There is a certain level of anxiety that comes from missing out on something, and if you have felt this “fear of missing out,” (or FOMO) you are not alone. People experience this in social situations, as well as those in the business and professional worlds as well. Unfortunately, this concept can have negative impacts on your actions if you let it.
Isn’t it incredible how some people can build bad habits over the span of several years, then break them and replace them with better ones? It might look like it’s easy, but the reality of the matter is that building bad habits and replacing them is an incredibly difficult and time-consuming process. The brain literally undergoes physical changes during this process, and it’s all thanks to a neuroscientific principle called neuroplasticity.
Can you remember the last time you took a good hard look at your organization’s technology? Chances are they might be getting on in years. You will need to know just how outdated this technology is if you want your company to succeed long-term. Let’s have a discussion about the importance of upgrading your technology, as well as how you can make that determination.
If you haven’t already gone back to the office for your work duties, are you ready to do so? Research shows that employers and employees have very different answers to this question. Why is this the case?
A list of your key contacts One of the most important elements in your business continuity plan is a list of all your important contacts who should be informed of the disaster. This can include all your C-level execs, HR managers, IT Manager, client facing managers, etc., A comprehensive list of your IT inventory Your business continuity plan should contain a list of all the softwares, apps and hardware that you use in the daily operations of your business. This list should identify each of those as critical or non-critical and mention details pertaining to each of them such as The name of the app/software Version/model number (for software/hardware) Vendor name and contact information for each of them Warranty/support availability details Contact information for customer support for these hardware/apps Frequency of usage Backup information Data backups are critical to your disaster recovery and so your business continuity plan should include information about data backups. It should mention how often data is backed up, in what formats and where. It should also mention what data backups are available–ideally, you should be backing up ALL data already! What’s your Plan B? Make sure your business continuity plan lists a backup operations plan that will come into play in the event of a disaster. Examples include alternative workflows such as options to work remotely or to allow employees to bring their own devices to work (BYOD) until the time regular business premises or systems are ready. Floor plans and location Your business continuity plan should also include floor plans of your offices with the exit and entry points clearly marked up, so they can be used in the event of any emergency. It should also mention the location of data centers, phones, key IT systems and related hardware. Process definition Make sure your business continuity plan defines the SOPs to be followed in the event of an emergency. Think business continuity planning is too complicated? Don’t give up! A lot of SMBs, don’t create a business continuity plan thinking it is too much of a hassle. But this can prove fatal to your business later. A qualified MSP can help you understand business continuity planning and even help you create a business continuity plan that’s best suited for you..
It helps retain clients As a business, if you have problems functioning, it will definitely affect your clients. For example, if your servers are down or your supply-chain mechanism is affected or your delivery process breaks, you won’t be able to fulfill your promise to your clients. Even worse, in some situations you may not even be in a position to communicate about the crisis to your clients adding to their frustration. A business continuity plan addresses these issues beforehand and can help reduce client dissatisfaction. Salvaging brand image and reputation There are certain events that end up affecting only your business. For example, ransomware attacks, virus attacks, data leaks, etc., Having a business continuity plan that caters for such events can be a blessing in times of such crisis. Minimizing revenue loss A business continuity plan can minimize the revenue losses that occur as a result of a crisis that interrupts your business operations. In short, a business continuity plan helps minimize the impact of the crisis on your client relations, your brand image and your revenue by equipping you with a plan to handle the situation better.
While a business continuity plan cannot completely safeguard your business from all these events, it can certainly minimize the damage inflicted on your business. Top business consultants urge their clients to develop a business continuity plan as they consider it a part of the best practices for running a business. A business continuity plan can make the difference between survival and shutdown of a business during a crisis situation. What is business continuity planning? Business continuity planning is the process of creating a blueprint that helps your business respond and recover effectively from an unforeseen mishap. As discussed before, the unforeseen event could range from natural disasters to pandemics, or even accidents that affect just your place of business like a fire or even a cybercrime attack directed at your business in particular–basically, any event that can paralyze your business. A business continuity plan serves as a step-by-step guide that you can follow during an emergency to keep your business running smoothly. True, a business continuity plan is not a sure shot method to survive a crisis, it won’t instantly eliminate the impact of the disaster, but it gives you the best chances of survival. If you are not sure of what a good business continuity plan entails , you can reach out to a reputable MSP to help you with the preparation and implementation of one.
