Are you feeling stressed about COVID-19 but finding you have more capacity due to slowing economic conditions? Take advantage by conducting an IT Strategy Health Check.
IT health checks should be a part of normal business behaviors but are quickly overlooked during a booming economy. As employers are seeing a reduced workload for their employees, now is a great time to conduct this health check. IT assessments don’t have to include more spending right now but are great for assessing where your IT is at for your company and it can be the first step toward building out the IT infrastructure you want for your company when cash is not strained. Ask yourself the following questions so you can be prepared for when the economy is booming. As employers are seeing a reduced workload for their employees, now is a great time to conduct this health check. IT assessments don’t have to include more spending right now but are great for assessing where your IT is right now, and it can be the first step toward building out the IT infrastructure you want for your company when cash is not strained. Ask yourself the following questions so you can be prepared for when the economy is booming.
Are you implementing current trends and useful tools?
What marketing and customer service software are you currently using? Have you taken advantage of implementing software such as customer relationship management? CRM’s such as HubSpot and Salesforce (along with many others) provide an opportunity to track your clients, gain valuable insight via reports, implement automation and increase marketing campaigns. These programs, as well as many others, can also be used for sending bulk emails. As millennials and Gen Z start to come into this workforce, they will rely more on emails and online content as their source of information and communication. Use this extra time during the slow economy to prepare your CRM and marketing tools for when the economy picks up.
Have you adopted automation?
As the economy slows down, some companies will find themselves downsizing, during this downsizing, take advantage of automation. Using online tools to automate emails to clients and to move a prospective client through the sales funnel is one way to keep business going with minimal staffing. Chatbots for websites is another useful tool to interact with the customers without requiring human interaction in the company. These automation tools as well as many others provide scalability to your company. As your business grows, these tools can adapt, allowing your business to grow without having to hire as many employees. Higher sales while maintaining the current staffing levels translates to profit. By implementing these tools now, your company will also be prepared for the economic growth that will be felt after the US and the world “reopen for business”. These automation tools, as well as many others, provide scalability to your company. As your business grows, these tools can adapt, allowing your business to grow without having to hire as many employees. Higher sales while maintaining the current staffing levels translates to profit. By implementing these tools now, your company will also be prepared for the economic growth that will be felt after the US and the world “reopen for business”.
Do you have a work from home solution in place?
During non-essential business shutdown, many companies have had to switch to at-home work. This has presented problems for many companies. Being prepared for such future shutdowns can set you apart from your competition. Having multiple communication platforms in place such as team collaboration and video chat clients will keep the team together as they work remotely. Communication and team collaboration are both critical to a successful work from home strategy however, accessing company data is equally important. ; however, accessing company data is equally important. The more the user experience remains the same regardless of being in–office or at-home, the more productive the employees will be. It is important to keep the data access the same regardless of their location. This can be done with file shares such as SharePoint or with Virtual Private Networks (VPN) clients. Regardless of the option, proper bandwidth and cybersecurity measures need to be implemented to support the remote work. Lastly, how will your company handle the reopening of work? If your company proved it can work from home without a reduction in efficiency, will this new experience be the new normal or will they be required to go back to the office? How will a combination of at-home and in-office with team collaboration and communication work for your company? Now is the time to answer those questions before the stay–at–homes are lifted.
What is my cybersecurity footprint?
When was your last audit completed on your systems? These should be conducted regularly. I recommend having a quarterly audit of a quarter of your systems and implementation strategies. A full cybersecurity penetration test or similar audits should also be done but not as regularly. These audits should include emergency response plans and risk management framework documents. How your company handles future attacks or emergencies can affect how quickly it can recover from said disaster. Use this down time to review these documents or if they do not exist, use the time to build them. Typically, the companies that survive a hack or ransomware are the companies that have these plans in place.
Make sure your employees are staying vigilant with email phishing attempts. These attacks are on the rise as bad actors take advantage of the current environment. Phishing attempts are being sent under the disguise of COVID, donations, IRS and HR emails. Use professional software to test your employees and train them. The easiest way for an attack to occur on your company is through a successful phishing attempt.
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