Managing your company’s IT is an important task. If you let one thing slip through the cracks, it could end in a data breach that destroys the entire company.
You need a top-notch staff that knows how to stay on top of things. They’ve got to be able to communicate effectively to work like the well-oiled machine that they’re meant to be.
Of course, the best employees can’t help you if you’ve got bad security practices. Not having antivirus software is one of the most crucial IT management errors that you can make.
It’s not the worst trap that you can fall into, however. Check out this guide to learn about the common IT issues that can hurt your company.
1. Neglecting Your Basic Systems
There are a few IT systems that are pretty much your bread and butter when it comes to managing your business data. You need software that can help you back up your files. This way, if there’s a data breach, you have a second copy of everything.
If you neglect this crucial hardware, you’ll be in trouble later. If you’re not sure which ones your company needs, consult an IT support team. They’ll be able to look over your systems and make a list of the solutions that you need the most.
2. You Don’t Want to Delegate Tasks
You need your IT management team to work like a well-oiled machine. They can’t do that if you fail to put them in charge of anything. You have to be willing to step back and let your staff take care of some stuff.
If you try to take on an entire IT project on your own, it will lead to burnout. You may end up not getting things done in time, causing the entire operation to fail.
We know it takes a lot of trust to put others in charge of things, but it’s necessary. Remember, you’ve hired your IT employees for a reason. Let them do what you’re paying them to do.
3. Your Security Practices Are Sub Par
All it takes is a small vulnerability to let hackers gain access to confidential information. A data breach such as this can cause your entire company to collapse.
Many businesses don’t bounce back from an attack and have to close their doors. To this end, improving digital security is a must. Don’t fall into these common traps.
Use a Firewall
A firewall acts as the first line of defense while you’re surfing the web. It creates a barrier between your sensitive data and cybercriminals.
The best part? Every computer comes with a firewall of some kind. Make sure all of your employees (including the remote ones) have it enabled on their machines.
Keep a List of Your Cyber Security Policies
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is a failure to brainstorm your cybersecurity policies. Write out a detailed plan of your dos and don’ts.
Once you jot them down, hold a meeting and go over each one with your team. Put them in a place where all your employees can see them. If someone makes a mistake and breaks one of your rules, hold them accountable.
Educate Your Employees
Going off our last point, you can’t hold your employees accountable for breaking your practices if you don’t tell them what your practices are. Make security an important part of their training.
Technology is always evolving, and hackers are getting craftier. That means you need to change up your systems and policies every now and again. When you do, make sure you inform everyone in all departments.
After your employees have finished their cybersecurity training, ask them to sign a waiver stating that they understand the policies and that you will take action if they break one.
Safe Password Practices
For security reasons, many companies have their employees change their passwords every few months. It’s annoying having to constantly come up with and remember new passcodes, but it’s necessary.
By having a changing rotation of passwords, it’s harder for hackers to get their hands on them. For your forgetful employees, they can write down their passwords, but make sure that they don’t keep them at their desks. This is especially true if you physically let clients into your office.
Back-up Your Data
You can practice all the security tips that we’ve laid out so far and still experience a breach. Hackers will get into your system and gain access to all your sensitive data. You could lose months’ worth of progress on a project.
It will be much easier for you to recover from this setback if you keep a copy of your data. This way, when you get your computer systems back into your control, all you have to do is download the files and start where you last left off.
Download Antivirus Software
The last important cyber security tip we have for you is to download antivirus software. It’s there to inform you when you’ve wandered onto a malicious webpage.
You can use it to scan files from the internet before you download them. You can scan your computer systems every now and again to catch viruses before they infect your entire system.
4. Hurrying Through the Recruitment Process
Many business owners want to hurry through hiring their IT management team and get it over with. You need people, and you need them now.
That sort of attitude isn’t going to bode well for your technology department. This will lead to you hiring the wrong people for the job.
You need team players that can communicate with others. It also helps if they have the necessary skills to handle the tasks ahead of them.
A Team Player
As we’ve already said, IT is a team effort. If you hire someone that doesn’t play well with others, it can drag the entire department through the mud.
