Author: Tom Cottrill | Date Posted: May 19, 2020
Not to brag or anything, but moving from an office to a remote environment was seamless for Ignitro. We are a team of web developers after all. But, for the companies whose transition wasn’t as seamless as ours, we wanted to share a few pointers for ensuring your employees are working safely and securely.
As the majority of companies continue to work from home with an uncertain future ahead of us, security is key. Things might be going well with the transition so far, but how confident are you that your company is staying secure, productive, and effectively communicating? You’ve probably heard the horror stories about the so-called “zoombombing” by now.
We feel it’s our duty and responsibility as a web development company to help you keep your company safe while working from home. Use our pointers below to help you make improvements to your current structure.
1. Opt for Cloud-Based Services
When all of your employees are working remotely, it can quickly become challenging to host everything on a local file server. By using a cloud-based service, such as Box.com, your employees can access the information they need securely and easily in most browsers.
2. Equip Your Employees with the Right Tools
This should be fairly obvious, but you need to equip every single employee with a laptop. This way, you can ensure they are working securely, efficiently, and have the tools they need to get their job done day in and day out. Make life easier for these hard-working individuals!
3. Move Away From Email
When it comes to working in an office, there is an easy and natural flow of conversation. When working remotely, communication must change. Sending emails for short term communications is a hot mess. It’s inefficient, important messages get buried, and it forces employees to stop what they are doing to read and respond. At Ignitro, we use private company Slack channels for all our internal communication, but you could serve the same purpose with Teams, Discord or other similar services. These services help to maintain the sense of community that might otherwise be lost when working remotely while also keeping your communications secure and private.
4. Have Check-Ins…and Check-Outs
No, we’re not suggesting you micromanage your employees. What we are suggesting is that you have employees let you know when they will start working, when they will stop and what they have accomplished for the day. This subtle step creates discipline and a culture of accountability without being overbearing and without the use of tracking software.
5. Make Sure Every Employee Has a Place to Work
It sounds silly, but even at home, it is your responsibility to make sure your employees have a private and safe space to do their job. Make sure they are equipped with a good desk, a chair and a secure place to work. This will prevent them from using shared WiFi at community spaces and will keep them safe during the pandemic. This small investment will pay dividends in employee satisfaction and productivity.
We understand that not every company is designed to work remotely, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As long as you have a way for your employees to work safely, smartly, and securely, then you might just be surprised to see the positive results it yields.
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