Top 5 Areas Where MSPs Waste the Most Time
BY IT GLUE | May 29, 2018
Got time? Probably not. According to our recent Global MSP Benchmark Survey, the biggest challenge MSPs face today is a lack of time. How do you solve that?
One of the key ways is to look at the areas in which MSPs are currently wasting the most time. Every MSP is different, but understanding how MSPs waste time can shed light on areas where you should be able to reduce waste. Take a look at the top 5 time wasters for MSPs, and think about how you can streamline your processes and eliminate time waste.
1) Finding and developing good talent
How difficult is it to find good techs? As the second most prominent challenge MSPs are facing, finding talent is certainly not easy. Here you have a lot of time waste taking place, from waiting for the right candidate to trying to train an average candidate, and so on. Finding the right talent can be a slow process, but developing talent unfortunately doesn’t get much easier.
It typically takes years for a tech to go from Tier 1 to Tier 3. That’s years of talent existing below its potential. Creating good processes allows talent to grow, rather than stagnate. When your junior techs learn how to do more, not only are they more productive, but your senior techs are freed up to do more as well. Getting your staff to their best levels faster is a great way to become more efficient.
2) Onboarding
How long does it take for you to get your new tech to 80% efficiency? Our Benchmark Survey indicates for the majority of MSPs, it takes at least 3 months. Not only is this 3 months spent trying to get the new tech up to speed, but it’s using resources like your senior techs to do it.
So what’s going on? Without structured documentation, your new hire has to rely on other employees to get them up to speed. This takes efficiency out of their day, and the day of the individuals tasked with helping train them. When structured documentation is part of your onboarding process, your new hire becomes independent a lot faster because all the information they need is accessible – all knowledge is team knowledge accessible by everyone instead of individual knowledge known only by one.
3) Sales and Marketing
The majority of MSPs indicate that Sales and Marketing are pain points. Where there is a challenge, there is time being wasted due to the difficulty of the task. In order to build your client base, you need to also build and maintain relationships with your customers. When you struggle with Sales and Marketing, you struggle to do just that.
Implementing structured documentation can help combat these pain points. Documentation gives both Sales and Marketing a transparent flow of communication, wherein all information is available as it is necessary. This transparency can be leveraged to help manage all of your customer relationship, thus allowing you to engage with them more consistently. When your Sales and Marketing efforts are in sync, you reduce the friction between teams, and can set better SLAs.
4) Password resets
Many MSPs don’t know how their clients manage passwords. Because they’re not managing passwords well, the MSP receives password reset tickets all too frequently. Sure, you know how to manage your own passwords. But if your clients aren’t managing theirs properly, you’re still going to be the one dealing with it. In fact, the average 10-person MSP wastes $9,350 annually just on password reset tickets.
It’s your responsibility to make sure your clients practice good password hygiene. That may sound unfair, but if a malware attack occurs, they’ll want to know why you didn’t protect them. MyGlue ensures proper password management is taking place, and provides you visibility into what that management looks like. You’ll save time and money, as well as improving your relationship with your clients. Reducing password reset tickets goes a long way towards giving you back some of your time.
5) Searching for information
When all is said and done, all of this wasted time comes down to spending too much time searching for information. In fact, MSPs state that employees spend upwards of 2 hours searching for information on a daily basis. Imagine what you could do with an extra 2 hours in your day?
The less time you spend searching for information, the more time you’ll have to be productive and improve the overall performance of your MSP. You’re worried about a lack of time? Go ahead and start getting some of that time back.
When you start using documentation to record your information and processes, and store it in a centralized and secure location like IT Glue, your team is bound to increase their efficiency. Your new hire will be able to access the information they need independently, freeing up the time of your Tier 3 tech who already has their hands full. Sales and Marketing will become easier to manage when processes are in place, and they’re efficiently documented. When your clients start using MyGlue, password reset tickets will decrease, freeing up everyone’s time and creating a stronger relationship between you and your clients.
IT Glue is an award-winning documentation platform that allows for efficient storage and retrieval of all the documentation you need to help your MSP run better. By integrating PSA and RMM data, we can help increase your efficiency, and reduce onboarding times by even more. By eliminating wasted time from your business, IT Glue gives you more time to focus on what matters – growing your business.
