Let’s face it, if your business operates anything like most do, you have far too many of these processes for anyone to reasonably remember. This means that making sure that your processes are both comprehensively recorded and accessible for your employees to reference is a crucial facet to your productivity.

Fortunately, doing so is relatively simple, as long as you go about it properly.

Step One: Identify What You’re Documenting
The important thing to remember about creating documentation is that, unless the task itself is incredibly granular, making the documentation too specific isn’t going to help anyone. On the flip side, any documentation that is too vague isn’t likely to provide anyone with the value that it should.

You need to store your documentation in a centralized place that all employees can access. It helps even more if there is a system in place to allow you to search the contents of each document, sort them in various ways, and highlight changes and edits made to processes. In other words, utilizing a document management system or a knowledge center of some kind will go a long way in preserving the functionality of your processes. There are plenty of tools and applications out there for this, and we can help you choose the best one for your situation based on your specific needs.

Step Two: DIARI (Do It And Record It)
This step will form the basic shape of your documentation, as it will create a step-by-step guide to completing the task as a whole. You’ll need to go through a run-through of the process you’re trying to document, recording every step you take.

Don’t be shy about including details, either. For instance, if your process will require the same questions to be asked each time it is put into action, include the list of questions in your documentation. If someone is supposed to be contacted specifically, identify them in your documentation and provide their contact information.

From here, you should have a pretty good handle on how the process typically goes down… and the insights to make it even better.

Step Three: Refine, Repeat, Revise
When you were running through your process, were there any steps that would have made more sense to do earlier so you could be better prepared for a later responsibility? Try rearranging the steps in your documentation and trying it again. Did it work better, or worse? Take these observations into account and act accordingly.

Really, once you commit the time to doing it properly, creating invaluable and useful documentation isn’t that difficult of a process. You can even bring multimedia into it, if it’s a good fit, using tools like Steps Recorder on Windows.

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What Am I Paying For?

If you utilize a managed service provider (MSP) who handles the maintenance and support of your IT infrastructure, it’s likely that you pay a flat monthly, quarterly, or yearly rate to cover the upkeep of your workstations, servers, and network infrastructure. This model has become increasingly common and it makes a lot of sense; it takes a decent amount of maintenance to keep a business network running smoothly, and when it’s handled proactively there are fewer issues in the long run.

One thing to note; we can’t account for every British Columbia provider, because everyone has their own way of quoting and billing for their IT service, but typically if you get a monthly flat-rate bill per user or per device then your IT company is providing some level of service on a regular basis. That may or may not be all-inclusive support for end users, cover hardware failures, etc. We’re not really here to nitpick the minutiae of an agreement though, what’s important is that you are getting what you pay for, and perhaps more importantly, that your IT is handled in a way that isn’t setting you up for failure down the road.

All that out of the way, when reviewing your regular technology bills, when you see that line item for maintenance and support, you might look back at how often your team had to call for support or put in a service ticket over the past several months. If your IT has been running smoothly the past few months, you probably have that one big question…

It’s the Pareto Principle

A little tangent here; but you know when it’s time to pay that homeowner’s insurance bill, and you think to yourself, “Man, I didn’t have to use this at all this year. I’d probably feel a little better writing this check if the insurance had to pay for a new roof or to recarpet my basement.” You are not alone, and that’s the same feeling you might get with good IT management.

Back on track, the Pareto Principle, more commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule, states that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. Basically, it’s an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure.

That’s exactly how IT works. If you set everything up right, configure it and document it well, and then carefully monitor it, you won’t be running back and forth to keep fixing it. It’s typically much more cost effective to manage and maintain your network than it is to set it and forget it, and only come back when something goes horribly wrong.

If your IT is running smoothly, and your users are productive, and your security is passing every audit with flying colors, then that ongoing management and maintenance is performing exactly how it is supposed to.

It’s not like insurance, where you continue to pay for the peace of mind that when something happens you are covered. Instead, you are paying to prevent something bad from happening in the first place.

We hope this helped explain how most managed IT bills work. If you have questions, or want to know how we can help keep your organizing running smoothly, don’t hesitate to reach out to (604) 513-9428.

What is Encryption?
Encryption is a security measure meant to thwart any would-be hackers from using your stolen data to further their ambitions. Think about it like this; without encryption, hackers would gain access to your files, plain as day. Encryption provides a measure that keeps hackers from using your organization’s data even if they were to gain access to it. It essentially scrambles data to everyone who doesn’t have the decryption key, rendering it useless.

One particular technology that uses encryption to a considerable degree is a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN can connect your employees to your infrastructure regardless of their location in a secure way. Think of it like this; the connection between your employee’s device and your network is normally a clear tube that can be observed by anyone ambitious enough to look for it. Rather than leave it as is, encryption makes the tube opaque--enough to obscure what’s inside so it’s not quite clear for any unwanted onlookers.

