Most often, when people think about building a company, they think about expanding. For IT support providers, when you think about building your business, you probably think about increasing the number of recurring customers, the number of Assets being serviced and managed, and the number of different services being provided. Just as integral to the growth of a company however, is all the building that happens within the company. Creating an even stronger and broader foundation for a business is one of the key tenets behind every successful venture. And at the core of every business’ foundation are its employees.
Employees or fellow technicians are the business’ life support. In addition to being the face of your IT support business, they are the brains of your operation, the heart of your business and the muscle that enables the business to actually function. By fostering a sense of community, comradery and a commitment to excellence among your team, you will be giving your IT services, managed services or computer repair business a competitive advantage and the foundation it needs to expand.
Keeping this tenet in mind, a very natural and obvious question arises: how do you build a sens of community and a commitment to excellence among the team?
There is no single answer to this question, but there are a number of important elements to consider:
- Be selective!
A group is only as strong as its weakest link, so if you are trying to build a successful team of support providers, make sure that each individual is strong on his or her own merit. The better trained, more congenial and harder working each individual is, the better your entire team will become. All team members can learn from each other, problem solve together and help inspire each other to reach goals on an individual and communal level.
- Incentivize and Reward
Aside from peer mentoring and peer support, another way to give technicians the drive to pursue more leads, sign more customers, get extra training and so on, is by providing incentives. Incentives can include a commission or a paid day off for every new lead that is converted to a new, recurring customer. It can also include tuition reimbursement options to inspire technicians to further their training and increase their expertise.
- Build Community
Creating a fraternity in which members look after each other, support each other and encourage each other is also a pivotal part of strengthening your business’ foundation. To imbue your staff with a sense of community, incorporate team building activities into your business’ schedule. From mentoring programs to Happy Hour outings, paid volunteer days, and company outings, nothing will pay off more than giving your fellow technicians the incentive to come to work and the support system at work to make their days more enjoyable and their work more manageable.
- Listen
Your fellow technicians are a well of information about the needs of your team, the industry and your customers. Work to create an open environment in which your fellow technicians feel comfortable suggesting ways to improve your company, your customer service, services rendered or internal morale. To add this dynamic to your business, you can use a variety of tools from suggestion boxes to employee surveys and organized discussion forums.
We all want to see our businesses burgeon. Who wouldn’t want to see revenues increase and business flourish? In order to be able to successfully grow your business outwardly, you should start by growing your business from within. By building a solid foundation, you will have the basis you need to truly success.
Until next time,
Success Team
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