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While it’s always hard to see someone leave a team or move on, it can be a harsh reality once you jump into what they’ve left behind. Often, you’re left with tasks left undone or a lack of documentation to follow. When planned right, platform and process handoffs should come with a clear overview and instructions for each use case across teams and individuals.  Keeping tidy documentation can be tough, especially when you’re a small shop running single team members in multiple roles. We’ve put together this checklist to help any new or existing BrightGauge partners get up to speed on where to begin with organizing and working within an existing BrightGauge buildout.  Taking over an existing BrightGauge account If you are new to BrightGauge or have just been assigned as the primary account user on an existing account, follow these tips and steps to get started.    Overview video - This quick video gives a great high-level overview of what BrightGauge offers. Watch the video - only 4 minutes! Share with any team members you may want to onboard as well. Attend an in-depth training webinar - Sign up for one of our weekly training webinars OR watch a recorded version here. These weekly sessions offer you the opportunity to attend a one hour deep-dive into all areas of BrightGauge. You’ll learn about datasources available, data syncing, dashboards, automated reports, goals, and more! Create an inventory of what’s already in your BrightGauge - Get organized by creating a log of all users, including viewers, and take note of the dashboards, scheduled reports, and gauges you have built and are actively using. We recommend creating a spreadsheet or using your internal documentation tool to get organized. Be sure to note which team or process would reference that item, frequency of use, definition, and how often it should be updated or referenced. For a great example of organizational bliss, check out this user showcase webinar with Justin Bryant of CSpire on Starting a Service Library: watch the video here. Delete what’s not in use - Let’s face it, we’re all guilty of hoarding something seemingly valuable to us. If it was created more than 6 months ago and you’re not using it, get rid of it!  Pro tip: On the left-hand side of your gauges overview page, click ‘Unused Gauges’ to get a sense of what you can delete. Read more cleanup tips here.  Meet with stakeholders to align on objectives, discuss use cases, and come up with actions you'd like to see as a result of your BrightGauge use.  We're here to help! Setup a one-on-one training with a BrightGauge Success team rep. Book your new admin training here. After you’ve organized and cleaned your account and have a general idea of how you’d like to use BrightGauge, it’s time to get formal about your objectives. Map out what is actionable and where you would like to make organizational change and improvements. Turn to “IDEAS”, then keep it “SMART”. IDEAS is a framework for setting key performance indicators (KPIs).  Identify the problem What is the problem that you want to solve? Or what do you want to prevent from happening? By starting here, you can tie metrics directly to your desired outcomes. Determine what solves the problem Now that you’ve identified your issues, what are the indicators that might mean progress towards a solution? For example, if you’re looking to improve Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores, maybe Average Time to Response is a metric that’ll help you make progress. Establish your KPIs  Knowing your issues and what can help you solve them is how you’ll determine the KPIs that are right for your business. At this point, consider where you’ll find the data you need (i.e. what tools can help you track your data?).  Analyze the results  Now that your data is in, it’s time for a gap analysis. How do your actual results compare against benchmarks you’ve set? Where can you fill in the gaps? Perhaps you need a change in processes or to invest in additional training for your team members.  Start from the beginning The process of setting and tracking KPIs is ongoing. On a regular basis, you should assess your results, see what you can learn, and then start the process over.   With this framework in mind, you can begin to determine the KPIs that are going to drive each department, and your organization as a whole, towards success. To reach those KPIs, it’s important to set SMART goals. Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Based) so that it’s easier to track the progress of meeting that goal. If you’re in sales, it’s not enough to say, “next quarter, I want to close more accounts”. Instead, a SMART goal will be something like, “by the end of next quarter, I want to bring in 10 new accounts that will result in a higher commission for myself and will contribute to the overall revenue goals of our company; I’ll do this by increasing the amount of calls I make from 100 to 150”.    When you’re ready to start building By now, you’re probably ready to start building. By all means, go for it! But do keep in mind these last few tips so you can keep your account clean and tidy. Map out the key metrics you’d like to measure by team and individual, and how to make them actionable. Check out this great user webinar that goes into setting expectations with baseline metrics and naming conventions. Plan for your data. List out what you’d like to see on one or multiple dashboards, reports, and goal lists. Think short term and long term, and proactive versus reactive KPIs. Use what’s already built. All integrations in BrightGauge come with pre-built dashboards and gauges and report templates. Check out what’s automatically available to you before trying to build something that may already be there. Pro tip: If the data doesn’t look quite right, you may just need to apply a filter. Always apply a filter at the dashboard or report level before cloning a gauge. This will help keep your account accurate, clean, and organized. All dashboard and report filters override what you have set at the gauge level; keep