Tips For Setting Your Business Up For Secure Remote Working
Since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, many businesses adopted remote working for the first time, enabling employees to work from home. Since then, remote work has become the norm, most often in a hybrid format where employees split their time between home and the office.
The advantages of remote work
This set up has advantages for both staff and business owners: staff appreciate the flexibility and savings on commute time and transport costs, and business owners can reduce office space and overhead costs. Many businesses also found that productivity rose when then shifted to a remote or hybrid model, contrary to conventional opinion.
Today’s workforce now expects to be able to work from anywhere, and companies who do not offer this flexibility may miss out on the best talent. It is not just for those who wish to work from home: it’s also a necessity in many fields where the work is not office based 100 per cent of the time, such as civil engineering, architecture, and scientific research.
The challenges of remote work
The remote working model also brings some challenges, including the following:
Maintaining effective communication between in-house and remote teams; increased data security risks; and managing the on-site and remote IT infrastructure.
If you are in the process of transferring to a remote or hybrid working model, or you have concerns about the security or efficiency of your current model, contact us to find out how our Wakefield IT support team can help.
While the exact needs will be unique to the priorities of your organisation, here is some general information about the most important considerations for a successful remote set up.
Cloud based collaboration tools
Cloud integration creates a much faster and more secure way to work remotely. Tools such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 allow teams to collaborate online, share documents, manage tasks, and maintain visibility wherever they may be. This allows the team to work cohesively, solve problems, exchange ideas and so on.
There is no one-size-fits all solution, as every workplace has a unique set up, working practices, ethos and culture.
Some may prioritise video conferencing platforms for regular face to face meetings and catch ups, while others may prefer more informal messaging apps where team members can chat and check in with each other without the need for fixed meeting times or more in-depth and time consuming phone calls or emails.
Whichever type of tools you decide to use, set clear protocols on how they should be used and ensure that all staff are aware of them. Make sure that all staff are familiar with the features of each tool, as this can help to streamline working practices and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Integrating cloud solutions with existing technology
It may well be the case that your business has an existing IT infrastructure that requires integrating with cloud-based solutions. For example, certain sectors may have specific project management tools and third party applications that remote workers require access to.
It may be beneficial to work with a professional IT service provider to ensure the seamless integration of your tech stack, and avoid any frustrating glitches that can eat into productivity, heighten the risk of mistakes, and damage staff morale. Produce clear guidelines for all remote staff on how to use applications if this is different from office based operations.
Securing remote infrastructure
Security is the utmost concern for remote working environments; and indeed all business as the threat of cyberattacks increases each day. Take a proactive stance, with endpoint security, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for an encrypted network connection. Staff should set up strong passwords for all their accounts and implement 2-step verification.
All software must be regularly updated with the latest fixes and patches, and firewalls should be installed.
Hybrid and remote working increases the risk of cyber attacks, no matter how careful you are with security. Therefore it’s prudent to invest in a comprehensive data backup and recovery plan to safeguard your critical data and allow for a rapid recovery from an adverse incident.
Hardware and connectivity
Staff should have up to date devices such as laptops to carry out remote work, and VoIP compatible phones to ensure seamless connectivity and communication.