As a result of these unprecedented life changes in such a short amount of time, so many people today are frozen in fear. They don’t know what they can do and what they can’t do. They’re numb, fearful and questioning everything. I believe that the accomplished and determined business owners in our world are facing a unique brand of fears: Will I lose sales and revenue due to the coronavirus? What if I have to lay people off? How can I keep my team and keep them working hard? How will I continue to provide for my family? How long will this last? Here are five steps you can start taking now to stop being frozen in fear and move forward with your business, your family and living your life. Step #1: Communicate Often. You should make an effort to constantly communicate with all of your stakeholders. From your employees to your customers to your partners and vendors, stay in communication with them to share how your business is doing and how you can continue to serve them. While in-person visits may not be ideal at this time, you can always resort to the good ol’ phone, e-mail, videos or webinars. You can bet that if your customers aren’t hearing from you, they are hearing from your competitors. Step #2: Be a Valuable Resource. While money is always important, now is the time to be a trusted resource and friend to your clients and prospects. People today need bold solutions. If you’re actively bringing solutions to your clients, you become a valuable resource. If they’re simply writing a check and never hearing from you – especially in today’s environment – you’ll be first on the chopping block when they have to cut expenses. Step #3: Lean on People. It’s ironic that the one time we need people more than ever before, we are supposed to socially distance ourselves and stay in our homes. Through video conferencing and web conferencing, work together with your team, your partners and your Accountability Groups to lean on one another. Because nobody has gone through anything like this before, nobody has all the answers. But as a collective group, you will find most every answer you need. Step #4: Be MORE Than a Businessperson. They may be your employees, your colleagues and your clients. But they are PEOPLE first. And just about everyone you interact with in your business world has endless stresses when the workday is done. Their kids are home from school all day getting into who knows what. They’re worried about going to the supermarket and if there will be meat and toilet paper. They’re concerned about keeping themselves and their family healthy. When your clients and prospects start to see you not just as an IT services provider, but as a friend and someone who truly cares, that’s when they want to do business with you for life. Step #5: Be Informed But Not Obsessed. People were glued to their TVs for weeks after 9/11. As a result, although they were informed, they were also more stressed, depressed and fearful. Don’t do that to yourself. Yes, it’s prudent to know how to “flatten the curve” and protect your family, but watching too much news or social media right now can dominate […]
Improved Productivity Not trusting your staff leads to hindered progress in your business, holding back how much you can accomplish. Neither you nor your team can be as productive as possible with you overseeing every detail of their work, as your micromanagement discourages initiative and motivation. Meanwhile, your other responsibilities are left neglected. Do your best to quash any urge you have to monitor your staff so closely, and your collective productivity will increase. Increased Communications The more you trust your team, and they you, the better the transfer of information will be between you. Feedback in both directions will be more honest, as you will be able to level with your team. Likewise, they will feel free to share their insights and potential issues they have identified. Either way, overall productivity can be improved through adjustments from all involved. Inspired Team Members One of the surest signs that an employee can receive that their work is appreciated is to allow them to do their jobs unimpeded–without excessive oversight or interference from the boss–and celebrate their accomplishments after the fact. This kind of trust generates a sense of responsibility for the employee to perform, and positive reinforcement to encourage their self-startership and initiative. Why would anyone want to leave this environment? Doing this can help minimize turnover and benefit your growth. What We Have to Do with Any of This Regardless of how energized and motivated your team is, there is only so much that can be accomplished with less-than-sufficient tools. SRS Networks can provide the solutions to both assist you in building mutual trust with your team, and to help you make the most of these improvements from an operational standpoint. To learn more about how we can help, give us a call at (831) 758-3636.
