The future of business is digital, with both employees and customers expecting real-time solutions to feel like in-person experiences.
As such, company leaders are accelerating digital transformation initiatives in an effort to keep up with today’s increasingly fast-paced work landscape. For an entrepreneur, this could mean exploring online platforms for sales. Meanwhile, for a tech CEO, this could mean investing in tools that boost employee productivity and performance, including support systems for remote teams.
In this article, we’ve outlined some advantages of investing in these support tools to help you gauge how they might fit into your current work processes. We’ve also listed some examples of tools that you might need for client support and internal support to help you make informed purchasing decisions.
Remote work has become more prevalent than ever. According to the latest Remote Workforce Report, 54% of companies report an increase in the number of employees now working from home. Consequently, decision-makers such as tech CEOs and CFOs are now faced with a different set of challenges to accommodate the needs of their remote workers.
The same survey on remote work revealed that 36% of distributed teams cite technology issues as one of the main problems of working remotely. This is primarily because traditional software is not built to handle the demands of remote and hybrid setups. As a remedy, businesses big and small have begun investing in remote support software. Below, we’ll discuss some of the benefits that these support tools have to offer.
According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work in 2023, 74% of remote employees report that the company they work for operates in multiple time zones. This reportedly made communication and collaboration more difficult.
Using the proper support tools, companies can bridge the gap between distant team members. These tools can help employees share files, screen share or remote takeover with ease and communicate in real time, regardless of where they may be. In addition, many support tools have automation capabilities which can cut the time spent on repetitive tasks such as ticket creation, request routing, and data entry.
Cue ScreenMeet Remote Support, the embedded, cloud-based remote support tool that Global 2k companies, including ServiceNow, Salesforce and more, are switching to.
Support tools can serve as a central data storage for companies. This allows remote employees to conveniently upload and download files as needed without having to wait for their office-based counterparts to do it for them.
Depending on the platform that you invest in, you can get access to version histories and audit trails. So, it’s easy to pinpoint which files are up-to-date and determine who uploaded what. Managers can also set access permissions to ensure the security of the company network.
Productivity solutions, be it for client support or IT support, have capabilities that allow you to streamline workflows. They can increase employee efficiency by providing employees with automation options. These can reduce repetitive processes as well as minimize errors associated with manual processes.
In some cases, support tools can also store messaging templates and client profiles. With these as part of your software ecosystem, your team is not bogged down by clerical responsibilities such as data entry and retrieval.
Tools such as video conferencing platforms and similar communication systems can help companies facilitate hands-on training for remote employees. They can leverage screen sharing and real-time annotations so that instructors can provide clear directions to trainees. This is particularly important if you need to train employees who have yet to use more advanced support systems.
Perhaps the most important benefit that can be derived from using support tools is improved overall client support. These systems improve communication between agents and clients, enabling them to resolve issues faster. These can also help in keeping track of client preferences so agents can provide personalized service each time they reach out to your company.
There are two types of support systems that a tech CEO can provide — client support platforms and employee support tools. These are great additions to any software ecosystem as these can make client interactions more seamless while also providing a unified hub for internal communications.
Let’s look at some of the specific software systems that you can look into to reinforce your business processes.
With today’s on-demand culture, customers have developed a preference for near-immediate support from the businesses they patronize. To meet this demand, a tech CEO should equip his or her workers with tools to improve overall client support efforts.
CRM software are commonly equipped with features for lead management, opportunity tracking, and activity management, allowing remote team members to stay on the same page at all times. This lets them streamline how they communicate with clients as well as ensure that they have easy access to client profiles.
With these functionalities, companies can make each client interaction count — from accelerating response times to improving the quality of each interaction.
Live chat systems enable real-time communication between clients and agents on the company’s official website or online platform. It comes with chatbot functionalities and canned response options so you can answer client inquiries quickly while reducing the workload of your support personnel.
In addition, some live chat software can also provide insights into client interactions. As a result, you can make data-driven decisions on how to improve support efforts.
Helpdesk solutions serve as central hubs for managing client inquiries and requests. It can automate repetitive tasks such as request routing and data entry so that your support agents can focus on what they do best—assisting clients. These can also integrate with tools like knowledge bases and CRM tools so agents have easy access to the information they need, making resolution times faster.
Ticketing systems enable organizations to capture, route, and track support requests. They automate the assignment of requests, making sure clients are routed to an agent who can handle their specific concerns. This also gives users insight into resolution times and response rates, among many other metrics. As a result, you can gain in-depth insights into employee performance and client satisfaction.
Aside from the above-mentioned, ticketing systems can also be used by IT support teams. This way, they can manage service requests more efficiently.
Aside from improving resolution times for client concerns, a tech CEO must also provide his or her team with tools to improve internal communication and employee productivity.
Project management systems are built to help employees plan, organize, and execute projects from ideation to completion. They serve as centralized platforms for task management, timeline creation, and employee communication.
Its features can help remote and hybrid teams closely coordinate tasks as it provides real-time visibility on project progress, deadlines, and resource allocation. It also enables communication between team members regarding specific tasks.
A knowledge base is a system that serves as a central data repository for process documentation, FAQ articles, how-to guides, and industry best practices. This way, employees can get answers to their inquiries without having to contact IT support.
Having this at your disposal helps your remote employees get answers to their inquiries without having to contact IT support. This way, they can resolve any technical concerns faster and allow your IT team to focus on urgent and attention-demanding tasks.
HR management platforms optimize the human resource functions of an organization. These can be used to store employee information, automate attendance tracking, streamline recruitment processes, and handle payroll calculations.
These tools offer self-service capabilities which allow remote employees to update their HR information independently. In turn, this reduces HR personnel workload as well as optimizes internal support efficiency.
Video conferencing software are communication hubs where teams can conduct virtual meetings, presentations, and workshops, among others. These are critical tools for reinforcing employee productivity in a fragmented environment as it enables workers to seamlessly collaborate without having to meet in person.
It can also be instrumental in optimizing internal support efforts as it allows IT personnel to relay troubleshooting instructions or assess technical issues quickly.
Having the right support tools at your fingertips can boost your company’s competitive edge—it enhances employee capabilities, streamlines collaborative efforts, and boosts overall company performance, among many other benefits. Consequently, this can position a tech CEO as a leader within their niche.
However, not all software is created equal. To build a solid tech stack, it’s important to find reliable service providers such as ScreenMeet.
ScreenMeet is a cloud-native platform offering capabilities such as remote takeover, video chat, screen sharing, and cobrowsing. It can serve as a collaborative CRM tool for IT support, client support, and sales, which increases employee efficiency and client satisfaction. Be sure to request a demo to learn more about how ScreenMeet can reinforce your remote support initiatives.