Washington Works Blog

Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you invest in a high-priced technology solution, only to find that the solution isn’t what your business needs. The technology is effectively a “lemon,” where it costs your business a lot of money without any real return on the investment. This sometimes happens when you use technology to fix a short-term problem without a clear long-term strategy; you lose money and productivity due to incompatibility issues, and without a strategic roadmap to move forward, you’re left wondering where you’ve gone wrong.

The very tools designed to make our jobs easier, faster, and more flexible often feel like the source of our deepest stress. From the endless barrage of email notifications to the pressure of being always available, modern work technology is a true double-edged sword.

So, does technology create stress or remove stress in the workplace? The answer, like most things in the digital age, is both.

Is your business’ technology hindering your employees, or is it making their jobs easier and more efficient? The right technology can go a long way toward improving the employee experience, morale, company culture, and most important of all, productivity. Let’s look at three ways technology makes for a better employee experience.

While hiring anyone to work in your business offers an assortment of challenges to overcome, it’s especially complicated when that hire’s role involves managing your IT. Technology is a complex subject, after all, and your expertise more than likely lies elsewhere in your organization’s needs. This knowledge gap could lead to the wrong fit being brought on… an expensive endeavor in more ways than one.

When it comes to your technology, can you honestly say you have a plan? Or do you just pick things up that you think you need without a second thought? If your business doesn’t take technology acquisitions seriously, you’re setting yourself up for failure—and that’s where an IT roadmap presents a ton of value.

Even though it’s incredibly helpful, technology can be frustrating—sometimes to an absurd degree. Businesses can’t function without it, so they have to learn to live with it, but it doesn’t have to be hard. You can develop some habits by using these tricks to reduce some of the friction in your workday.

Artificial intelligence has consumed the zeitgeist and isn’t letting go anytime soon. Businesses can leverage this trend in technology to great effect, provided they can get over how intimidating some of the more complicated use cases of AI can be. That said, there are plenty of easy ways to leverage AI, even for small and medium-sized businesses.

While you want to believe the best of your business, including your IT staff, it’s important to recognize when they’ve reached their limit regarding knowledge and workload. To combat these limitations, you can work with an outsourced IT provider. Combining the two can help you meet your business’ technology needs.

Cybersecurity is one of those things everyone in a workplace should know about, no matter their role. But here’s the problem—turns out, a lot of people don’t.

A recent survey in the UK found that about one in three adults flunked a cybersecurity test. And get this—the test was designed for 11-year-olds. Yikes.

Working remotely has given employees flexibility and work-life balance, but it also presents businesses with unique challenges—for example, security. When your network is spread out over several different locations, like with the at-home office, the threat surface increases. Today, we want to cover three ways you can take the bite out of remote work security and make it more effective for all involved.

Collaboration is super important for all kinds of businesses today, especially because so much work is done online. With so many people working from home, it's clear that businesses need a safe way to work together successfully.

Picture this: you or a team member encounters a technology issue in the middle of the workday. Simple, you might think… just call your in-house IT department. However, the members of your IT team are visibly overworked, scurrying around the office, trying to get some of the tasks off their to-do lists. They’re visibly running out of time, patience, or, most likely, both. It isn’t a good time to bother someone for help; that’s obvious, but what option is there?

Cloud computing has become a really useful tool for businesses, allowing them to grow, be more flexible, and save money. But even with all its benefits, businesses face some challenges when using cloud services. One big issue is keeping data safe and private.

Over a quarter of all data breaches target small businesses, and the cost of a breach can be devastating. To protect your business’ data and infrastructure, small businesses need a combination of effective technology tools and well-planned strategies. Here are some key steps your business can take to safeguard itself against digital theft.

Human resources is not an easy game, as I’m sure your HR representatives would be happy to tell you if asked. Therefore, it is important that they have the tools needed for success today.

By this, we mean information technology that supports the everyday responsibilities and processes that an HR department is charged with completing. Let’s discuss some tools that you should incorporate into your processes.

Common knowledge states that the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. Therefore, it stands to reason that you should put as much funding as possible into your most essential resources—such as your IT.

This, however, can be a hard sell to yourself or anyone invested in your company… partners and staff included. 

There’s no question that modern businesses—-businesses just like yours—-cannot and should not function without cybersecurity protections. We will shout this from the mountaintops at every opportunity… so let’s go over why security is so important and what needs to be done to ensure yours.

The work landscape has changed quite a bit in a short period of time. Nearly 13% of American workers work from home full-time, while over 27% more work remotely part-time. With nearly two-fifths of workers working from home at least part-time, understanding what technology is behind this new normal and how to meet your business needs is critical. 

The four-day workweek is gaining traction among small businesses. It promises improved efficiency and increased employee satisfaction... but how can technology enhance this model? How can it help businesses reap the full benefits of a shorter workweek?

No two leaders will have the exact same approach to the considerable task at hand, but it can be remarkably helpful to see what others do so you can make better decisions regarding your own management style. Let’s take a look at some specific leadership styles and whether they work well (or don’t).