You can bet there’s one group that’s not slowing down at all. In fact, they’re probably working overtime while the rest of us have our lives turned upside down. Cybercriminals and hackers know there’s no better time to strike than during a global crisis. While you are distracted and spending your time trying to make sense of this new normal, they are finding new ways into your IT network so they can steal data and passwords, compromise your clients’ private information and even demand large ransoms. Cybercrime is already on the rise and is expected to cause $6 TRILLION in damages by 2021! But, if history repeats itself, hackers will be out in full force throughout this coronavirus scare. We fully expect in the upcoming weeks that headlines will change from stories about COVID-19 to accounts of a frenzy of cyber-attacks on corporations and small businesses. Here are solutions you can implement now to help protect your business data, money and productivity: 1. Be more suspicious of incoming e-mails. Because people are scared and confused right now, it’s the perfect time for hackers to send e-mails with dangerous malware and viruses. At this moment, your in-box is probably filled with “COVID-19” subject lines and coronavirus-focused e-mails. Always carefully inspect the e-mail and make sure you know the sender. There’s a cdc-gov e-mail address out there now that’s not legitimate and is spamming in-boxes across the country. Avoid clicking links in the e-mail unless it’s clear where they go. And you should never download an attachment unless you know who sent it and what it is. Communicate these safeguards to everyone on your team, especially if they are working from home. 2. Ensure your work-from-home computers are secure. Another reason we expect a rise in cyber-attacks during this pandemic is the dramatic increase in employees working from home. Far too many employers won’t think about security as their team starts working at the kitchen table. That’s a dangerous precedent. First, make sure your employees are not using their home computers or devices when working. Second, ensure your work-at-home computers have a firewall that’s turned on. Finally, your network and data are not truly secure unless your employees utilize a VPN (virtual private network). If you need help in arranging your new work-from-home environment, we would be happy to get your entire team set up. 3. Improve your password strategy. During crises like the one we are all facing right now, your passwords could mean the difference between spending your time relearning how to grow your business and trying to recoup finances and private data that’s been hacked. Make a point now to reevaluate your passwords and direct your team to create stronger passwords. Also, while it’s so convenient to save your passwords in your web browser, it also lessens your security. Because web browsers simply require their own password or PIN to access saved passwords, a skilled hacker can bypass this hurdle. Once they access your saved passwords, they can steal as much as they want – credit card information, customers’ private data and more! Instead, you should consider a password manager to keep all of your passwords in one place. These password managers feature robust security. A few options are [LastPass, 1Password and Keeper Security Password Manager]. You, your team […]
Here are three variables you should consider when deploying a remote workforce. Employee-Owned Devices Deploying employee devices to meet your business demands is a risky proposition unless you have the right security measures in place. You will want to give your employees the technology that will give them the best chance to succeed; and, won’t cause any unnecessary problems for your data and network security. This is largely because of the way people utilize their personal PCs. On a workstation, people are told which software to use and stick to those titles, but on a person’s personal PC they have all types of software that your network administrator is unfamiliar with. This software, on a personal PC may not be updated and patched, leaving open vulnerabilities that could, very easily become major problems for your company. Since most people that work from home are using a personal device, you need a way to protect your company’s assets from the quagmire some personal PCs present. One way is to provide remote access software. This will allow users to actually remote into their workstation at work and use the resources like they would if they were sitting at their desks. The one problem with remote software is that it is often targeted by cybercriminals. You will want to ramp up network security and demand authentication procedures be enhanced when allowing computers to access business resources remotely. Insecure Connections In the same vein, when working remotely, some employees will be using shared networks. This can cause your IT administrator a lot of headaches. Most users haven’t set up network and cybersecurity resources that are as comprehensive as the ones that the business has. For this reason your employees’ networks are typically much less secure. Even the networking hardware that they use, often people’s only line of defense, is lacking as the software that runs on it isnt always updated. User Behaviors Probably most importantly here is the user. At home, on their home PC, they are much more likely to do things that they would never think of doing on their workstation in the office. Adding to that, without the constant security reminders they get at work, they are less apt to follow best practices as their workplace