Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Downtime is the not-so-silent business killer, as the second operations go down in a meaningful way, all hands are on deck to figure out what’s going wrong and how to fix it. But wouldn’t it be great if you could prevent all of that chaos in the first place? That’s the end result we hope you take away from today’s blog.

"Toxic" is a word we hear a lot these days, but when it’s used to describe a workplace, it’s a serious issue. A toxic work environment can cause many problems that hurt your business. That’s why it’s important to make sure your company has a positive, healthy atmosphere.

Businesses face a myriad of challenges, many of which originate from within their walls. Whether it's dealing with cyberthreats, dissatisfied customers, or unreliable suppliers, every business leader must navigate various internal and external issues. However, internal problems can sometimes be the most disruptive. Today, we’ll explore two significant employee-related challenges that can create substantial obstacles for business owners.

Today’s businesses need to have access to IT expertise. It is not a stretch to say this in our highly tech-reliant modern society, as business technology has become a legitimate advantage for organizations of any size to utilize against their competition. However, how confidently do you know what to look for in a job candidate?

Let’s go over the expertise—in both hard and soft skills—that you want any IT professional you depend on to have.

If you asked your workers to provide their feedback on digital monitoring, do you think they would be in favor of it or against it? A survey indicates that perhaps digital monitoring is not the controversial topic it was once considered in the workplace, at least to a certain extent. The catch? Monitoring has to give them opportunities to improve their job performance, and it shouldn’t get in the way of them doing their jobs.

Would you believe it if we told you that the members of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are more likely to fall for online shopping scams than those aged 60 or over? Well, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the numbers aren’t even close. If you’re under age 60, you’re 86 percent more likely to fall prey to scammers.

We don’t often talk about mobile malware, but that doesn’t make it any less scary! An Android banking malware called Sova has once again been making the rounds, this time complete with additional features that make it scarier than the last time. What can you do to protect yourself from this threat?

One of the biggest pain points that companies have to consider for remote workers is how productive they are actually being with their time. To solve this dilemma, some employers are opting to use the webcams installed on their employees’ devices to keep tabs on them. While we understand the idea of monitoring your team, perhaps using the webcam to spy on them is not the best way to approach this concept.

Shadow IT—while it sounds like the title of some B-movie suspense thriller or airport gift shop novel, it’s a very serious business issue that can easily make its way into your operations. Let’s review what shadow IT is, and what can be done to minimize the threats that it causes your business.

Remote work might be a somewhat new concept for some organizations, but it has proven to be an exceptionally helpful tool to have at one’s disposal. All that said, however, there are certain weaknesses that must be addressed if you want to take full advantage of the cloud, with one of them being the disconnection that comes from remote work. What does this disconnect mean for your business?

Workplace stress has become a key issue in today’s business environment, and many studies have been performed to demonstrate why there has been such an increase, as well as what can be done to stymie its impact. Microsoft has recently filed a patent to show how seriously this issue must be taken. While it’s good to see the tech company invested in resolving this issue, one has to wonder whether the help of a new technology solution is necessary in identifying stressors in their workplace environment.

Businesses are using more remote workers than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary for them to react and they did, but it has proven to have a handful of challenges. One of the most stark issues that remote workers face is the assault on their mental health. Most newly-remote workers once held several conversations with co-workers day-in and day-out and being isolated for 12 months has taken its toll. This shift is having negative effects on businesses from all over the world. Let’s take a look at a couple of things that you can do about it. 

Workplace burnout has been discussed quite a bit in the last year—which in and of itself seems funny, considering how relatively little time many people spent in the workplace this past year or so. However, just because the conventional workplace was altered doesn’t mean that the potential to experience burnout has been at all.

With so many users worldwide embracing Windows as their chosen operating system for all kinds of purposes, there are many different settings that can be customized to best fit the different needs of a workplace as compared to a gamer’s or a family’s setup. Microsoft understands this, and so is testing out a new feature to help a user quickly personalize a device to its predominant use.

Most businesses stick to a schedule to help ensure that their processes are chugging along efficiently, and that everyone has a task to ensure that the business is optimally productive. Of course, these kinds of things aren’t always easy. However, modern cloud software solutions are now available to make it a lot simpler.

If there’s one buzzword heard more than any other in today’s workplace, I’d be willing to bet it could be “collaboration”… and no wonder. Collaboration serves a very important purpose in today’s operations, which is why establishing the processes that encourage it makes sense for your business’ well-being.

While one would certainly hope that you would only hire people that you would trust to work for you, the big question still remains of whether or not you should trust them. Our advice: you certainly should, for the good of your business. Here’s why.

With so many people working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, organizational IT security is stretched thin. It is important that you know how to maintain operational integrity while prioritizing security when your whole staff is working from home. 

Nowadays, efficiency is the name of the game and productivity is almost always in a business’ top priorities. For these goals to be met, your team needs to know what they are doing. This is precisely why it is so important for them to be trained properly. For this week’s tip, we’ll be going over a few training approaches for you to consider adopting as you educate your team.

Training your employees is important. One tool that you may find useful is Microsoft PowerPoint, as it allows you to create an engaging and informative training program.