The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has caused unfathomable change across the world. From lockdown periods to social distancing to many businesses having to close their doors permanently. If you’re still up and running when it comes to your business, chances are you’ve had to make the switch, or at least consider making the switch, to a remote workforce. Now, remote working is hugely beneficial for many of us in this pandemic. It can help to significantly slow and minimise the spread of the virus, as employees won’t have to come into contact with one another, or other members of the public while commuting into work. However, switching to a fully remote workforce is, of course, a huge change – and it’s likely that you’re going to have to change and alter all sorts of aspects concerning how your business is run to make it work. Here are a few pieces of advice that can help you to make a success of shifting to remote working!
Make Use of Flexible Office Spaces
Of course, it might not be all too wise to make the jump entirely from completely office based work to completely remote based work for all workers in all scenarios in one fell swoop. For some meetings and discussions, it’s best to have some sort of tangible space where people can meet up (safely and while practicing social distancing) to get work done. Whether this is for final stages of interview recruitment processes or HR issues that need to be discussed on a more personal basis. You can find out more on how to take advantage of flexible office space to grow your business here. The advice could come in infinitely useful for you and your company’s success!
Taking Cybersecurity Seriously
The pandemic is a terrible occurrence, but unfortunately, not everyone is willing to try to make things easier for others during these already trying times. Instead, there are people out there who are using the pandemic and the changes it has wrought to their advantage and others’ significant disadvantage. Cybercriminals have definitely fallen into this group. Cybercriminals are recognising that increasing numbers of businesses are switching to remote working for the first time ever, and are also aware that these businesses are pretty vulnerable right now, as staff are getting used to operating outside of an office space and within their own homes instead. Don’t make the mistake of believing that cyber criminals only target major businesses and corporations. Sure, they may have more to gain from hacking companies of this size, but they are also aware that these companies have a whole lot of security in place that is going to be difficult to overcome. Instead, by targeting a small business, they find themselves with a much easier target and much higher chances of experiencing success to your company’s detriment. This is why you really have to take cybersecurity seriously. Some steps you can take to beat cybercriminals and protect your business’ data include:
- Training your staff in cybersecurity – this will ensure that they can identify and avoid common means of data breaches and information breaches, such as spam and phishing emails.
- Implement a VPN – by implementing a VPN or “virtual private network”, you can ensure that your staff aren’t connecting to public networks, which are much easier to hack into.
- Install firewall – ensure that all staff’s devices have firewall installed. Generally speaking, it’s best to ask staff to use devices that you’ve provided them with to work from, rather than allowing them to work from their own devices. This way, you can ensure that there is firewall on each device.
Ensure Your Staff Feel Supported
Your staff still need to feel supported while they’re working from home. Otherwise, morale is likely to drop and productivity can dwindle. This means making an active effort to ensure that you check in with your staff and check that they have everything they need while they are working from home. Communication really is key and can make all the difference when it comes to employee satisfaction. You don’t want to lose staff during this already difficult time and you definitely don’t want to have to fork out for extra recruitment costs when, for many of us, money is pretty tight. Keep the staff you have on board by appreciating them!
Sure, switching to a remote workforce can feel pretty daunting. But hopefully, some of the above information and advice can help to guide you along the path to success!