enters their homespace. You need to ensure that you make the point that just because they are working at home doesn’t mean that any of the practices that they’ve been drilled on can be ignored. Remind them the dangers of phishing attacks and how it is even more important to be vigilant about what they click on. The last thing we need to talk about is employee misconduct. Some employees, if given a foot, will take a mile. It is important to monitor your employee’s productivity well enough to ensure that they are doing their work, and that the work is in line with what you expect from that position. Some people won’t take to it as well as others, but by-in-large, workers that work remotely work with an ease that allows the work to be better and for productivity to not dip so much as it will cost your business. SRS Networks knows it’s a difficult time for California businesses. We’re here to help. Call us today at (831) 758-3636 to talk to one […]
Defining Ergonomics There are a lot of different ways to approach productivity, ergonomics simply being the idea that a person in a comfortable position is more prepared to be productive than one being distracted by discomfort. In the office, this is somewhat easier to accomplish, believe it or not. Most offices are equipped with furniture and equipment intended for use in the workplace, which means that they are designed to better attend to these needs than what the average employee will have at their house. These pieces of furniture are designed to encourage a user to adopt a “neutral position” in order to minimize strain and stress, due to the amount of time that is anticipated to be spent in a given seat. An acceptably “neutral” posture is challenging to maintain in other environments. The typical office desk is built much differently than the typical dining room table, or typical card table, or typical lap as the employee lounges on the couch… the big difference being the position that the employee will be in as they do so. So, how does one go about maintaining the correct posture as they spend their work time at home? Understanding the Basics First, it is important to know exactly what a “neutral” posture looks like when positioned at the workstation. The hallmarks of a neutral posture include a straight neck, relaxed shoulders, wrists unbent, and limbs either held straight or bent at a 90-degree angle. When seated, it is recommended that you maintain a position where the thighs are parallel to the floor, with your seat providing plenty of back support. Your monitor should be at eye level, or slightly below it. While this is all well and good in the office, it isn’t as though your employees are likely to have the same setup available. Working with What They Have Fortunately, with a little improvisation, it is entirely possible for your employees to make these adjustments in their own home. Let’s say their monitors are too low. Raising them with books or small boxes would be perfectly acceptable for the short term. If they are working with a laptop, send them some peripherals, like a spare keyboard and mouse, for them to use with it. Use small pillows and cushions to adjust the height and support of the kitchen chair you are seated at, and if this makes your feet dangle in the air once again, use a step stool or other object to allow them a firm foundation. Make sure that you remind your employees to take care of their work resources, including their own bodies. After all, they aren’t going to be productive if their back is too sore for them to focus. We can help make sure their technology is up to the task, whether or not they’re working remotely. To learn more about the solutions available from SRS Networks to support your newly at-home operations, give us a call at (831) 758-3636.
Problems You May See with Cloud Services Most of the cloud services companies will deploy are “as-a-Service” products designed to cut costs and provide the scalability and flexibility needed with today’s mobile workforces. As a result, there will have to be some extra diligence on the other end of this to ensure that data is secure and accessible. Loss of Service Even the biggest names in cloud computing suffer from downtime. Sure, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft’s uptime is much closer to 100 percent than they are to 99 percent, but you could still suffer from some downtime. Being sure that your staff is notified when planned outages are scheduled, it will eliminate some of the concern they have. Data Loss and Breaches Nowadays, hackers and cybercriminals are on the lookout for vulnerabilities in systems no matter who they belong to, or how they’re used. Cloud service providers typically maintain very strong security standards, and tend to use powerful tools to ward against unauthorized access to their drives. Compliance Issues Many compliance regulations require built-in transparency and sometimes that can be difficult when your organization uses cloud services. Additionally, regulations that call on proof of security may be a headache for your organization. There are resources on the market that are built to help your organization keep in compliance, but if you choose to trust SRS Networks with the management of your IT infrastructure, you will find that our IT professionals can ensure data integrity, keeping your business safe from rebuke. If you use cloud-hosted resources for your business, understanding where the holes are can keep you from having problems with platform security and data integrity. Call the IT professionals at (831) 758-3636 today to learn more about cloud security.
