Updating your technology on a regular basis is an important part of keeping your employees productive and efficient as well as protecting your company from cyber security threats. But keeping employees up to date on how to use all this new tech can be a challenge. Here are 7 tips to help you train more tech savvy employees and keep your business moving forward.

• Know why –Most people resist change. It’s just human nature. But if you can explain WHY it’s worth their time and effort to learn and use this new tech, you’ll find your employees will be a lot more cooperative. And maybe even excited.
• Recruit inside– Some employees will naturally be more apt and more interested in the new tech. Recruit them to help you train the others. This will help bridge the knowledge gap as well as getting everyone involved on the project together.
• Get hands-on –As often as possible, have your employees learn by doing. The more engaged they are, the more likely they are to retain the information.
• Documentation –Ever wish there was a manual for that? So do your employees. Give them written instructions (preferably with screenshots) whenever possible. This will help them learn more quickly and provide a handy reference guide for later.
• Keep it small –Breaking your employees into smaller groups for tech training gives them more opportunities to ask questions and engage with the instructor, helping them learn more quickly.
• Everyone is different –Some employees will pick up the new tech and run with it right away, but others will require more time and effort to get them going. Be prepared for differing rates of progress and be patient.
• Get their thoughts –Your employees can provide you will valuable feedback on the learning process and how the new tech is impacting the company, if you ask and are open to listening. Do this during the transition and afterwards to help keep tabs on the bigger picture.

Durango, CO, May 20, 2019 – CRN_®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Melissa Glick, CEO of Think Network Technologies, to its prestigious 2019 Women of the Channel list. The leaders on this annual list are from all areas of the IT channel ecosystem; representing technology suppliers, distributors, solution providers, and other IT organizations. Each is recognized for her contributions to channel advocacy, channel growth and visionary leadership.

CRN editors choose the list from a multitude of channel leadership applicants and select the final honorees based on their professional accomplishments, demonstrated expertise, and ongoing dedication to the IT channel.

“CRN’s 2019 Women of the Channel list honors influential leaders who are accelerating channel growth through mutually-beneficial partnerships, incredible leadership, strategic vision, and unique contributions in their field,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “This accomplished group of leaders is driving channel success and we are proud to honor their achievements.”

“It’s an honor to be included in such an accomplished group of women,” said Glick “Technology is such an influential and important field, and it’s encouraging to see so much positive growth and change happening from year to year.”

The 2019 Women of the Channel list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/WOTC.

Think Network Technologies is an award-winning, full-service IT company based in Durango, Colo. and servicing the Four Corners, providing managed services, premise and cloud solutions, integrated communications, and IT consulting for businesses.

If you lost all your business data today, how long would it take for your business to recover? What steps would you take to get everything up and running again? How would it impact you financially? Knowing the answers to these questions is all part of being prepared. Just like having a back up and recovery plan. Here is some more compelling evidence that this is a necessary part of any business today:

1. Data is Easy to Lose – not just major events, a lot of it is human error. This is especially true in a BYOD culture where you may have business data being stored on personal laptops or in personal cloud accounts of your employees.

2. Cyber Attacks Keep Coming – the average cost of an attack for a company with 10 – 24 employees is over $38,000, and it just goes up from there. It doesn’t matter what type of business or the size, hackers will target anything they can profit from.

3. Downtime – loss of data can bring your entire business to a grinding halt. And if that data can’t be recovered, it takes even more time to replace (if that’s even an option).

4. Irreplaceable Data – some documents or files are truly invaluable. Everything from client lists and research to files on upcoming projects. If all that disappeared in one day, where would your business be?

5. Reputation – do you hold any sensitive or personal data on for your clients or customers? Or data that your clients will need to access in the future, like health care records or financial information. How would telling them it was all gone impact your relationship with them? Or your reputation in the business community?

A variety of back up and recovery options are available and can be customized to suit your business. Contact one of our engineers today if you would like to learn more about your options or get an expert’s perspective on developing your own backup and recovery plan.

As the role of IT evolves and becomes more integrated with the very foundations of our businesses, it’s vital for you to evolve with it. It’s no longer enough to know the ins and outs of business tech, now you need to have the leadership skills and business savvy necessary to make all that tech knowledge an integral asset at every level, from C-suite executives to end users.

Talk less, communicate more

It’s important to ensure that IT solutions, as well as time and money spent, are all in the best interests of the company. So, it’s important to listen to what people are saying, sift through to what’s actually needed, prioritize what will benefit the company most, and then communicate the value of the proposition as well as how it will be accomplished. This requires an open mind, good listening skills, and abstract reasoning.

Focus on simplicity, efficiency, and agility

With so many IT solutions available for each need, it’s important to remember that more isn’t more, but neither is less. What you want is the right fit for your business, and that will change as your business grows and evolves. This requires an IT leader with a focus on keeping your processes simple, a willingness to cut anything that isn’t efficient, and an eye to keeping the business agile enough to shift and change when and how it needs to in order to stay competitive.

Hire adaptability

People are inherently resistant to change, so it’s important that you actively seek people who are interested in challenge and growth. A growth mindset means they won’t run from change, they’ll lean into it. And even better, they’ll get curious and start asking questions that may open up new avenues of thinking or opportunities that will help your business move forward.

Get your hands dirty

It’s unrealistic to tell a group of people to do something without being willing to do it yourself, and adopting new mindsets and approaches to technology is no different. Get involved with your teams, help them work through the problems and challenges, and let them see you working to learn with them. It will encourage a healthier dynamic and improve adoption of new technology and processes.

Change the way you view mistakes

Teams who are afraid to fail are also afraid to try, and you can’t make progress until you’re open to both. You can help your team by establishing a culture that treats mistakes as an opportunity to learn and do better.

Value different perspectives and relationships

Bridging the gap between IT and business can seem overwhelming. It gets a lot easier when you have a pool of contacts to draw from that spans both sides. These different perspectives will help keep you from leaning too far to one side, and they will help you see your challenges and opportunities in a whole new light.

Focus forward and keep adapting

Consistent change is the new normal, and the pace increases every year. Now is the time to embrace this and learn how to use it to your advantage. Rather than seeking out a “perfect” structure or solution, allow your ideas and your approach to be flexible enough to take advantage of “great for now”. And then be prepared to change again when your business outgrows that solution or a better one becomes available.