Managed IT service providers are facing a pressure cooker of a situation because the current business landscape they are operating in has a tendency to serve up tighter customer budgets and constant surprises. When faced with these hurdles, the last thing that you would want is for your IT team’s morale, performance, and motivation to drop off a cliff. The managed services IT industry, digitalization, and the evolving workplace works as a motivator for some employees, but it can be overwhelming for others. It’s not a secret that engaged and motivated employees produce better results for the organization, but are you investing in your IT team to drive engagement? Don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place, as we’re going to be sharing the secrets behind keeping your IT team motivated here.

Leadership Holds the Key

There’s no question that strong leadership evokes engagement in people. For instance, how you reward your team, how you manage them, and the culture you create for your workplace plays an instrumental role in demonstrating your organization’s commitment to your team. You must lay down a strong foundation for your employees to flourish, and research backs this up. A recent survey related to human resources found that 75% of employees believe that the biggest influencing factor for increasing employee engagement is the leadership style of the management. It makes sense because disgruntled employees won’t go out of their way to help produce effective results if they feel the leadership doesn’t value or trust them. A strong leader is one who truly invests in their team by taking an interest in them, beyond the bottom-line numbers and sales results. The sad news is that less than 30% of employees view their leaders as skilled in cultivating a work environment that fosters engagement. For managed IT service providers or resellers, it is crucial that they pay attention to this factor because positive engagement to employees can make all the difference in producing recurring revenue.

Investing in Your People Helps Build Your Brand

Your IT team is one of the most important resources for your business as your employees also act as your brand ambassadors. Therefore, you must get them on your side, believing in your vision, building the brand, and contributing towards growing a successful company. It’s critical that you invest in your people as that is the only way you will see results. A look at the annual list of “Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For” will show that organizations such as Hilton, Salesforce, and Workday are global brands that have invested in their employees. Their focus on ensuring they build happy and productive workforces has led to a significant increase in their recurring revenue. This must be applied to managed IT service organizations as well.

How to Get Started?

When you’re running a small business, it’s likely you have a decent level of engagement, as nearly 80% of employees working at companies with less than 250 employees reported being ‘highly engaged’ at work. However, the key is to maintain that which only comes by demonstrating a genuine and consistent investment in your team. The questions you should be asking are, ‘how do I invest in the skills and talents of your employees?,’ ‘how do I engage them?,’ and ‘how do I build a strong brand in the managed IT services space?’ You could deploy several methods with each one depending on the management style, business goals, team skills, and characteristics. However, there are some realistic ways to get you started:

1.      Reward Good Performance

Praise, feedback, and recognition are strong motivators that drive engagement and continuously supporting your employees through rewards, and feedback may boost productivity. A study showed that over 40% of employees would put more effort into their work if they were recognized often at work. Acknowledging the contributions of your team, whether big or small, doesn’t require you to make much of an effort. It can be as simple as scheduling a lunch or coffee with them. Rewards can include anything, whether it is in the form of a bonus, catered lunches, occasional remote work, or even extra time off from work. Investing in a consistent rewards effort makes a massive difference when it comes to engagement, morale, and motivation.

2.      Empower and Delegate

Never forget that your team members are also ambassadors for your brand, and it’s your responsibility to ensure they get to the next level. You can start by delegating projects with greater responsibilities or assigning projects with a goal and timeline, which are crucial for your brand’s business goals. Assigning new projects has proven to motivate team members and drives them to excel and contribute, while it takes things off your plate so you can oversee more pressing matters. Empowering teams is a win-win situation for everyone and is a defining characteristic of great managers. You need to be strategic in what you assign to your team, which means understanding what challenges they will face and whether they are ready for that challenge. Take a real interest in your employees, and be genuine and realistic about the path you’ve chosen for them.

3.      Establish Trust and Communication

When you establish trust with your team, it shows that you are confident in their potential and skills, which inspires and motivates people. Demonstrating your trust in your employees doesn’t happen overnight because building trust starts with being supportive and honest. You must create a supportive and safe environment through communication. Be available for every team member to connect and communicate with them, even if it’s a 10-minute walk outside or a quick lunch or coffee. You should be consistent in your efforts and focus on building strong connections with your team to understand your team.

Contact Us

Percento is a Professional IT Consulting, Implementation and Management firm.  To find out how we can help your organization, please contact one of our friendly sales representatives for a review of your system and a comprehensive (No Obligation) proposal of services. Call today toll-free at 800.614-7886 [Austin | Dallas | Houston | League City | Sugar Land | The Woodlands  | San Antonio] or email us at sales@percentotech.com.