Use More than One Monitor The first way you can go about cutting down the need for paper copies is by expanding your display space. By utilizing a dual-monitor setup you no longer will have the need to have printed copies of information to efficiently work on your computer. Anytime you have to work with multiple documents, you can just pull them up on the screen(s). Use Application-Based Options For every business need there is an application that can help make the task a bit easier. There are applications developed to cut out the need for paper copies of anything. Cloud platforms especially provide the ability for people to collaborate right alongside each other, removing entirely the need for paper copies of projects. Note taking applications also provide a solution for people that often need to take notes. Put Print Policies in Place With the use of solutions aimed to limit the need for paper, you can then go ahead and put in strong printing policies that work to reduce the access to printers. By putting in a necessary authorization platform between your network and your printers, you can substantially limit the access to the printer or copier, reducing the need for paper and ink/toner. You can also employ certain strategies such as using both sides of a piece of paper to print on, adjusting your fonts to produce less prints, and more to reduce the amount of paper you use. Simply put, you won’t see as much cost benefit if you continue to use the same amount of ink/toner. Digitize Your Backups Not being able to find an important file is very frustrating, which is why many businesses still use physical file folders and print off hard paper copies to store in them. All those extra steps to file away documents adds up to extra expense. By digitizing your data and storing it in the cloud, you not only have access from anyplace on nearly any device, but you also have copies that won’t be lost, moved, or stolen. Your data will be where you put it, in perpetuity. If you would like to get out from under the expansive costs that printing brings onto your business, call the IT professionals at SRS Networks today at (831) 758-3636. Our technicians can start you on your way to a paperless office as soon as today.
As we are an IT company, let’s focus on two of the major corporations that we are intimately invested in–Microsoft and Google–and what steps they have taken in the face of the current global health crisis. Microsoft Microsoft’s efforts have been primarily focused on increasing awareness. Bing now offers an interactive map that tracks the virus’ spread on both a global scale and by country. Pulling from the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and Wikipedia, there is a lot of data to draw from. The CDC has also joined with Microsoft to build a Self-Checker tool to help evaluate a person’s need to be tested. Powered by AI, a user can establish if it would be wise to be tested, and (while it offers no concrete medical advice) suggested next steps to take. As a result, emergency services can see a reduced number of patients calling upon them, as those without a need won’t be adding pressure to the already at-maximum capacity. Google Google has also taken considerable measures to assist in awareness and education efforts. The official blog currently features a collection of posts that detail their ongoing efforts and solutions–such as educational resources for students and teachers to use, handy advice to improve video calls and other remote collaboration tools, and other small business resources. Along with these ongoing posts, Google Search has been outfitted with features to further boost awareness. Any search that references coronavirus activates an SOS Alert, generating a sidebar that delivers a situational report: what coronavirus is, its symptoms, how to prevent it, how it can be treated, and other statistics. In addition, the top stories are committed to coronavirus content, and a graph of the cases worldwide and more resources frame your results on the right side. Speaking of your results, they will be filled with tweets related to COVID-19, suggested videos to watch, and even more news updates and resources. On YouTube, there is now a curated playlist dedicated to how to better work from home, called WFH Essentials. Admittedly, these videos aren’t completely relevant to the COVID-19 guidelines, as some endorse spending time in public, but other components can be seen as useful. There have also been some changes in how YouTube creators are compensated, dinging them for unhelpful, misleading, and inaccurate information. As far as financial contributions are concerned, Google has given SMBs, healthcare organizations and their workers, and governments more than $800 million. This sum includes the support of research and the production of personal protective equipment. Interestingly, they have also set aside $340 million in Google Ad credits for small businesses to use. If you have had a Google Ad account that has been active since the beginning of 2019, check your account for a notification. While we may initially see these huge businesses as impervious to these kinds of concerns, COVID-19 has proved differently. Fortunately, many investments have been made by these businesses to fight back. How has your business coped with this crisis? Tell us in the comments, and don’t hesitate to reach out to SRS Networks to learn how the right IT solutions could potentially reduce coronavirus’ influence on your business operations.
