How to embrace the cloud into bite-sized portions from Jennifer Brazer, founder and CEO of a completely cloud-based company based in the US.
I have created a company that is 100% in the cloud and I want to share with everyone my thoughts on how to embrace this type of company. I have gathered some great points about embracing the cloud, take a look at what I’ve come up with.
Connecting Staff
Making sure your staff are able to continue producing the work/product you need to deliver to your customers is of primary importance. Everything else comes second to that. But how do you monitor, train, mentor, and incentivize staff that you cannot see from day to day? Here’s how we bridge that gap:
Remote Desktop Services
Coupled with a VPN, any good system administrator can create a permission-based environment for staff to log in to a remote server or cloud VM (virtual machine). If your work is stored on a local server, this might be the time to consider migrating to a cloud service or managed service. Be careful to use the appropriate protections to protect the sensitive data stored on your new system.
Work Tracking Software
Installing a work tracker on your system allows you to see when your staff members log in to work, how long they work, what tasks are performed, and whether they are using their work time efficiently. I always suggest a business model wherein staff members are paid for time worked and incentivized with bonuses for completing more work better. Avoiding the 9 to 5 construct provides staff with more freedom to work as needed and save the employer labor costs as staff work only when there is work to do.
Timesheet
A timesheet can be much more than a place for staff members to record their time and billable tasks. I recommend you develop the timecard to include hourly wage information and any bonus qualifiers that are part of your incentive program. If you are giving staff members a profit share bonus for completing their work efficiently, provide a field on the timesheet that calculates that bonus. If you are providing a bonus for completing certain milestones, such as a new client onboarding, be sure to make room for that on the timesheet. If you make it easy for staff to track their earnings as they complete their work, it provides them with a greater sense of control and makes them more likely to strive to reach the goals you have set for their role.
Scope of Work
This is the hardest part. It involves training your staff about the work that needs to be done, the methodologies you want them to use, and the deadlines they must meet. If you put your expectations in a written document by role, that is best. It provides a framework for the processes the staff member will be completing and a place to look at if they ever need clarity. It also makes staff expansion easier, adding new people quickly because training is a breeze.
Connecting Customers
Now that your staff is up and running, how do you get your clients on board? They may not have as many opportunities to interact with you digitally, but when they do, you want it to be seamless and impressive so that the experience will build trust. A clunky and difficult experience may leave them feeling insecure.
Alone or in combination, these tools and strategies will position your business as savvy and supportive as you bridge the technology gap.
I hope you find it useful.
Jennifer Brazer,
Author | CEO | Empowerment Nerd