this in mind as you work with date ranges. Check data accuracy. Make sure you’re using the right dataset. If you’re looking at ticket stats for the last 30 days, check to see that you’re not working with one of our lighter datasets. When in the gauge builder, reference the right-hand column for a review of the time range you’re working within, sync frequency, and description. Click on the name of the dataset there to see the raw data coming in. Always be iterating. Consistently review where you are. It’s never too early, or too late, to evaluate and change course accordingly. This is especially the case with goal setting. If 3 weeks in you find that you’re far exceeding or falling short, adjust and keep a realistic view of where your team and you are at. Show off your work. You’re spending valuable time, effort, and money into building these gauges, dashboards, and reports, so put them to use! Incorporate your data into meetings, presentations, discussions with stakeholders, client visits, and more.   For more help, check out these go-to videos, webinars, and articles: How-to Videos Dashboard examples and keys User Showcase Webinars Support queue - we trade tickets for how-to videos Weekly general training webinars In-person workshops Knowledge base documentation This post was written by Danielle, Partner Success Team Lead to BrightGauge. The Partner Success Team is focused on getting you the training and resources you need to help grow your business through team alignment and showing your value to clients. Still not sure of where to begin? Email success @ brightgauge.com.

The global workforce as we know it is undergoing a major shift. More employees than ever before are working remotely or looking for that option from their employer.    In fact, a survey conducted by Global Workplace Analytics found that over the last 10 years, remote work has grown more than 90%, a figure that will undoubtedly continue to increase.    There’s no denying that telecommuting is here to stay - it’s better for the environment, it is said to have a positive impact on productivity, and it makes people happy given the work-life balance we’re always chasing.    For any number of reasons, including COVID-19, you may currently be shifting to a remote work state, but may be wondering how it will affect company goals or the ability to manage individual team members.    BrightGauge is a tool that can help your remote teams be successful and remain on the same page.   Managing data is critical for remote teams   The best way to align team members, whether they are remote or in a traditional workspace, is to keep your eye on data. How do numbers paint a picture of what’s going on in your organization?    You can’t manipulate or hide numbers. Data is rooted in truth, so it’s a powerful way to build transparency and trust in business relationships. Data shows exactly what is going on with anything from ticket statistics, sales opportunities, customer satisfaction, revenue, and more and takes the guesswork out of whether or not you’re on track to hit goals.    And the best way to manage data is to choose the metrics and KPIs that matter most to your bottom line and then automate how you’re consuming that information.    With BrightGauge dashboards and reports, you’ll pull in data from tools you’re already using (like ConnectWise, Autotask, QuickBooks, Customer Thermometer, and more) and view it all on a single pane of glass, keeping things organized and more visible to all team members. BrightGauge data updates in real-time, so there’s no need to worry about being misinformed or out of the loop.    Let’s put this in a real-world example.    Suppose you’re managing a remote service desk. This is a critical team, as customers interact with your support department probably more than anybody else in your company. On one BrightGauge dashboard, you might view: How many tickets were opened versus closed today Average response time for tickets  Support team leaderboard This shows a ranking of your team members based on parameters you set - perhaps most tickets closed today  Customer satisfaction scores  Stale tickets  Tickets opened versus Negative reactions    As this data constantly updates throughout the day, you’ll never find yourself wondering what your different technicians are up to. Take it one step further by setting thresholds for certain KPIs - for example, be alerted anytime average response time goes above 30 minutes - so that you can take course corrective action immediately.    BrightGauge partner Josh Weiss of LA Creative Technologies has been managing a remote support team for quite some time now and finds that BrightGauge helps his service desk run seamlessly. Though his support team is based in Mumbai, a BrightGauge ticket processing dashboard allows his techs to triage and resolve tickets placed by clients all the way in Los Angeles, with no disruption in response time.    Eric Hoffmeister of Innovative Computing Systems already works with a mostly remote engineering team. Given the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the helpdesk is now 100% remote and managers are learning how to cover work as normal. Through BrightGauge dashboards, admin time per tech is being tracked on an automated, real-time basis. A daily dashboard lets Eric keep a pulse on the team by showing who’s on vacation, whether or not projects are on track, what each engineer’s workload is, and so on, which means time is being utilized properly and efficiently.  General tips for remote teams    - Use tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep the lines of communication open  - Managers and employees should have regular check-ins to talk about progress, roadblocks, and strategy - Follow a structured workday that keeps you in a productive groove  - Manage expectations - over communicate what is expected from one another - Stick to deadlines  - Be honest with yourself and your team about what can get done    To learn more about how BrightGauge can improve visibility for your remote teams, schedule a live one-on-one demo with us today.   

