7 Reasons Why Documentation Is Critical for Your MSP
BY IT GLUE | August 29, 2022
Why is documentation so important? Imagine being told to go through your day with a blindfold on — constantly having to search for any information that would help you find your next step. It’d be pretty difficult, wouldn’t it? That’s what it’s like to work without documentation.
With documentation, you can move forward throughout your day because it holds all the necessary information you need to complete your processes. No more blindfold, and no more searching blindly for information. Instead, tasks become easier to complete, and goals become more possible to achieve. Good documentation is foundational for your success. Here are seven reasons why documentation is important.
1) Reduced time waste
Consistency equals efficiency. One of the main causes of time wastage is having inconsistent processes. Documentation is how you combat this problem. If your processes vary depending on which staff member is completing the task, or worse, because there is little process to follow, time is being wasted. Chances are high that certain employees complete tasks more efficiently than others. It’s even possible that one specific employee completes a task more efficiently depending on how they decide to do it that day. Good documentation allows you to choose the most efficient way to complete a task, and document it so that all staff members go about it the same way with the same (highest) efficiency.
2) Fewer errors
Documentation not only reduces time waste but also decreases the chances of potential errors occurring even during the more complex processes. If you leave processes up to individual discretion, errors are bound to be made. However, if you strategically document your processes so that they are easy to follow by even your most junior tech, they’ll have a much better success rate.
3) Superior customer service
Have you ever had a client ask a question that you didn’t immediately have the answer to? You panic and search for the right information and the next thing you know you’re stuttering through your response. Having all your clients’ information documented, alongside your processes, allows you to ensure you are always providing a superior customer experience. Simply access the information you need in IT Glue and spend less time searching under pressure. Not only does this save you the frustration and embarrassment, but it also demonstrates your investment in the client and builds their trust. The more they trust you, the more likely they will provide you with business.
4) Lower training costs
How long do you think it takes to get a new team member to fully transition into their new role? According to one estimate, it could take anywhere between 8 and 26 weeks. The average cost of onboarding a new employee is estimated to be around $4,425. With hidden costs like the time a manager spends training a new employee, instead of contributing to revenue-generating tasks, this cost could be higher. However, onboarding need not be so expensive or time-consuming.
Best-in-class MSPs leverage good documentation to shorten their training period, lower costs and tomake the onboarding process smooth, easy and efficient. For new hires, and your company, documentation is the key to success. Step-by-step processes allow a new tech to spend less time relying on the guidance of an already busy staff member, and more time directly increasing their efficiency. Good documentation helps your new employees get up to speed sooner and increases your chances of retaining them by making a good first impression and demonstrating an organized and efficient work culture.
5) Competitive advantage
With good documentation in place, you can achieve a lot more and also prove it. With the time saved by documentation, you can start setting better SLAs with the confidence that they will be consistently met. Documentation speeds up your service times, allowing you to be there for all your customers when they need you. Prove this to your clients, and your prospects, by showing them how you will document their information and providing evidence of your track record. After this, it will be obvious that your service is superior to your competitors.
6) Painless audits
If there’s one thing auditors like, it’s documentation. Going into an audit with your documentation in shambles is like going into the dentist without brushing your teeth — it’s going to be a lot more painful. Whether you’re the one being audited, or whether it’s one of your clients, there are two keys to having a painless audit. The first is having your act together. The second is being able to prove it. Although documentation won’t help you with the first one, it for sure will help with the second one.
7) Trusted security
Your clients trust you to ensure their information is safe and secure at all times. To do this, you must cover all the necessary steps for providing security. Start by implementing multifactor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) for accessing information. This gives both you and your clients the confidence that the person accessing the information is who they are supposed to be. IT Glue utilizes MFA and SSO while being SOC 2 compliant to provide the highest level of security for you and your clients’ information. With your documentation being as important as it is, you don’t want to expose it to the risks of a security breach.
Why documentation is so important
Good documentation conveys a lot of benefits to your business, with these being just the tip of the iceberg. Once you start improving your use of documentation, the more benefits your MSP will reap from it. Using a smart documentation tool like IT Glue lets you maximize the efficiency, accessibility and security of your information. It acts as a central hub for all your data and processes and allows you to customize accessibility for your staff. 13,000 organizations are already using IT Glue, which means that if you’re not using it, you’re getting left behind.
Visit our website itglue.com/demo to learn more.
