Remote work is “The New Normal” for many modern employees. This new workplace flexibility makes it more important than ever for organizations to provide the right technologies and security practices to ensure that remote employees have access to the information and data needed to carry out their job securely and productively.
Teamwork Is An Important Part Of Any Organization’s Growth And Progress
A laptop and a phone obviously keep remote workers in touch with other remote and on-site colleagues, as well as clients and customers. Remote collaboration is the process of working together from different locations using digital platforms to achieve a specified goal. Remote teams cooperate using digital technology to share ideas, collaborate on work files and communicate in real time. This process is important because it can assist workers in establishing a healthy balance between work and personal life. It also assists teams in increasing their productivity and identifying new opportunities, regardless of their location.
How Do You Keep In Touch With Remote Workers?
The following suggestions can help an organization determine what other technologies are required to keep information and data flowing so employees can complete all their job tasks and stay connected.
- Coffee chats — just because there’s no break room to hang out in doesn’t mean employees aren’t taking breaks.
- Ask a “Question of the Week.”
- Collaborate with other team members
- Track or report on projects
- Manage or participate in the document workflow
- Offer company challenges
- Print documents
- Encourage groups chats
The answer to these suggestions can be hardware, software or cloud based. In addition to the remote worker’s laptop could be a printer, scanner, or multifunctional device. The company should issue and preconfigure the applications and security functions.
Security Is Necessary For Company Issued Technology Items
While there are many benefits to remote work for both employer and employee, there are some downsides as well – and one of those is the need to provide IT services to a remote workforce. Security issues often arise by removing these IT items to perform their work off-premises. Remote workers scattered all over, running a combination of personal and company devices and software from their home Wi-Fi connections, can be a nightmare for IT service providers who want to keep their networks safe. A recent report by VMWare shows 97% of organizations in the U.S. had experienced a data breach as a result of a cyberattack in the past 12 months, and 88% of North American respondents said they had seen an increase in overall cyberattacks as a result of employees working from home. Let’s face it – your network is only as secure as the weakest device on it. Just think of all the programs your remote worker will be using: Zoom, WebEx, and GoToMeeting video conferencing on the cloud. Team collaboration applications help work-at-home employees collaborate efficiently with team members on projects. And then you have cloud-based files that use encryption, permission controls, and document life cycle features. Employees need to securely create, share, edit, and store information securely.
Suggestions To Ensure Information And Data Are Handled Securely
Companies view the work-from-home model as long-term, and some embrace a hybrid model in which employees split time between home and office. While in the office on a corporate network using company hardware, it’s easy to take security for granted. But once you’ve got remote staff, keeping the IT environment secure becomes a bigger undertaking.
Do the following to keep your data secure:
- Make sure your remote worker has a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that adds security and anonymity to users when they connect to web-based services and sites. A VPN hides the user’s actual public IP address and “tunnels” traffic between the user’s device and the remote server.
- Remote employees should use two-factor authentication (2FA) which is an identity and access management security method that requires two forms of identification to access resources and data. 2FA gives businesses the ability to monitor and help safeguard their most vulnerable information and networks.
- Encrypt your data. Encryption stores your data in a form that can be read only when a computer is unlocked. Unlocking your encrypted device decrypts your data. Encryption can add protection in case your device is stolen. All remote workers should have this technology on all devices, software, and cloud services when working with corporate data.
- Remote workers should never use their personal PCs, laptops, mobile devices, or other devices connected to the internet for company work.
- Have
- regular training sessions scheduled to keep employees informed and compliant with the required security policies.
The distributed workforce seems to be here to stay. Technology has created a scenario in which the office can be anywhere – and that’s a great thing. But technology also comes with risks, and to mitigate those risks, security has to be a priority for everyone in an organization.
Waltz Can Help With All Facets Of Your Information Management
- Enterprise Content Management – Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is a collection of tools, strategies, and procedures that work together to consolidate your document management into a seamless and efficient workflow. > Learn More
- Document Management Solutions – Securely manage information to improve Business Efficiency. Document Management frees your business from the headaches of managing paper documents and helps you maximize
- office productivity and security. > Learn More
- Document Scanning Services – Cut down on all of the paper clutter in your office and pitch that outdated filing system. > Learn More
- Document Destruction Solutions – Safely discard unwanted sensitive documents per regulations. Protect yourself and your clients from identity theft by securely purging unnecessary documents. > Learn More
- Print Management Solutions – Print Management helps you streamline your printing costs and improve workflow and security. Uncover hidden printing cost vulnerabilities by controlling your printing activities. > Learn More
Waltz Can Help You Build a Modern Workplace
Is your business equipped to take on the ever-changing face of the modern workplace? As the face of business changes and trends toward more casual, flexible, and hybrid work models become popular, your business needs the tools and solutions that will keep you surging forward.
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