Tech Burnout?
But I Need Better Performance—We Still Have Service Issues. Now What?
As a CEO, it’s baffling. You’re detecting signs of burnout in your IT Support Team—stress leave, supposed retirement, and signs of overwork. But at the same time, service issues continue. You see effort, and even extra hours, but the outcomes don’t reflect that extra effort. You find yourself thinking: If they’re burning out, shouldn’t we at least see better service? How can I make things better?
You feel like you need to push them to do better, and to take on timely opportunities, to provide better, more consistent service, yet they don’t seem to be able to handle it.
What’s missing?
Here’s the root of the issue:
Most CEOs are unaware of what the root problem is. Both CEOs and your service team want to reduce and resolve service issues. CEOs see it as firefighting and then informing the technicians in hopes that the issues don’t reoccur. Yet, this is just another landmine for the technicians to try to avoid. Sometimes technicians will create their own processes in an attempt to avoid the landmine, which is a sign of missing or ineffective processes within the organization.
Spotting the issues from the inside:
In the day to day, it’s extremely difficult to identify the issues in a way that they can actually be resolved. CEOs often say, “Shouldn’t they just know that?” However, the stress and service issues continue to persist.
A fresh set of experienced eyes from the outside, can more easily spot these gaps in an organization.
Anecdote: When Good People Walk Away
It can be hard to understand how an experienced, seemingly capable team member can suddenly snap—leaving for good, or even changing careers entirely. I remember one MSSP client whose most senior technician quit with almost no warning. He didn’t just leave the company—he left IT altogether, choosing a completely different line of work just to escape the burnout. The CEO was shocked; after all, they were still struggling with service issues. How could someone be pushed so far, when things were still so broken?
The truth is, this kind of outcome is completely avoidable. With the right approach, your best people don’t have to burn out, and your company doesn’t have to settle for mediocre service.
Want help diagnosing what’s really going on in your IT support team? Let’s talk.