Is your organization dipping its toes into the waters of the remote work trend? If so, you’re in good company… work from home has grown 103% since 2015 and 3.7 million employees now work from home at least half the time.
However, in support of the remote work boom, it is crucial for IT departments to take steps to ensure that remote employees have the technology, tools, and training to successfully work from a remote location. While productivity and collaboration are highly important, it must never be at the expense of security.
Below are 6 ways to ensure that remote employees can stay productive and secure while working from afar:
1. Policies and Training
First and foremost, establish remote work policies! Be sure to cover guidelines for working with sensitive data, password management, rules for public WiFi usage, device security, etc. Then, train your remote workers on these policies! They should know what to do if their company equipment is lost or stolen, or whether or not they’re allowed to work in their local Starbucks. Furthermore, set up end user training on subjects such as how to use virtualization tools or etiquette for video and conference calling, so that they are confident using the technologies.
2. Network Speed/Bandwidth
Employees who work from home will be dependent on their home Internet service to power their productivity. A too-slow connection can be a hindrance. You should develop guidelines around minimum network bandwidth for remote workers and ensure that these guidelines are clearly communicated during each employee’s initial remote work approval process.
3. VPN Credentials
To enable employees to remotely (but securely) access company email, files and other systems, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can provide a secure link to the company’s private network over the Internet, with credential validation and data encryption.
4. Cloud Tools
Increasingly, cloud tools (e.g. Office 365) can allow anytime, anywhere online access to productivity tools such as email, calendars, notes, and documents.
5. Mobility App or Desktop VoIP Phone
Mobility apps such as Broadworks Anywhere allow workers to use their cell phone to make and receive calls using their business phone number. However, for remote workers are heavy callers and require a desktop phone, VoIP business phones can be programmed for use at remote locations while using your organization’s cloud phone system.
6. Collaboration Tools
It’s especially important for remote employees to stay connected with colleagues. Collaboration tools such as video conferencing, file sharing, screen sharing, and instant messaging all help keep remote workers in the loop with the rest of their team, despite the distance. In fact, 87% of remote workers reported feeling more connected to their coworkers through the use of video conferencing.
Need help with a remote work technology strategy for your remote workers? Allied has solutions to meet the needs of modern, mobile workforces – all supported by our full service, concierge care and white glove support.