We say this over and over - when it comes to building long-term client relationships, transparency is key. You need to show your client the value that you’re bringing to their business so that they understand what their investment is worth and are never left to question why they are paying you.    A great way to do this is by sending consistent reports to key stakeholders. Another option made possible by BrightGauge is to share a real-time dashboard with your client.    That’s exactly what Peter Kardel, co-founder of Clever Ducks, puts into practice.    Clever Ducks is an MSP out of San Luis Obispo, California, focused on serving clients who see tech as a strategic weapon, or something central to their success. Their clients want to cut costs with IT, not on IT.    As part of their client retention strategy, Peter and team share a Client Success Overview dashboard that allows them to manage relationships in a proactive way.    For example, when it comes to a planning and QBR process, a lifecycle of client’s hardware and software all up and down the stack is established. That way, Clever Ducks can proactively replace gear once it reaches the end of its lifecycle rather than waiting for that equipment to fail.    “Something like this makes our operations much less reactive and it’s a much better outcome for the client because, as we all know, downtime is expensive,” says Peter.    Peter has found that setting color-coded thresholds on the Client Success Overview dashboard makes the data more compelling and more likely for a client to take notice.    “People just know that green is go, yellow means you may want to hit the brakes, and red is bad,” says Peter. “After a while, a client looks at a dashboard, sees red, and wants to take immediate action. It’s an amazing way to support their success and help them prioritize.”    In general, the Client Success Overview is a good way to ensure that everyone is on the same page.    *View this sample Client Success Overview Dashboard here   Included is the client’s ticket trend, which is a nice visual way to tell a story of what’s going on without hiding anything. It provides an opportunity to look at trends and understand what changes need to be made to influence the direction of that trend.    With this dashboard, Peter and team avoid bogging clients down with nitty gritty details. Instead, they get right to the point of showing clients that their business is safe and can show where there are opportunities to take advantage of in order to be successful.    An interesting KPI they include in the overview is how the clients are rating Clever Ducks. The dashboard is often being seen by C-suites, so these CSAT scores show how team members are (or are not) happy with Clever Ducks’ service. It’s a nice boost for that C-suite person to know that their people are confident in their technology.    These days, your workforce won’t tolerate IT that’s confused or unreliable, so having confidence in leadership is becoming ever more important.    Finally, a Client Success Overview dashboard makes meeting with clients way more efficient. Instead of bringing a stale report that was printed out before the account manager meets with a client, Peter and team can literally open the dashboard in front of the client during the meeting and look at real-time information, allowing them to get down to business and problem-solving right away.    For instances when team meetings are not occurring face-to-face, clients still have access to their important data, day or night.    Check out the links below to replicate this type of dashboard for your own clients.   Link to Client Success Overview Dashboard   Link to Dashboard Recreation Key   Please feel free to reach out to success@brightgauge.com with any questions you have!