Is My IT Services Company Understaffed?

When you’re disappointed with the service and results that you’re getting from your IT services company, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why but one reason could be that they’re understaffed and overworked. The decline may have happened over a period of years or perhaps you’re a year into your relationship and it’s become apparent that the IT company can’t deliver what they promised.

Either way, when your IT services company is understaffed, it shows up in your business as frustration, recurring problems, and plain incompetence. Is this happening to you?

IT keeps fixing the same issues.
We never know when we’ll get a response to our support requests.
All they do is deal with symptoms, not the causes of technology problems.
We have new employees starting, but their computers aren’t ready.
My IT company told me over the phone to reboot the server.
Our staff doesn’t like to call them for help because there is no follow -through.
They were great for the first six months of our relationship. But now…

Let’s take a deeper look at what you might be experiencing when your IT department is understaffed.

Signs That IT Support is Spread Too Thin

Employees Don’t Get the Help They Need

When your people submit a service request, they don’t get the response they need. Perhaps it takes too long to hear back or the guidance they get just isn’t helpful. Everyone avoids calling the help desk because of the lack of follow through. People just try to fix their issues themselves, ask a coworker for help, or just live with their issue.

IT Staff Turnover is High, Morale is Low

It’s apparent that there’s a lot of turnover at the IT company and it’s no wonder. Working at an understaffed IT company means constant high stress and long hours. Mistakes are common and when workers ask for more manpower even if it’s just part time. Unfortunatly, management tells them “No,” then they bring on yet another client.

Only One or Two IT People Know Your Company

Often a technical resource is assigned to a specific client account. This one resource is responsible for all support efforts for that particular client. So, when they’re not available, the client is forced to wait. What’s more, there isn’t a lot of documentation which means the work performed by one employee cannot be followed by another. When an employee resigns, he takes away customer knowledge that only exists in his head, which brings us to the next point.

No One at the IT Company Knows Your Business or IT Systems

The person that covered your account is no longer there. A new lead was assigned to you, but he doesn’t know your systems yet. Again, there isn’t a lot of documentation to help with this turnover. Details and neglected and processes are not followed. Simple tasks are missed.

Simple Tasks Keep Falling Through the Cracks

Simple preventable issues are causing problems in your organization.

Your new hire does not have a computer even though you submitted a ticket weeks ago. 
Email went down because your DNS registration lapsed.
Computers are running Windows updates during business hours.

IT Fixes Never Get to the Root of the Problem

The same issues keep coming up. Instead of addressing the root cause, your IT company puts a work around in place and moves on. Sometimes all you can do is try to reboot the server yourself, which is very disruptive during business hours.

Fast is More Important Than Doing Things the Right Way

With so many clients in the queue waiting for assistance, doing things fast becomes more important than doing things right at an understaffed IT company. As a result, they never take the time and effort required to find long term solutions. Workarounds and quick fixes are key to keeping up with a growing list of reactive support calls from frustrated clients. Projects are left unfinished and documentation is left out entirely.

Proactive Maintenance is an Afterthought

The word “proactive” has become the mantra of outsourced IT companies everywhere. There are some amazing products that allow IT companies to keep a close eye on the health of their clients’ systems but having these tools alone does not make an IT company proactive. Responding to an alert is reactive. Being proactive requires having people who are dedicated to system management and maintenance, and not continually being pulled away for reactive services.

You Wonder If You’re One Step Away from a Crisis

When using a managed services provider, you should never have these thoughts.

Is my firewall configured properly?
Is every endpoint protected?
Is my older hardware in danger of failing?
Do I have good backups of my data?
Is my staff aware of cybersecurity risks?
Can guests access our network through our wireless system?

The Honeymoon is Definitely Over

Perhaps the first few months went well, but there hasn’t been much communication lately. There are still some lingering issues that were supposed to be addressed in the beginning. The technology planning sessions you were promised never happened. In fact, we haven’t had a meeting with them since onboarding.

Short-Staffed IT is Sabotaging Your Success

If you identify with these observations of what happens when your IT company is understaffed, you certainly know that this situation is affecting your business in big ways. You’re always playing catch up, because that’s what IT is doing. Customer and employee satisfaction is compromised. Productivity is in the tank. Can you really continue like this?

How Bellwether Helps

The unfortunate reality of the IT industry is that companies have come to accept disappointing IT services from outsourced partners. It doesn’t have to be this way. The cycle can be broken. If you’re a decision maker and anything mentioned above sounds familiar, it’s time for a new managed services provider.

Bellwether helps organizations across the Gulf South improve how they manage their technology so that it can be a driver for their success. Whether you need full support or just want to enhance your own IT team, Bellwether will deliver.

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