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By Shawn Shea
After spending close to 45 years (I have to quit quoting years as now I'm feeling old) working in client services in several industries, you start to learn a thing or two about relationships. The relationship you have with your Managed Service Provider can be key to the security and success of your business, so it is important to treat it like any other important relationship in your life. I'm not saying you take your provider out to dinner and a movie (or am I?) but you should work with them as a partner in your success.
Good Relationships Make Good Business - Good MSPs want to work closely with their clients to ensure the client's business is secure, efficient, and making the best use of its tools. When working with your MSP (Managed IT Service Provider) always remember how you treat them may impact the response you get, just like every other relationship.
We are lucky to have an awesome group of clients we work with but sometimes everything in this industry doesn't go exactly as planned. Those are the times when it becomes even more important to work closely with your provider to get things back on track. Your MSP wants the same results as you do when it comes to your business running as smoothly as possible. Sometimes this fact is forgotten, especially when things go down and the heat is on.
Your MSP doesn't like stress any more than you do and it won't make things go faster or smoother so try to be calm under pressure and work with them to get the job done. This may mean allowing time to make a change that will ultimately resolve an issue such as a restart of a machine or patch update. The time involved in taking things down for a few minutes to properly resolve an issue may be the difference in correcting the issue and making it better for everyone.
Recognize and Prioritize - Recognize that your MSP has to prioritize every ticket that comes in and they may have 10's or 100's of tickets a day. Everyone wants their issues solved quickly and wants to categorize a ticket as critical but your MSP will have provided you with a prioritization process they must follow to ensure service level agreements are met and everyone is treated equally. The easiest way to understand it is if 1 of your 5 printers is down and you class that as critical (it should be classed as standard priority) then you would be classifying it as the same as the internet is down (this is a critical priority). You would not want someone to tell you they can't work on your internet being down right now because they are fixing another client's 1 of 5 printers, would you? Prioritization levels are based on how many people the issue impacts (ie. 1 or many people are unable to perform a core piece of their job or the entire company is down).
Language Matters - Always remember that any good MSP wants to work with you as a partner. Be sure to speak to them in the same manner as you would like to be spoken to in order to get their best service. Being told to do something ASAP is completely different than being asked if it can be expedited as 3 users are unable to work. Your MSP understands how critical issues are and using demanding or derogatory language of any kind won't help your issue or your relationship (my wife will confirm this statement is correct). Be kind and get kind!
Better Communication Means Better Results - Always let your MSP know about any major changes you are looking at (ie. a new phone system, internet change, security systems like cameras). Start the conversation with your MSP as they may have additional insight in to what you should be looking at. It never costs more to communicate any of these changes with your MSP and it will always make any change go much smoother.
Good Advice is Secure Advice - MSPs are full of ideas and advice on how to keep your network and business secure. Work with your MSP to ensure you are using best practices for Cybersecurity. If something seems like it is out of your budget ask if there are options that will fit. We recognize that not everything fits all clients and there are usually options. Don't try to cut corners but make sure your MSP has all the information they need to provide the best solution that fits your business.
Above all, treat the relationship with your MSP like your other important relationships. You will most definitely be rewarded for it and so will your business. Working with your MSP should be enjoyable (sometimes even fun) and make your day go better. If you're still having problems working with your MSP after trying all of this then maybe it's time to look for a new MSP!
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