2020 saw a ground shift in remote working, as millions of workers across the country began working from home almost overnight. While those with robust remote working policies in place coped well with the sudden change, others were left scrambling to implement systems and policies quickly and reliably.
Remote working has many advantages for both employees and organizations. While there are not many positives to come out of this year, perhaps breaking down the barriers to remote working is one of them. It has been shown to work and improve the productivity and wellbeing of many employees.
As with all things, remote working also poses unique challenges for IT teams when it comes to preventing troubleshooting issues for remote workers. Here are a few tools to embrace that will help with remote working IT troubles.
Embrace Collaboration Technology
Email alone isn’t going to cut it for a remote, dispersed workforce. That’s where collaboration technology comes in. Many businesses have started relying on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other similar software to enable teams to interact with each other.
Keep exploring options for your organization and develop a comprehensive training plan so that every employee knows how to get the best out of the collaboration systems you use.
Enable Secure Access to Data
Access to business systems and data is necessary for employees to do their work. However, they are in an environment you cannot control and could potentially be using unsecured internet connections, exposing sensitive data to cybercriminals.
One way to mitigate this risk is to set up a VPN to provide an extra layer of protection between public networks with unsecured connections and company systems.
Invest in VoIP Systems
Remote working is where VoIP really comes into its own. It allows for seamless communications between you, your team members, and your customers.
VoIP is a flexible, secure technology that lets employees access their phone service from different locations and through various devices, all done through the Internet. In addition to the productivity benefits, you will also save money compared to legacy PBX systems.
There is a large choice of VoIP providers nowadays, but our tool of choice is Ringblaze. It provides you with the VoIP phone number and lets you assign calls to your team members so you can resolve customers’ requests more easily and quickly.
Tighten Up Your Security
Cybersecurity is a top priority for many businesses, with good reason. Cybersecurity breaches can severely damage a company’s finances and reputation, potentially putting them out of business altogether. Cyberattacks have increased over the last six months as new remote workers and companies are potentially more vulnerable. Often their policies and systems haven’t caught up with the new style of working, leaving gaps to be exploited.
You need to identify and plug these gaps as a matter of priority. If you don’t have an in-house IT resource, find an IT company that has expertise in this area. They can perform a risk assessment, implement fixes and new policies, remote monitor your systems 24/7/365, and train your employees.
Conclusion
Remote working is now a way of life for many people. This looks set to continue as businesses and employees realize the benefits. While it may present new problems when it comes to IT systems, these can be solved with diligent planning and implementation of new technologies and policies.
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