What Are the Benefits of a Routine in the Workplace? Routines, processes, procedures, however you refer to them, can certainly provide a few boosts if set up correctly. They Encourage Consistent Results It is often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, whereas the definition of consistency (“conformity in the application of something”) is the practical application of the opposite. When it comes to the workplace, consistent results are the goal, so a consistent process makes sense. They Save Time As a process becomes more ingrained and develops into a pattern, it will inherently become more efficient to carry out. Resultantly, turning your responsibilities at work into a routine process will ultimately enable you to contribute greater productivity. They Make Things Easier and Less Stressful There is a reason that a routine can casually be referred to as a “groove”… they inherently simplify a given goal and put less pressure on the employee. This means that the employee in question can commit to the task at hand with a clear mind. All of these outcomes mutually benefit the employee that follows the routine pattern and the business’ overall success rates, so it makes sense to try and replicate these outcomes in your own business. To help you and your team out, we’ve assembled a quick guide to help you develop and establish beneficial routines to support your productivity. How to Build Up and Reinforce a Routine Here are a few suggested methods for you to put to use as you are building habitual workplace practices. Remember that the day starts before work does. The way that you wake up and conduct yourself before work begins can have a significant impact on how the rest of the day goes. Get to sleep early enough to make sure you get enough rest, and make sure you are waking up at the same time each day. Make your bed first thing–that little victory alone can help add a little positivity to the day. Mentally prepare yourself for the day’s agenda and arrange your priorities ahead of time. Doing these kinds of things each day will gradually turn them into the things you just do. Dictate how your time is spent at work. Once you are in the office, you need to continue shifting your mindset. Instead of thinking of your schedule as a list of your obligations for the day, look at it as an asset that helps you to accomplish your goals efficiently and effectively. For instance, many people are inclined to postpone their challenging or frustrating tasks, but try doing the opposite and finish them off first thing. Bundle similar processes together to make it easier to transition between them while maintaining your focus. Restrict the time you spend doing semi-productive things, like checking your emails and messages. Disconnect to fully prepare for the next day. After you’ve filled your workday with productive activities, it’s time to leave and reset for the next. Take some time to review what you accomplished, highlighting three of the most positive events, and then disengage from workplace concerns as much as you can. Spend some time with a personal hobby–not just relaxing, but actively engaging in something that commands your attention–to really […]
1. Managed Services Prevent Many Issues From Happening Here’s the big problem with IT solutions: most issues they experience will not only cost money to resolve, they prevent the business at large from being able to function to some degree. This makes the cost of these issues effectively double the price tag for any repairs. Furthermore, considering that the business is hemorrhaging income for as long as this functionality is impaired, there is generally a fee to resolve the issue charged by whoever comes in to fix it, with no guarantee that the issue won’t come back at some point in the future. In other words, better get out the checkbook. With managed services, your IT infrastructure is monitored to proactively detect issues, meaning that they can often be resolved remotely before they even materialize and have an impact. This eliminates the expensive downtime that would otherwise add to the damages of resolving the issue. 2. Managed Services Make Costs Predictable Speaking of the “damages of resolving the issue,” managed services operate differently than what one would expect, mainly due to their service-based approach. Through this approach, the managed service provider charges an inclusive, monthly fee based on the agreement they have with the business in question. Unless there is a need for something that goes outside the scope of the agreement, all services performed by the MSP are covered. This allows a business to more accurately budget for their IT expenses, rather than over- or under-allocating funds for them. 3. Managed Services Maintain Standards Most businesses are subject to at least one regulatory standard, whether it’s HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and/or any others. Managed services can help you ensure that your technology and its security protocols meet the requirements outlined in these standards, preventing you from being fined. Do Managed Services Sound Like the Right Choice for You So Far? Give SRS Networks a call to discuss them further! Our professionals are ready to chat and help you make the best decision for your needs. Call (831) 758-3636 today.