Top Causes of Employee Burnout in Your MSP (and How to Avoid it)
BY IT GLUE | January 10, 2019
Feeling burnt out? All you need is a quick glance at Reddit to know that you’re not alone.
A little while ago a colleague of mine stumbled across a Reddit page based on the opening comment, “Burnt out and I don’t know what to do.” The user worked for an MSP, and identified experiencing an overwhelming amount of responsibilities – the kind that isn’t sustainable. Scanning the page, a large influx of comments reported that many were struggling with the same kind of thing: feeling overworked, underappreciated, and experiencing something close to chaos in their companies.
Burnout doesn’t come out of nowhere, though. So, what’s causing the flame to go out?
Technical deficiencies
If you don’t have access to the right tools for the job, you’re likely going to struggle, or at the very least you’ll be lacking in efficiency. Think about the tools you use. Are you keeping up with the trends in technology? Are you leveraging automation? Do you have the right relationships between tools?
When it comes to the tools you use – your PSA, RMM, CRM, and so on, it’s imperative that you choose the tool that best fits your MSP’s unique needs. That’s why we’re so adamant about what you should be looking for in a documentation solution. If you settle for the wrong one, it’s going to leave you and your team stagnant, struggling to complete even basic tasks.
Time waste
How often do you have to search for information to get the job done? We come back to this question again and again, because it’s that crucial. If you’re constantly having to check all the hiding places just to find one piece of information, you’re wasting critical time and making tasks feel a whole lot harder than they should.
Think about the information you need to solve a ticket. Can you find the information easily? Is it in one secure and central location? The more information that’s readily available, the better. Not only will your team appreciate it, but you’ll build a positive reputation with your customers for providing punctual and efficient service.
No standardization
Do you and your colleagues complete the same task the same way? The answer is far too often, no. So standardize. Find the best possible way to carry out a task, and then document it so that everyone is following the same steps. SOPs and checklists are awesome ways of ensuring processes are followed accurately, and without skipping steps.
Lack of communication
Whether it’s about clearly explaining processes, or just being able to get a hold of a fellow colleague in an easier manner, both affect how sustainable a given workload feels. If you’re not already leveraging a social app in your MSP, it’s time to look into one. Tools for social interaction like Slack reduce friction and increase collaboration between teams, ensuring members can reach out to one another with ease.
No clear roles
Sometimes, especially in smaller shops, you might be wearing multiple hats. Take sales for example. Not every MSP starts out with a dedicated sales team or salesperson, and while sales may not be your strong suit, you still have to take on the role. Whatever the situation might be, it’s important to identify roles and responsibilities, and to keep them up to date as they change. Better yet, document these roles and have them easily available so that each individual team member is not only responsible but accountable for their tasks.
The twist? Most of what causes burnout is an outcome of poor documentation. Whether it’s spending too much time searching for something that could have been documented, or not having any SOPs and checklists available to ensure processes are standardized, it all boils down to the same thing. Even technical deficiencies can be combated by going one step further and taking advantage of documentation automation. When documentation is ingrained into your MSP’s culture, every team member benefits.
So, I’ll ask again. Feeling burnt out? Use documentation to relight the flame.
If you’re interested in what IT Glue can do to reduce time waste and further efficiency in your organization, sign up for a demo today.
Documentation is a source of competitive advantage. When your processes are well-documented, they move from being individual knowledge to team knowledge. You execute consistently, and do not waste time looking for information, because it’s always at your fingertips. Companies with a high level of documentation maturity enjoy higher revenue growth, increased cost savings and superior valuations. IT Glue can help you get there.
