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Disaster Recovery Is a Big Issue

There are two ways to approach a disaster: reactive and proactive. The reactive approach involves the mindset that you cannot prevent the disaster; therefore, there is no reason to try, as you will experience the consequences anyway. The other mindset, proactive, subscribes to the idea that you can be ready for a disaster and can mitigate the damages ahead of time with the right amount of preparation.

In just about all situations, it’s better to be proactive than reactive, especially in the case of disaster recovery. Due to the nature of the situations, you never know if and when they will strike, so you had best be prepared to handle natural disasters, physical disasters, and technology disasters. Let’s go over them.

Natural Disasters

A natural disaster is usually what people think of when they think of disasters, and they include situations like fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and so on. You could even put a pandemic in this category. While the severity might vary, there can be no denying that these situations can impact operations. You need to have a plan to address unexpected weather and illness for your business; the continuity of operations hangs precariously in the balance.

Physical Disasters

A physical disaster has to do with the physical infrastructure of your company, which might include your building, its utilities, physical security breaches, or theft. Examples include burst pipes, HVAC system errors, and power failures. While it might not seem like a massive loss, you can be sure that the accumulated downtime will be costly enough to make you wish you had a contingency plan in place.

Technology Disasters

Technology disasters are the result of technology failures, including the components of systems, as well as cybersecurity breaches. These are the most likely issues you will deal with regarding your hardware, and it will inevitably fail with enough wear and tear. Furthermore, they require a very specific skill set and expertise to maintain. Technology-related disasters like data loss and cyberattacks can both be prepared for, so it’s your responsibility to do so.

How to Go About Planning for the Worst

The general goal of a disaster recovery plan is to reduce downtime and get back to business as usual as quickly as possible. The devil is in the details, here; you need to know exactly what must be done, including metrics and benchmarks you want to hit, in order to successfully prepare for a disaster incident. There are certain things you’ll need regardless of the situation, though, such as data backed up both on and off-site. With the appropriate preparation, you can ensure that these situations don’t derail your operations.

Digital Seattle can help you build out a disaster recovery plan and test it periodically to ensure your business can recover without a hitch. To learn more, reach out to us at (206) 709-9556.

Here are some tips you can use to keep your employees from participating in “The Great Resignation.”

What is Driving The Great Resignation?

Several different contributing factors are involved, the result being 47.8 million voluntary job vacancies in 2021 alone. This was the highest number recorded since 2001, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022 will likely not be any better. In February alone, there were 4.4 million resignations in the United States.

This trend is not exclusive to the States, either. The social media posts about people quitting their jobs with the highest levels of engagement are from all over the world.

But Why Are People Quitting?

Some people who are leaving their positions joined during the pandemic, where remote work policies were in place and the people involved–those in the Gen Z age group, for example–are not interested in a commute to the office. On a similar note, many parents, some of them new, are finding that the time spent at home while working remotely helps tremendously to balance their home life responsibilities.

In fact, some are leaving their positions because they are being urged to return to the office, something which is simply not preferable for some workers. In this case, the needs of workers are being sidelined by companies’ needs to control their workforce. This has ultimately led to workers making sacrifices in their flexibilities and pay just to remain in a remote work environment.

Other reasons to leave might include poor workplace interactions and a lack of work/life boundaries. The Great Resignation has forced many people to look at their own priorities and to shift their focus to things that matter most in their lives, and work does not seem to be among them.

How Can I Avoid Losing People?

Simply put, you can do a lot of good by acknowledging that remote work is a possibility for your workforce, and it will do a lot to aid in employee retention. This will be particularly helpful to keep employees on both the younger and the older sides of the spectrum. You might even consider offering hybrid options if you can’t bring yourself to commit wholeheartedly to remote work options.

Digital Seattle can help you implement the technology needed to aid in this shift. To learn more, reach out to us at (206) 709-9556.

Engagement is More Than Production

The first thing you have to understand about remote employees is that most of them do better work faster from the comfort of their own homes than they do from an office. It’s just the fact that people take less time to do something productive when they don’t have to factor in all the other variables that come into play when they leave their house. 

Another thing that you have to understand is that a remote worker has much more to distract them from work than workers that work in an office. Which is why it may seem like they are a little less productive, even if they are meeting their key performance indicators (KPIs) and meeting their deadlines. 

This all translates to a very confusing situation. Let’s take a look at three tips that can help you keep your remote workers engaged.:

You Still Need Culture

Your company culture is more than the free coffee and donuts (or beer) you provide, it is the way that your business treats its employees. When building a team of remote workers this can be kind of pushed aside for more practical decision making, but it is still extremely important to keep your team as engaged as you want them to be. Shared goals and interests connect people and encourage better work and communication.

One tip that can help you keep building your company culture is to have some fun on your collaboration tool or instant messaging platform. If you set up a “just for fun” channel where your team can communicate, share stories, memes, jokes and more, you will see more engagement out of the team members that need that sort of thing while they work remotely. Another tip could be to set up optional meet-ups such as a happy hour or a virtual meeting at the end of the week so people can interact with team members they may not come into contact with in the execution of their work. The more “normal” you can make working from home, the more productive and comfortable your team will be. 

Get the Right Tools

Remote workers depend on the software you provide them, so it stands to reason that the most engaged remote workers will have access to software that makes this a priority. There are a wide range of different technologies available today that can create close working conditions for remote workers. Whether it's collaboration software, video conferencing, or simply just a well-tested instant messaging platform, your remote teams will be better off if they have access to tools that make collaboration easier and communication less of a chore. 

Provide Emotional Feedback and Support

One often overlooked part of working from home are the pressures that come from the home. Some people can handle them a lot better than others. Proper organization communication is the most effective way to keep remote employees engaged, while also helping managers have a substantial effect on their motivation and productivity. No matter where you work from, you want to know that the company you work for sees you as an individual and not just a number on the end of a VoIP channel.

You’ll want to maintain regular communication with your remote employees, provide timely and constructive feedback, give them goals to achieve and establish a level of trust that makes them want to be engaged and productive. 

Having remote employees may not always be easy, but the more it becomes commonplace, the more managers need to understand that it’s not the same as working from an office. If you would like to talk to one of our consultants about getting the technology your remote team needs to help build engagement and be as productive as they can, give Digital Seattle a call today at (206) 709-9556.