How to Plan for IT Emergencies

IT emergencies are inevitabilities in today's technological world. Handling them will be critical to your IT business and maintaining a strong and loyal customer base. You have to achieve a delicate staff balance that allows you to meet the needs of existing clients and gain new ones.

Don't Over Schedule

For technical people that do not have sales or management tasks, you want to schedule at 75 percent capacity. This means that 25 percent is left open for non-billable projects, IT emergencies and new business.

You will encounter times, even when you leave room, when you still can't handle every client without calling in all available resources. This is the time when you need to pull everyone together to handle enough IT emergencies and focus on individual customers. Standardizing will pay off during this time.

If you have someone out in the field for a full day, schedule them from eight to eleven a.m. and then do an afternoon appointment from one to four, which leaves you time.

Explain It Emergencies Well

Long-term clients understand IT emergencies and typically will be able to deal with times when you have to reschedule their appointments. Your response to emergencies lets them know that when they get into trouble, you will be there for them too. The most important thing to do if you encounter IT emergencies is to keep communications open; if you're running a few hours late, call your next client and explain the situation.

The most important things to remember when handling IT emergencies is to keep communications open, stay in contact with clients, make the best use of what resources you have and don't over-schedule routine appointments so you are prepared. You will need this extra time built-in s you can best handle IT emergencies.

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