The Impact of Remote Work There have been plenty of positive effects brought on by the implementation of remote work policies for businesses to only embrace it further. A recent study by Intermedia surveyed the owners of 250 businesses and revealed a telling selection of these effects, including: Increases in employee availability in 19 percent of these businesses Increased job satisfaction—15 percent—and life satisfaction—seven percent—alike Decreased overhead costs Improved employee attitudes Reduced work-related stress Increased engagement Out of these businesses, 85 percent had primarily functioned in a centralized office space, but with remote work exploding in prevalence as social distancing has been adopted, that number has gone down to 26 percent. Simultaneously, video conferencing increased in use by 27 percent, from a rate of 57 percent to 84 percent. This only makes sense, as businesses must continue their operations to remain open. If remote work is the only way to do this without jeopardizing the health and safety of their employees, clients, and customers, the smart play is to embrace remote operations. Will Remote Work Last Longer than the Pandemic? Admittedly, it can be hard to even think about the time after the current health crisis is over, as so much has changed in the relatively short time we’ve all been living this new normal. We don’t think that remote operations will go away, though. Consider the list of benefits that businesses reported seeing. The biggest concern that many of these businesses had was the matter of engagement: how could they attract and convert clients when face-to-face conversions were once their de facto strategy? However, these concerns were not fueled due to any influence by technology restrictions, as the explosion in conferencing we discussed above goes to show. As a result, we can confidently conclude that many businesses won’t shift away from remote operations when they are no longer required for survival. The benefits—increased team satisfaction and at least the same levels of productivity—are just too good to pass up. SRS Networks can help you embrace the remote capabilities that can help your business survive these challenges, along with many other IT tools and resources. Give us a call at (831) 758-3636 to learn more about what we can do for your business technology.
Seriously, Have You Noticed How Many People Resort to Waving? Think back to the last remote meeting you participated in. You and the other members of the meeting log in, the requisite business is completed, and as everyone signs off… goodbye waves are exchanged? But why? Why do we suddenly feel obligated to wave goodbye to people that we’re meeting with, just because the format of the meeting has changed? According to some experts of behavioral studies, it is this change that is to blame. These waves—and other odd new habits—are nothing but our subconscious attempts to maintain some normalcy as we communicate remotely. Why These Habits Have Normalized Therapists have postulated that, as our typical communications were so suddenly altered by necessity, we have adapted to the relative limitations of remote collaboration and communally developed a new etiquette. Despite their considerable utility (particularly as of late) remote conferencing and other similar solutions have a few downsides that must be considered, largely due to physical limitations. Let’s look at the basic science behind these tools. Your camera and microphone take in information, convert it into a format that can be sent digitally, send it to the person you are conversing with, and once it arrives, translate it back into a format that your collaborator can comprehend, seeing what you said and did. While this all can be completed at a remarkably fast speed, it is far from instant, and still takes relatively much longer than it would if you and your collaborator were speaking face-to-face. Take things like slow internet speeds and other delays, and some delay is effectively unavoidable. The result: awkward pauses, sudden interruptions, and the other issues that so many remote conferences and meetings suffer from. In response, we’ve learned how to incorporate nonverbal communications into our mid-meeting body language, almost subconsciously. Rather than just pressing a button to disconnect from a meeting if the need arises, we take the moment to excuse ourselves from the group and announce our departure via a quick wave to everyone else. It is also likely that you and your team are feeling isolated, as interaction is likely at a horribly low point. This, it is hypothesized, has led to overcompensation. This overcompensation could include nodding along as people speak, raising a hand to signify that you have something to contribute, as well as the farewell waves that so many have adopted as they sign off. How to Communicate Better with Nonverbal Cues Such signals can help to push your conversations forward as you are working remotely. By adding another layer of meaning to what is said, your conversations can move along and be more informative. You’ve likely seen many of these cues in your own experience: Accenting Gesturing or otherwise using your body language to emphasize points and draw attention to certain details. Complementing Matching the language used with the emotion that your body language conveys. Contradiction Alternatively, intentionally mismatching your language to your body language to draw attention. Repetition Returning to and building upon your message over and over to help reinforce it. Substitution Expressing your opinion physically, rather than verbally, to make your message overwhelmingly clear. Looking pleased when you’re pleased, and vice versa. Of course, there are other nonverbal cues that deserve some honorable mention: Backchannels, such […]
While corporate-level data losses and insider theft are well publicized, many smaller businesses have also become casualties of data loss and theft. Following a significant data loss, it is estimated that a small-to-medium sized business can lose up to 25% in daily revenue by the end of the first week. Projected lost daily revenue increases to 40% one month into a major data loss. According to The National Archives & Records Administration in Washington, 93% of companies that have experienced data loss, coupled with prolonged downtime for ten or more days, have filed for bankruptcy within twelve months of the incident while 50% wasted no time and filed for bankruptcy immediately. Finally, 43% of companies with no data recovery and business continuity plan actually go out of business following a major data loss. Still, a survey conducted by Symantec SMB revealed that fewer than half of SMBs surveyed backup their data each week. Only 23% of those surveyed said they backup data every day and have a business continuity plan in place. Businesses play on a much bigger playing field than they did two decades ago. Any disruptive technological event – even the smallest of incidents – can have an amplified impact on day-to-day business and profitability. Being proactive with data recovery solutions, and having emergency response procedures in place prior to a disruption or data disaster, is the only way to minimize downtime and soften the impact of such events.