In some cases your MSP may have to work with a company’s internal IT department. Depending on the circumstances, the IT team may be thrilled for the extra support and expertise, or they may resent you for making changes to their systems. Either way, there are ways in which you can promote positive collaboration between your firm and your client’s internal IT team.
5 Ways to Promote Synergy
- It is important to establish positive and friendly communication channels from the beginning of the collaboration. This way you can deal with any urgent questions from the IT team that need to be settled for a good working relationship to begin. Also, the open communication will allow you to find out a great deal about the network and the people managing it, so you can help the internal IT team more efficiently.
- Once open communication channels have been established, it is a good idea to be upfront and clear about what your job is and how your involvement is going to help the IT team and the company.
- The client’s IT team may have a different outlook on a situation than your MSP. In this case, it is important to be open to various perspectives, as it may lead to solving issues that have not been considered yet. Rather learn from each other than let egos get involved and ruin customer relations.
- The collaboration between you and the client’s IT department create a whole new team in itself. Therefore, it is important to create some team goals by discussing the goals of the company and then working together to figure out how to best achieve these goals.
- Once you have a solid foundation and game plan, it is vital to discuss and develop good processes that facilitate efficient coordination between you and the IT team. Making sure everyone understands their roles and what is expected of them is key.
Respect the internal IT team by communicating openly and often, staying goal oriented, and leaving behind any egos. In turn, the IT team will respect and perhaps come to admire your team. Additionally, having a smooth and positive collaboration can lead to more business with the company in the future, and may land you business with other companies in the same industry.
