Imagine every time a tech issue arises in the office, it’s Emma who comes to the rescue. Emma’s technical expertise and willingness to help have made her indispensable, but the role she’s employed for is actually procurement. What happens when Emma feels more like an overworked tech support agent than a valued team member?
As an SME we know the importance of IT running smoothly, and also understand the critical role that tech-savvy colleagues play in every organisation. These IT-smart employees are often the unsung backbone of your operations, ensuring that cyber headaches cause minimal downtime for you. If they left your organisation, we guarantee you’d notice their absence before long.
The hidden challenges
Your go-to colleague is juggling their own tasklist and deadlines at any given time. From showing a colleague how to use pivot tables in Excel to setting up new devices alongside the role they are actually employed for, their workload can be overwhelming.
This constant pressure can lead to burnout and a sense of being undervalued. Not ideal for one of your most valuable employees! We believe that a motivated and appreciated team is key to a successful business. Here are some suggestions on how you can keep your staff feeling appreciated:
- Show genuine appreciation: Regularly acknowledge their hard work. Whether it’s a shout-out in a meeting or a personal thank you note, recognition of their efforts goes a long way.
- Invest in professional growth: Offer opportunities for further education and certifications. This not only enhances their skills if they would like to, but also shows your commitment to their career advancement.
- Maintain work-life balance: Ensure that your team has clearly defined working hours and isn’t expected to be available around the clock. Allow them to block out some time when they can’t be disturbed. Promote a balanced distribution of tech-related tasks. This means giving your unofficial IT expert a little time to specifically train others on the basics, e.g. how to convert a document to a PDF – or time to prepare SOPs. Lead the way by resisting the urge to bother your team when you’re off the clock!
- Foster a collaborative environment: Encourage a culture where seeking help, maintaining clear communication and boundaries is normalised, preventing any single person from being overwhelmed. Implement systems to streamline tech support requests, for smaller businesses this can be as simple as tech requests are sent to your go-to person via a dedicated mailbox so they’re not constantly being interrupted and can look at them when they are able, and for larger businesses this could mean implementing a ticketing system.
- Reward their efforts: Consider ramping up your internal incentives such as the latest tech gadgets, software tools, or even extra days off for exceptional performance. These rewards demonstrate your appreciation in a real and tangible way that will benefit their lives.
Building a supportive culture
By working on your employee retention strategies, you can create an environment where your unofficial IT professionals feel valued and motivated. A happy team translates to enhanced productivity and smoother operations across the an organisation. It can also reduce employee turnover, and big costs associated with training new recruits.
Make sure your IT heroes know their worth. Support their growth, recognise their contributions, and watch your business thrive as a result.
At Clearsky, our focus is on being approachable and delivering clear, practical solutions without the confusing jargon. Get in touch to see how we can help with your IT systems and support.
