IT Notifications Are Important Too!

It’s important to keep your communications plans organized, but it’s especially important for your IT department to keep in touch with other parts of your business. If a fatal problem shows its face, you want to make sure that they are there to fix it. In order to prevent these situations, plan out your IT communications strategy in detail, and stick to it.

Without a good IT communications strategy, other departments in your business might not receive news as quickly as they should. Last-minute downtime warnings might come a bit too late for comfort. According to TechRepublic, there are four key benefits to planning out your IT communications strategy ahead of time:

• Timely warn other departments of events that may affect them. You don’t want someone to be in a meeting with a client and have the Internet randomly cut out on them. Obviously, some events can’t be prepared for, but with proper practice and planning, you can minimize the damage done by lackluster communication.
• Publicize your IT wins. If other people know that your IT infrastructure is sound, you will get more clients, and your reputation will surely soar. It can also make your own employees feel good about the business and improve inter-office morale.
• Justify your IT expenditures. You pay your IT staff, so make sure that the job they perform is commensurate with what you pay them.
• Keep your goals straight. All small IT movements are generally moving toward one big goal, so keep that goal in mind. Keeping the long-term benefits of your IT movements in mind will help keep everyone focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.

Proactive Communication vs Reactive Communication
IT communication strategies shouldn’t confuse these two terms.

• Reactive Communication: When you are acting according to something that needs to be addressed, it is called reactive communication. This entails acting on requests from other staff members concerning their technical problems. These shouldn’t be your primary means of communication, as they tend to be spur-of-the-moment actions taken to resolve problems.
• Proactive Communication: Rather than acting on impulse, you should try to schedule what must be done, and when. This is called proactive communication, and is a more reliable method of IT support. You can call it an IT roadmap of sorts. You’ll know where you’re heading, and when.

Spelling Errors Can Haunt You Forever
At the heart of IT communication is the communication itself. It is often done through email or instant message and as such, is a form of a written art. You want to make sure that you exercise care when writing out emails, as any lack of professionalism seen in them can be led directly back to you, and your company. That’s the last thing you want; a bad reputation and lack of attention to detail.

If you want a detail-oriented, professional IT solution to your common technology problems, look no further than Directive. We have a variety of different services all geared toward one thing: Better communication between your in-house IT staff, and our remote services. For more information about our managed IT services, contact us at 607.433.2200. We’ll provide a free IT consultation to let you know where you are and what we can do to help your business.