Even though it’s one of the world’s biggest and most profitable industries, there are still reasons for IT technicians to quit the business and walk away. Some of it is directly related to it being a $3 trillion industry globally, such as odd hours, stress, and competition; but some reasons for why your IT tech quits the business are related to a lack of healthy communication between IT techs and their clients.
We hope this article will shed some light on why IT tech support specialists choose to walk away – and what you can do to alleviate the problem (namely, hire us as your more economical in-house alternative).
All of us at one time or another have wanted to yell “I quit!” and run away to the wilderness – or, at the very least, to some vacation time, if not another profession altogether.
It’s no different for IT specialists, and in fact, the occupational stressors are more pronounced for many computer networking techs (compared to the “average” job) who, somewhat like a doctor on call 24/7, never seem to get enough rest between call-outs or “patients”.
We’re proud to say that that isn’t the case for SymTec representatives, however.
One of the main contributors to the fundamental problem of the communication breakdown between IT specialists and their clients is likely the fact that IT services are viewed by many as a “necessary evil,” however much good that “tech support guy” can do for his clients’ computer networks.
And, with the technology itself in constant flux and entropy, IT techs are kept on an ever-revolving and faster-spinning hamster wheel where, as Jack Wallen writes in the Tech Republic article, 10 Reasons for Quitting IT, “[The] stress rarely lets up. Every minute of the day, you are working and working harder than you might expect…The days you win are always lost in the pile of days you lose.”
Gaining Understanding in the IT Service War
Jack Wallen isn’t the only IT technician to describe the business of IT as a constant battle, always doing “disaster management,” as he calls it, and getting (perceptibly) little in the way of thanks. And, sometimes even, little in the way of pay. Yes, some independent IT contractors will experience deferred accounts receivable for months. IT support specialists, in many situations, get taken advantage of and (in their eyes) used as firefighters who are always putting out spot fires due, in their estimation, to the use of operating systems and network servers which are badly set up or conceived, run faulty or vulnerable software, and which necessitate numerous call-backs.
Again, not the case for SymTec IT engineers, but we’re casting a wide net here.
Add to that the true factor for brewing resentment between some IT techs and those whom they serve – when companies fail to establish or enforce sound cyber safety and security policies with their workforce, and repeat callouts occur due to an employee clicking on a link-bait scam or other questionable email link or download, and malware, ransomware and other exploit tools ensue.
To that end, we do encourage our clients to have rigorous cyber safety policies in place, and can even educate your workforce in that capacity.
So, how can more understanding and mutual respect be had between IT management pros and their customers? Perceptions aren’t parallel between IT service crews and their clients, due mainly to being from widely dissociated backgrounds and specialties, but also because IT techs, in many of their opinions, can’t get their jobs done properly for whatever reasons.
This is true for both in-house IT techs and outsourced IT services.
Some in both spheres can tend to see their higher-ups or clients as not understanding the full technology configuration picture. Just throw you into the fray, and we promise to pay, seems to be the credo for some there.
Perhaps it will take many more IT techs jumping ship (another exacerbating factor – the perception in many eyes being that IT technicians are flighty and non-committal, which is really inarguable) and changing careers altogether for those who depend on their tireless, largely thankless efforts to realize where they and their businesses would be without their services.
Answer: Likely in the doghouse faster than a ransomware infection or compliance violation could do.
But, what other factors are there in the IT services problem that we can air-out and get on the table and work towards a healthier understanding of IT technology, its management, and what it all entails?
SymTec’s Part in the Battle for Better IT Services Understanding
Unlike the scenarios described above, we strive to bridge the communications gap between our IT techs and our valued clientele by addressing the issues that hamper good relations and understanding between ourselves and our customers.
We realize it must be an equitable and mutually beneficial arrangement if it is to bear any fruit at all. We won’t let our techs suffer in silence until they just jump ship and, likewise, we won’t let any ruffles in the communications and “service link” become untenable rifts that threaten either the client’s service deliverables or our own internal chain of command.
We foster a win-win scenario so that both parties are happy with the outcome, our people aren’t consumed by stress and underappreciation, and our clients find us to be “highly referable,” and become loyal patrons of our technological talents.
So, if your IT tech walks out the door – you know who to call!
Let Us Establish Healthier IT Relations
If you’re ready for a leader among IT companies in Idaho and Utah to optimize your IT management with healthier, happier, and more open and communicative IT techs who won’t quit on you, then contact us today at (800) 489-1706 or by secure email form for more info.