Most business owners find it difficult to articulate what their technology brings to the table, other than headaches and bills. With so much technology considered a standard today that a decade ago was cutting edge, the tremendous value it brought initially has now become an expectation. This happens with every new technology, no matter how revolutionary. Consider what you expect when you turn on the lights in your office. Let there be light! And so it is.

But it wasn’t always that way and when light was first available in large cities, it was cutting edge. Suddenly, those businesses that were wired could power more machines for less, stay open later and store fronts could attract more customers and all that translated very quickly to more revenue. Today, power is a given and nothing moves without it. When listing what brings the greatest value to their business, power never makes the list, but it’s always the most important thing when it’s not there.

The difference between power and your technology is that with power someone else is responsible for the upkeep of the powerlines, keeping the generators working and the electricity flowing despite almost all sorts of weather and conditions. With your business technology, this responsibility falls on you. The upkeep of the network and computers, the adoption of key software to keep your business humming, and supporting your staff with their IT needs, because they will have them. While you may not personally be responsible for each of these aspects, it certainly does fall on your shoulders to make sure they are addressed, because when the technology doesn’t work, the frustration of your staff and clients fall there as well. There really is no debate on the necessity of technology in your business, the debate is the value you place on it.

Could your business function in a power outage? Could it function if your systems were down? How much down time could your business tolerate before it would start to lose too much money? How much are the everyday “gremlins” costing your business in productivity, morale and reputation? Answering these questions may help put some perspective on the true value of your IT.

Your staff is the heart and soul of your company. You take the time to select the best people for your organization. It is a pain staking process and a significant investment. The employees you hire are the ones that have a passion for their position and are adept at it. Supplying them with the tools they need to fulfil their responsibilities is your responsibility. If your staff is being bogged down by the technology they are forced to work with, whether slow computers, poor internet speeds, incompatible software or anything else that would make their jobs difficult to do, you can expect low morale and high turnover.

The workforce is becoming more digital each year and the best and brightest don’t stay too long if the technology does not meet their needs. Can you imagine hiring a bookkeeper and giving them a hand crank calculator on their first day? They probably wouldn’t last past noon. And those that do stay, do so begrudgingly to collect a regular pay check. They mutter and mumble and their displeasure does not go unnoticed. That once promising new hire, is now sitting at their desk, frustrated and ill tempered. Good technology is key to turning promising new hires into star employees.

Of course, when talking about keeping your employees not just interested but happy in their positions, it is worth noting that each generation has their distinct needs and wants when it comes to job satisfaction. It cannot be disputed that despite the generation, employee satisfaction can add significant value to your company. But just how much value does the happiness of your employees add to the value of your company? Have you measured the satisfaction of your employees, recently? Are there ways you can improve their morale? Do you believe it will enhance their performance? Answering these questions can go a long way to improving the performance of your staff and reduce churn.