As a business owner, the last thing you want to experience is downtime in your operational processes. Not only does this affect your workers’ productivity, but it can also cause a significant waste of time and resources. Moreover, your goods not getting out on time can cause customers to lose trust in your brand, which may be difficult to recover from. Therefore, taking the needed steps to avoid business downtime becomes mandatory. The first step is to understand the factors that can trigger this problem. Here are a few you should know about.
- Mistakes on your employees’ part
Ideally, your employees should be equipped to handle every production process flawlessly. Moreover, you must have evaluated their skills and knowledge before hiring them. Despite these, employees aren’t immune to mistakes. In fact, research indicates that human error is a major cause of inefficiencies and major business losses. It’s pretty common for workers to operate machines wrongly, causing them to malfunction. Likewise, a little coding error can require the whole team to start your mobile app from scratch. Fortunately, effective communication is a good line of defence against human errors; being clear on your expectations can go a long way. Also, continuous training on using machines and other tools can be beneficial.
- An alarmingly high level of absenteeism
Sometimes, your employees may be absent due to illness, loss of a loved one, and other genuine reasons. However, there may be a problem if they frequently come up with excuses to skip work. This practice can be detrimental to your business in many ways. Every worker plays a crucial role in your operations, and their absence can cause your project to slow down or stop completely. This is because their colleagues may experience challenges with completing their end of the project or production without them. Moreover, workers may feel stressed and dissatisfied when taking on the tasks of their absent co-workers, which can also reduce their productivity.
Since nothing happens without a cause, you will find it helpful to understand why some workers stay away from their jobs. This way, you can develop a practical solution to mitigate the issue. For instance, if they are genuinely ill due to poor working conditions, you can invest in ergonomic furniture, adequate lighting, PPEs, and other safety elements. While at it, prioritise their mental health by giving them at least a paid day off to care for themselves. Increased pay and other benefits can motivate those who feel under-compensated, so keep this in mind.
- Threats from cybercriminals
Thanks to technology, many companies allow their workers to complete tasks and deal with their clients via the Internet. Moreover, they save sensitive data on their devices in an effort to reduce paper waste. However, this also has its risks. Once you use computers in your daily operations, your company is a target for cybercriminals. Hackers can attack your system with ransomware, requiring you to pay some money before accessing your company data. Likewise, DDoS attacks can bombard your computers with intense traffic, making it impossible to do anything. If hackers gain access to your system, they can steal important information or corrupt your data, costing you lots of money in lawsuits and compensations.
Therefore, you must take the necessary steps to avoid cyber crimes. For instance, consider working with a credible company that offers managed IT services if you can’t hire an in-house team. Consequently, keep your computers up-to-date by downloading the latest software, and keep all sensitive information on the cloud to prevent unauthorised access. Sometimes, replacing your computers with newer models will also be beneficial.
- Routine maintenance and upgrades
Admittedly, not all downtime situations are caused by negative factors. Routine maintenance is necessary to keep your business equipment in good shape. This means you don’t have to worry about expensive repairs or replacements. However, this process often comes with downtime, where workers can’t execute their tasks. The key is to carefully plan these maintenance and upgrades so that it doesn’t take too much time. For instance, you can do this over the weekend so the system can be ready before the week begins.
- Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters
Some situations are beyond your control, although they can affect your business negatively. Hurricanes can sweep away power lines, cutting electricity and shutting down all operations. Likewise, floods can damage your equipment, destroy your documents, and cause other damages. Downside caused by natural disasters can take a while to recover from, and you can sustain substantial financial loss. However, good business insurance can help you get money to put your company back on track.