Why is it Important?
You can imagine the immense importance of encryption in today’s data-oriented business world. If you’re not taking every measure possible to secure your data, you could be making a huge mistake. Encryption in particular is important for assuming the absolute worst. You can never know when your data will be stolen, so it’s best to take preventative measures to ensure that it will cause a minimal amount of damage should it occur. If your encrypted data is stolen, it will simply be unusable without spending far too much effort to get the data into a readable state.

Coleman Technologies can equip your business with encryption services that you can count on to keep your data as safe as can be. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

What Does Restarting the Computer Do?
You might think of restarting the computer as something that cuts down on productivity, but this is far from the truth. While it stops you from working in the interim, it’s beneficial in the long run to routinely restart your computer for periodic updates and general upkeep. Have you ever tried to run a machine all the time without giving it a break every now and then? When you do this, it’s more likely that the device will be run into the ground. Your devices will run much better if you restart them every now and then to ensure that they aren’t being overworked.

What Use Is There for Your Task Manager?
You can imagine the look on someone’s face when their computer freezes up and it can’t run properly. Well, once upon a time, someone had the brilliant idea to include a task manager in a computer’ operating system to ensure that you can identify the problematic application (if there is one) and end its tasks without having to restart the computer. Overall, it’s a way to see how your computer’s resources are being allocated, as well as how to end troublesome tasks without restarting the computer.

Why Must Passwords Be Changed?
While some might argue that passwords should only be reset when they are discovered, this in-turn highlights why passwords should be reset frequently. Sometimes passwords will be stolen without the user knowing about it until they are being used against them, but other times, they will be stolen and sold on the black market to the highest bidder. It’s up to the user to make sure any passwords potentially stolen are changed before they can be used against your organization. The best way to protect against this from happening is to assume they will be stolen and change them periodically.

How Do Drivers Affect Your Work?
Drivers can be considered pieces of software that make your device compatible with a variety of external devices. You might have noticed that drivers must be installed on your device in order to use that USB mouse or wireless keyboard. These drivers must be kept up to date so that compatibility with devices doesn’t interfere with your work, and that security vulnerabilities are not presented to nefarious folks who want access to your systems and data.

Do you have any tips that you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

A Rose by Any Other Name
Frankly, it’s pretty easy to observe that “busy” and “productive” are anything but synonymous. We all know those people who seem to be constantly running around, working on this or that. Are these people busy? Certainly. Are they actually accomplishing anything? Maybe, maybe not.

Look at it this way - you can be ‘busy’ doing anything. However, in order to be ‘productive,’ you need to actually produce something. It doesn’t matter if it’s a completed sales proposal, an email explaining away the confusion around a particularly convoluted subject, or… anything else, really, as long as it helps to advance the business’ goals.

The Inherent Issue in Comparing the Two
Unfortunately, much of our context for determining between busyness and productivity comes from the least objective source there is - our own perception.

Look at it this way: let’s say that you gave a research assignment to two employees, with a deadline of an hour. If you left, only to return and see one employee watching YouTube videos, and the other one typing away, who would you see as being the productive one? In the moment, you would probably say that it was the employee who was still typing, and not the one watching videos on the Internet. However, what if I told you that the employee watching videos was actually watching videos related to the task you had assigned, and the other was working on what would likely be their fourth unpublished novel? Or that the employee watching the videos had long since completed the assignment, and was taking a well-deserved break, while the employee who was still typing was only doing so because they had goofed off for much of the time you were away?

This illustrates two considerations: how much different productivity really is than pure busyness, as well as how similar they have the potential to be. In order to keep from fooling yourself into thinking you’re being productive when you’re really just looking busy, try asking yourself a few questions as you commence.

For example, you can take a look at how you spend your time, and compare it to what your responsibilities really are at their core.

For instance, let’s say that Bill’s job was to ensure that the company remained secure. If Bill was able to complete all of his day’s tasks in the morning, but then spent the rest of his day reading things online, what would that be considered? Well, that depends. If Bill was reading the latest Bowling Enthusiasts Weekly articles at his desk for the rest of the afternoon, that’s hardly productive. However, if Bill was researching improved cybersecurity practices to enact in the company... that’s a pretty productive way to spend the time.

A Few ‘Keeping Busy’ Red Flags
Of course, none of the following activities have to be time-wasters, they just happen to be in most situations, or require a very specific job responsibility to be considered productive. For instance, many job responsibilities don’t actually require the Internet to be used, so any time spent on it is arguably a waste. The same can be said of social media, and especially email.

Of course, there are also many exceptions to this rule. In essence, you have to use your best judgement, evaluating if a given activity is actually the best use of your time or not.

Don’t forget, Coleman Technologies has plenty of solutions to help you boost your productivity. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more!