In this issue, we explore creative ways to use today’s advanced technology to accomplish more for your business …

Contact me today to discuss how TCI’s innovative solutions can align your technology with your business priorities – now and in the future.

(703) 321-3030 | cornbrookst@tcicomm.com.

The Covid-19 outbreak forced many companies to allow employees to work remotely or through hybrid work models. However, not all employers were prepared to transfer their entire workflow to a virtual setting. As a result, many organizations have struggled with disengaged employees and reduced productivity.

Making your employees feel included early on before onboarding even starts is one of the best employee engagement strategies for those workers who work at least a part of their time remotely. Get creative with these possibilities:

New employees need the right equipment to start working. These would be things like a PC or a laptop, a high-quality headset, webcam, phone, printer, desk supplies, keyboard, and mouse. Depending on job role and specialization, there might be other equipment and tools they need. If employees are audited and judged based on their performance, remote people need the same tools and working conditions as on-site employees.

Once you’ve provided the necessary devices and tools, arrange a virtual meeting between your new employee and your IT department or other onboarding person/group. At this point, you have to provide your new hire with the following:

New employees will often have many questions but can be too embarrassed or afraid to ask. To make them feel more comfortable, provide one-on-one mentorship with an existing employee who’s willing to show them all the ins and outs of the company. You’ll create a sense of unity and common goals by tying the mentor’s success to the new hire’s performance.

Be clear about work and performance expectations. Provide your new hire with details on how you plan to measure their performance and a list of short and long-term goals of their job role. After going through virtual training, give your new employee straightforward tasks to start with. Always set clear expectations and give reasonable deadlines. At the end of each successful project, schedule some time for re-evaluation and feedback.

Making a first impression and establishing personal connections with teammates so that an employee feels included is more challenging to achieve virtually. Since the employees aren’t always there to read your facial cues, you have to open a constant communication line. In remote settings, over-communicating is better than under-communicating. Onboarding shouldn’t be one-way communication, rather a process, where you socialize and engage the new hire. And this is especially vital for workers with a hybrid schedule.

There is no one-fits-all solution when it comes to flexible schedules, so your managers and leaders need to learn what type of hybrid schedules work best for your business needs and different job roles within an organization. A great manager will differentiate between essential staff that has to be on-site or on a minimally hybrid schedule, and those that can work fully remote. From that point on, the manager needs to be able to rotate and schedule staff shifts accordingly, with employees’ well-being always in mind.

Tailoring your onboarding process to each job role and allowing your new hires to progress at their own pace can improve their integration and assimilation to the company culture, regardless of how many days they work on- or off-site.

TCI has technology solutions that can support remote and hybrid work arrangements. Call (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Most businesses recognize that modernizing their communications technologies will help them increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and sharpen their competitive edge. But many are sticking with the technologies they have today because they don’t believe they can afford to do anything else.

The good news is funding and delivery models for communications technologies have become far more flexible in recent years. This flexibility opens the door for almost every business to start on the path to modernization.

Traditionally, CFOs have preferred to buy IT infrastructure outright as a capital expenditure (CapEx) because they could use the associated amortization and depreciation costs as tax deductions. While these financial benefits are helpful to businesses, a CapEx purchase strategy for communications systems also comes with downsides.

With an OpEx strategy, businesses don’t purchase the communications system hardware or software. Instead, they pay a monthly, quarterly, or yearly fee to access communications capabilities that are offered in a subscription model. All hardware and software are owned, operated, and maintained by another company, and communications costs become day-to-day business costs. When technology is an operating expense, businesses can:

The limitations of CapEx strategies, combined with the availability of subscription-based, cloud-hosted communications solutions, are leading many CFOs and CIOs to choose OpEx funding models for business communications systems.

With this approach, businesses can immediately start migrating to the cloud at a pace that makes the most sense for their communications requirements, business goals, and budgets. For many businesses, a hybrid approach that combines existing on-premises solutions with cloud-based applications could be the right way to start the journey to the cloud.

Your local TCI experts are ready to discuss the benefits of an OpEx funding strategy for your communications system as well as the pros and cons of different cloud migration strategies.

Don’t let financial roadblocks be an obstacle to cloud migration. For flexible financing arrangements, contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Wireless connections are a critical element of today’s network infrastructure and one that consumes a growing share of IT resources to secure and manage. To support your wireless connections, TCI offers cloud-managed Wi-Fi solutions that enable you to streamline switching, routing, and security tasks via the web.

You can arrange to dynamically grant or restrict network access to a device based on its security status, location, installed software and OS version, and more. And when a user fails to comply with a set security measure – such as disabling the antivirus program, jail-breaking a device, removing a passcode, or leaving a given territory – that person’s access to your Wi-Fi networks will be automatically revoked.

TCI's certified network experts can optimize and manage the hosting of your entire Wi-Fi infrastructure by offering:

TCI’s cloud experts are ready to help you secure and manage your Wi-Fi network. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Many enterprises are urgently reconsidering their business communications to keep pace with the needs of the new work environment. Do they stay with their premises-based solution or migrate to the cloud to take advantage of new capabilities, new technologies, and hybrid working?

Migrating to the cloud may mean that you no longer need to buy and operate servers and software. You simply purchase the services you need - delivered through the cloud. You can buy software as a service (SaaS) that delivers specific application services. Another option is infrastructure as a service (IaaS) from providers such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure or AWS, who provide data center services. These are public services where you share the cloud with other organizations. For enterprises that need a dedicated environment and more control, a private cloud arrangement makes sense.

TCI’s private cloud services are most appealing to organizations with 100+ seats when control is as important as reliability, security, scalability, and global reach. These organizations may also be spread across several locations. This makes private cloud services an ideal solution as users can enjoy the same communications experience anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

Cloud storage means applications and information can be seamlessly accessed, while advanced security protection ensures that sensitive data remains safe. In addition, it also offers organizations that previously rejected private clouds due to complexity and costs the chance to take a fresh look. TCI optimizes the benefits of public cloud services, such as scalability and global reach, with the control that many organizations need.

Whether your business needs a private cloud solution or can make a quick move to the cloud via a public cloud solution, TCI’s Mitel-powered services provide everything necessary to meet your communications technology needs. As experts in on-premises, cloud, and moving customers from one to the other, you can trust that your cloud migration experience will be easy and seamless.

TCI offers a no-hassle migration to the cloud. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

It’s not easy in these challenging times to keep your current Voice & IT systems running - let alone add new technology for more flexibility and mobility during our new ‘normal’ hybrid work arrangements.

To keep your business moving forward, you'll need easy-to-use-anywhere collaboration tools - delivered on a reliable, secure communications platform. Getting access to these tools begins with having the right local technology partner.

For over four decades, we’ve improved the bottom line for thousands of TCI customers including SMBs, commercial and financial institutions, associations, non-profit, and leaders in the DC region’s public and private sector.

Our customers appreciate the value we provide them, including higher levels of staff productivity, improvements in operational efficiency, increased satisfaction, and strong return on investment. Our solutions and services include:

TCI is ready to support your organization’s workforce initiatives. Let’s map out a plan for your business… Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.