Is everyone on the same page?
Andrew just started a new job. He’s doing his best to “learn the ropes” — except it seems that no one knows what the ropes are when it comes to IT procedures! Even though his new company uses a managed IT service provider (MSP), he doesn’t really know who to call or how to go about submitting an a support ticket. His coworkers are happy to share the things they’ve done to address tech problems, but everyone does things a bit differently — with varying degrees of success.
Without a process of how to train new employees in IT procedures, Andrew is left to figure things out himself.
Unlike the old saying, learning “new tricks” is not just hard for old dogs. Starting a new job or learning new procedures is challenging for just about everybody. But it’s much more complicated when you have to figure things out yourself — or relearn stuff you’ve been doing incorrectly. Unfortunately, this is often the case for new hires learning IT processes or at the beginning of the relationship with an MSP. Too often, MSPs get the gig by being the lowest bidder — and don’t have the procedures in place to start a business off on the right foot. Instead of starting with clear communication, these service providers just figure out processes as they go. This can lead to frustration, confusion, and loss of productivity while employees try to figure out what is going on and what to do. If you’re reading this article, you probably don’t want this situation at your business. At Varay, it is our strong belief that a good MSP should have the network and processes in place to help your business from the beginning. So how do you train new employees in IT processes?
How should an MSP be involved in training?
Often — like in Andrew’s case —— training is informally left to other employees. This frequently happens when the MSP doesn’t have clear procedures in place or hasn’t effectively communicated processes. While leaving it to other employees to bring new hires up to date sometimes works, it might result in incomplete or incorrect training. And there might be a much easier and efficient procedure! For example, Varay has a direct number for clients to call and receive service. If a new hire doesn’t know this, they might waste time and energy googling Varay’s number and waiting when they don’t need to. As Varay has seen, this can easily be solved with a concise email to be shared with new hires. Simple, up-front communication by the MSP can save a business frustration caused by ambiguity or by having to correct inefficient habits.
An SLA: laying out the expectations
Starting off with an MSP can be a transition. It is a different model of service than break/fix IT. A new hire may not have been exposed to managed IT services before, but a service level agreement (SLA) makes the question of how to train new employees much easier to answer. An SLA clearly lays out the expectations for response times that a business can expect from their MSP. At Varay, there are guaranteed response times for service (i.e. within 24 hours). While it’s sometimes possible to get issues addressed before the agreed-upon time, it is difficult. When expectations are stated, and communication is intentional, it relieves the stress of feeling like you have to figure things out. Knowing how to train new employees is much easier when they know who to call, which situations require immediate attention, and when they can expect an issue to be resolved.
Meeting your business where you need us
Businesses start their relationship with an MSP from different situations. Sometimes a company has only used reactive IT service and called in techs when something is broken. Some businesses want to completely outsource their IT by using an MSP or want to switch MSPs for various reasons. Other companies see the value in using managed IT services to complement their in-house IT department. At Varay, we can become an extension of your IT department by handling things like ticketing and support so your in-house IT can focus on strategy and the big picture. Broadly speaking, it is less complicated (and often less expensive!) to transition processes and infrastructure when you are changing from one MSP to another. The sticker shock of onboarding an MSP is generally more pronounced when a business transitions from only having one IT tech. But whatever your business needs, we can help. Varay has procedures and an effective network for each of these situations, so you know how to train new employees with your IT processes. No one needs to wonder how or when to expect quality service.
If you want to take the guesswork out of IT processes for your employees and partner with an MSP that has an effective network and procedures already in place, we would love to help your business get the service it needs.
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