expected. This rapid shift to a remote workforce has changed the way many traditional businesses think about working for home. In fact, more and more companies are closing shop in favor of a 100% remote work environment - or choosing to scale down their office size, save on rent and implement a hybrid work approach where employees report to the office as needed. Now that most people have had a taste of working from home, they will likely seek this type of arrangement long-term, so it is something to seriously consider.
Adopting a cloud solution that creates a collaborative and consistent environment for your employees – whether your employees are working from the office or from home is essential. We are finding that most small businesses we work with prefer the Microsoft Office 365 experience including Teams with Voice, SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange Online. Our Secure Cloud Advantage solution has helped hundreds of clients modernize their IT so that their employees can work from anywhere, at any time, from any device.
- Unify your employees
Whether you run a large or small organization, chances are slim to none that all of your employees will ever be under a single roof again. Branch offices, salespeople on the road, employees working out in the field or working from home…the workforce is more mobile than ever before.
With that said, it’s important to have a single online location for your employees to visit to get your company’s daily digest so they don’t miss any important announcements. Microsoft 365 collaboration tools bring people together regardless of where they work. A SharePoint intranet, combined with Teams is a great way to keep your employees informed and build a unified online workplace. Likewise, you can leverage video conferencing for online happy hours to create a sense of togetherness for your staff.
There are several factors that go into a healthy corporate culture, but you cannot discount the importance of a strong technology strategy in today’s cloud-first workplace.
Show your employees and your customers that you are investing in their success by implementing a modern IT solution like Microsoft 365 today.
ANP is the leading Cloud Services Provider in Philadelphia helping SMBs with 25+ users realize the benefits of cloud technologies, like Microsoft 365 and Azure. If you’re looking to get the most from your Office 365 subscription, we can help you reduce your licensing costs and leverage the security and apps that comes with it. Our Secure Cloud Advantage offering leverages Microsoft 365 to help you stay competitive in today’s modern workplace and get the most from your IT investment.