Warning Signs to Find & Address IT Struggles

If you're not getting the output that you expected from your IT staff, there could be – no, there definitely are some underlying issues that you need to address from the top down. If your IT team isn't delivering on what they promised, it could be due to them being understaffed.

 Honestly, it doesn't matter how you got to this point because now you're here, and from the outside looking in, it seems like your business is struggling to tread water. 

So, what are some ways to tell your IT team is holding on by a thread:

• They work in a reactive, not proactive, manner
• Response time to support tickets takes days, weeks, or even months
• They will often overlook simple tasks
• They make quick fixes with no long-term solution in place
• Your employees and clients don't bother reaching out for help

Are you or someone you know affected by one or more of these issues? Let's take a deeper look into each of those points.

Reactive, Not Proactive

A sure sign of a struggling IT team is responding to alerts and issues as they occur rather than being able to pinpoint and fix the problem before it happens. The inability to be proactive occurs when a dedicated person or team isn't monitoring and managing your various systems. It's bad for business if your IT team's day is spent running from crisis to crisis.

 Slow Response Time

When you have a reactive IT team that jumps between problems, you will run into an employee who has an easy fix, but because of previously mentioned issues, their request falls down low in the queue. While it may be an easy fix, that employee likely doesn't know how to fix it, stalls in their workload, and risks getting an earful from their supervisor. Or this creates tension between departments, opening the door for full-blown animosity and a toxic work environment.

Simple Tasks Take Forever

Since your IT team is busy with more pressing issues, simple tasks get overlooked. As these simple tasks pile up, people's patience and faith in the IT team and the company can deteriorate. It's not a good look for the company when a new employee has to wait three, four, or five days to get logged into their work computer. Think of how much time you waste when Windows updates occur during business hours.

All Workarounds, No Long-Term Solutions

A reactive IT team constantly works on quick fixes and workarounds, but any doctor will tell you that putting a band-aid on cancerous growth covers up the issue. Unfortunately, a small, overworked IT team can only work on the surface level and doesn't have the time to dig deep and find the root cause of these issues. 

 Little Faith from Coworkers and Customers

As the previously mentioned problems escalate and escalate with no real plan of attack in sight, a business risks losing trust from their customers and internal team. Next thing you know, your business is seen as a sinking ship.

Want to learn more about how to address an overwhelmed IT department? Contact us here.