Technology can be overwhelming. There’s just so much of it nowadays. A decade or two ago, you had computers and wired Internet connections, plus the fax machine and landlines. Now you have to add laptops and netbooks and tablets and smartphones to the mix. It’s a lot, but it’s by no means impossible to manage.
Here are three things you should manage when it comes to tech adoption in your company.
Managing mobile gadgets
If your company has the means to do so, it’s a good idea to bring in some outside help for managing your mobile devices. If it seems too expensive, think about the money you could be losing by not managing your mobile devices correctly. All those devices don’t come cheap, after all. You want to make sure you’re getting the most out of them.
For instance, let’s say you have an employee with permission to work at home two days a week. That’s great for them, and they’ve always been a productive worker, so you aren’t too worried about it. However, that was before they started losing service on their cell phone when they’re at home.
Several times, you try to call and it fails. That’s obviously not sustainable long-term. Something needs to change, and experts in something called technology lifestyle management can help you figure out your best option.
Maybe the employee needs a new phone, or a new carrier, or something else. At worst, they won’t be able to work from home anymore, but you don’t want to take away that flexibility without a very good reason for doing so.
Think about your IT team
It’s a good idea to think about your IT team as well. They get a lot of jokes, but they’re also doing a lot of work, regardless of if they’re doing it in a windowless room in the basement of the office. They’re dealing with things like C Sharp and Java logging frameworks back there. If you don’t know what those things are, that’s because you don’t have to when good IT people deal with it for you. But for the record, C Sharp, or C#, is a type of programming language.
In addition to all that, IT experts also have to deal with the everyday requests from people who can’t get their computers to turn on for some reason. It can be frustrating, so make sure they’re getting the support they need from the rest of the office.
If the IT guys can’t do their job properly, then the rest of the office will suffer. Do they need another employee, even if it’s just part-time? Do they need upgraded equipment? Hear them out. If they’re making reasonable requests and have a good track record, then you should do everything you can to help them out.
Monitoring or not monitoring?
There are some workers who believe that every single website they visit at work can be monitored and recorded. However, that doesn’t mean that’s what your company is doing. It’s also probably not what your company should be doing.
If you have a problem with an employee playing games when they’re supposed to be working, it’s best to address that with the particular employee. Don’t make the rest of the employees feel like criminals. No, they shouldn’t be communicating with their secret lover through their work email address, but give them a little leeway to check the day’s headlines or go to a few websites that aren’t strictly related to work.
Mental breaks can actually be good for productivity.
They’ll remember if their boss gives them a lecture for visiting The New York Times website, and trust us when we say it won’t be a good memory. As long as they’re getting the work done, you should give your employees room to be people with interests outside of work.
Conclusion
Managing your company tech infrastructure can be a headache. That’s why you need to set company policies that can cater everyone working in the company.
Manage your tech well. Your entire company’s productivity depends on how successful you are with this endeavor of yours.