If you want your computer systems to work as smoothly as possible, you need people who can work together to make that happen.
A Good Mix of Skills
A good IT employee will have a mixture of skills. It’s not all about knowing your way around the computer. Having someone with engineering skills is a plus. They have the training to spot weak spots in your system and help the rest of the team come up with a plan to handle them.
Someone with an enterprise architecture background will have excellent communication skills. They’ll be able to analyze your systems, come up with strategies to make things better, and lead the entire team on the project.
Since the job comes hand in hand with being able to lead and communicate, having someone with some level of business skill isn’t a terrible idea. If an employee has experience in management, they’ll be able to understand the inner workings of your team a bit better.
Flexible
With changes going on in the world, it’s important now more than ever to have employees who are flexible. You want someone who can seamlessly switch from working in the office to working from home.
A person that can move quickly from one project to another is important. You don’t want to burn your team out, but there are times when you may need your IT department to work on more than one project at once. You should have employees who can keep up with that kind of workload.
Curiosity
You do want to hire people who have the necessary degrees to handle your IT work. An employee is more than their educational background, however. If an employer sees someone with an associate’s degree and one with a bachelor’s, they’re more likely to go with the person with the bachelor’s.
What they don’t realize is that the person with the associate’s degree has a huge hunger for learning. They are always looking for ways to adapt and change. They have a real curiosity for the field they’re in, which makes them a much more outstanding employee.
5. Migrating to the Cloud Without a Plan
There’s a lot of benefits that your company can get from migrating to the cloud. It will lower your IT costs and add an extra layer of security. Many business owners make the mistake of seeing what they can gain and migrating without a real plan in mind.Â
If you go in without a roadmap, it will cause a huge disturbance in your company’s systems. Everything could be down for a while to make way for the new technology. That’s the last thing you want.
Sit down before you start making big sweeping changes to decide what tools you’re going to need to make the transition as smooth as possible. Make a list of goals. What do you want to get out of migrating to the cloud?
6. Not Promoting the Right Employees
Refusing to promote the right employees can be almost as bad as hiring the wrong ones. You shouldn’t reward an employee just for being loyal to the company.Â
In doing so, you may pave a career path for an individual who isn’t ready for that level of responsibility. If you’re thinking about promoting someone, sit down and talk with them about it first. If they seem a bit hesitant, you don’t want to give them the position.
Some employees will even tell you that they aren’t ready and refuse the advancement. If you move them up to tech lead anyway, they may quit due to pressure. If they try to stay, they might not be able to keep up with the level of work, which could bring harm to your entire system.
It is your duty as a manager to give deserving employees a promotion, but only when they’ve earned them. Don’t do it willy nilly.
7. You’re Not Setting Clear Priorities
Every IT project is important for helping your company grow. This being said, there are some that are more important than others. You’ve got to set priorities.
Let your IT department know which tasks they should be putting at the top of their to-do list. Give them clear instructions in terms of what tasks are due when.
This will prevent your IT team from missing their crucial deadlines. It also makes it easier for you to keep tabs on their progress, and it provides them with some direction.
Remember that communication is important on all ends. If you aren’t clear about the tasks that need to get done, you’ll make your entire team frustrated. It could even cause people to quit.
8. Refusal to Upgrade to New Technology
The world of technology is always advancing. If you fail to keep up, you leave your business vulnerable to hackers and other cyber security threats.
It’s also hard to be productive when your entire system is outdated. No one in any of your departments can do their jobs if their computers keep freezing up. It’s frustrating for everyone involved.
Don’t resist the new technology. Embrace it and train all your employees on how to use it. If you’re not sure what technological upgrades you need, a data consultant will be able to help you in this regard.
Avoid These Costly IT Management Errors
As you can see, making IT management errors can cost your entire company. All it takes is a single data breach to put a plug in your entire operation.
You need a top-notch technology department that can keep your business going like a well-oiled machine. Avoid hiring and promoting the wrong people, and always keep your systems up to date.
Do this, and you’ll reduce your security risks across the board. If you’re looking for more ways to help your company’s IT department succeed, visit the Tech News section of our blog to stay in the know about all the latest advancements.