There are a slew of blogs and articles out there on how to keep your younger employees (or millennials, as they are often referred to) happy in the workplace. Advice varies from providing constant feedback to providing recognition to giving employees treadmill desks. Some of the advice seems like a given and some a little far-fetched. However, something that is in almost every single article out there is giving employees the ability to work remotely.
Today’s work force is highly mobile. Often, you hear that mobile “is the future”. This is completely inaccurate. Mobile is NOW. People work from their homes, coffee shops, airports, their child’s soccer field. Technology has provided us the ability to have all the data we could previously only access via filing cabinets and a desktop on our phones, tablets, anywhere really. If you have a data plan or Wi-Fi, you can fully do your job. This is exactly what younger generations are looking for. Cloud business applications are essential to retaining employees and, therefore, growing your business.
Cloud LOBs are popping up everywhere. Almost all CRM systems (Dynamics, Salesforce, and industry specific) have a cloud offering. Many ERPs are starting to offer cloud solutions or are able to be hosted in the cloud. Having these applications in the cloud, allows employees to access a system and associated data from anywhere they are, all while still having securities and protection in place so that sensitive data is not in the hands of those that should not have access to it. Security is something that a lot of businesses struggle with when they are evaluating cloud solutions. Security is just as sophisticated in the cloud as with an on-premises solution. Also, on-premises solutions are just as vulnerable to hacks and cyber-attacks as cloud solutions are.
Retaining employees is essential to growing your business and being profitable. Today’s work force is largely made up of the Millennial Generation, so keeping your business in line with their ideals and needs will ultimately help your company thrive. Maybe you aren’t ready to put a game room in your office or buy everyone a treadmill desk, but one thing you can do is give your employees the tools to do their jobs from wherever they want. There is no reason to be chained to a desk anymore. Going cloud will make your employees happy and eager to do good work, and you can bet that if you are not doing this, your competitors certainly are.
MARY CHARUHAS | Business Development/Internal Sales
Mary Charuhas has been with KTL since 2013, starting as a sales intern in the summer of 2013 and moving to Business Development and Internal Sales in the spring of 2014. She is currently pursuing her Associates Degree in Business Management from Frederick Community College and hopes to continue her education at the University of Maryland next spring. Mary also possesses several Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica Cloud ERP Sales certifications. Mary assists the sales team in finding new and exciting opportunities. She also manages KTL’s existing customers through providing them with ongoing knowledge of the products, assisting them with upgrades and continuing projects, keeping them informed about updates/new releases, events, and training opportunities. Her charisma and passion for providing excellent customer service make her a valuable asset to KTL’s sales department.
