Two Simple Things Every Business Must Do For Its Remote Workforce

Most businesses scrambled to put together remote access solutions for their staff as social distancing was mandated. Now that we are settling into this new norm, it is a good time to assess those hasty setups and affirm that our teams can perform their work with relative ease and that business data is adequately secured. After working remotely for several weeks now, we can better understand any pain points and inefficiencies as well as identify any careless workflows that introduce vulnerabilities. Providing a simple to use and effective work environment goes hand in hand with securing business information. Here’s why. 

Make Working Remotely Easy 

Is your team performing optimally with the tools you have given them? If so, you're done. If your team is frustrated, limited or has built their own workarounds, you need to make some changes now. Speak with your team to get a complete picture of what is lacking. Understand their workarounds to see if they should be incorporated into your organization’s policy or replaced with solutions that are better aligned with your business goals. Are you delivering the basics? 

Access to: 

  • Applications and Sales Tools 

  • Files 

  • Databases 

  • Email 

  • Shared Calendars 

  • Shared Contacts 

  • Employee Handbook, Company Policies and Notifications 

  • Telephones (Can your team be reached and make calls from their regular business number?) 

  • Internet Connectivity (Is there stable and sufficient bandwidth for your team’s activities?) 

  • Computers (Do your employees have the necessary resources to perform their work effectively and securely?) 

  • Happiness (OK, maybe you’re not delivering happiness, but you want to make sure your team has effective tools and seamless workflows that allow them to focus their time on business.) 

Secure Business Data 

Your remote working practices must be aligned with your organization’s policies, compliance requirements and legal obligations. If you’ve cut some corners in getting your team setup quickly or if you’ve allowed individuals to go rogue, now is the time to make the necessary corrections. Look out for these red flags: 

  • Home-brewed solutions 

  • Uncontrolled copying and remote storage of your organization’s data 

  • Unauthorized access and access methods to both systems and/or data 

  • Use of public cloud services that are open and uncontrolled 

A remote workforce is more vulnerable to cyber hacks, scams and theft. Securing your employees and your business is not an overwhelming task, but it does require careful consideration. There are plenty of solutions available to not only secure your team but to provide them with a better environment for working remotely. When you deliver a well thought out and effective computing environment to your team, you are taking the first steps toward securing them and your business.  

The takeaway here is that businesses must take the initiative by providing their remote workforce with solutions that are both easy to use and secure.

Jason Edgartoncybersecurity, remote access, work from home