Business Continuity & Coronavirus
Can You Keep Your Staff Productive While They Work Remote?
In order to limit the spread of coronavirus, our nation has to work together, practicing something called “social distancing”. Canceling large gatherings, and limiting your staff’s exposure at the office will be more and more important as time goes on.
However, while this practice may be effective for slowing the spread of coronavirus, it will undoubtedly be detrimental to businesses across the country. A majority of these organizations are not configured to support staff members as they work from home.
With little to no time to get prepared, many businesses are scrambling to set up the right technologies and keep their staff working. Have you figured out your coronavirus continuity plan?
How Can You Keep Your Staff Productive?
The easiest way is to deploy remote access and hosting solutions.
Remote access is a method for delivering software applications, databases, and files to users from remote servers that are housed off-site in data centers. This is opposed to the traditional, pre-cloud model in which all software was hosted directly on the user’s PC or laptop, or in nearby hardware.
When needed, the user can access the application and their data by securely logging in to the remote server via the cloud, usually through an Internet browser. Once logged in, the user can make use of the software, access and modify data, and more, all without having to actually be at the data center, or install the software on their own device.
By deploying one of these solutions, you can allow your staff to securely access work data, keep in touch with each, hold meetings, and more, such as Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams, as well as VPN software to keep connections secure.
How Should You Deploy Remote Work Capabilities?
The more optimized your remote work technologies and processes, the fewer obstacles and interruptions there will be to your staff’s productivity. Make sure to prioritize:
- User Experience: Your staff members need to be able to do their work, and easily. If they’re fighting against unintuitive software, a bad connection, or anything else tech-related, their standard workday won’t be all that productive. It won’t be long before your business’ productivity grinds to a halt.
- Strong Connectivity: You need to poll your staff and find out who has a reliable Internet connection at home. If your staff lives in remote areas with poor connectivity, you may have to consider investing in cellular-data, or have a plan in place to deal with delays on their end.
- Reliable Security: This pandemic will be like open season for cybercriminals. When businesses start prioritizing remote access to data over the cybersecurity services needed for said data, they make an easy target for hackers. That’s why you need to take additional steps to secure remote access.
What Technologies Should You Make Use Of?
Both you and your staff need the right tools in order to stay productive. If they’re fighting against unintuitive software, a bad connection, or anything else tech-related, they won’t be able to get much done from home. It won’t be long before your business’ productivity grinds to a halt.
There are a number of consumer and business-class solutions available to you, depending on the size of your organization:
- Business Communications (Skype, VoIP, etc.): Can you monitor your employees’ phone traffic, allowing them to take calls from clients, and make calls on their business lines? You also need software that allows you to record calls in order to track the customers’ experience.
- Productivity Management: You’ll also want to be able to track remote access and logins, allowing you to see when users are actively working.
- Staff Collaboration (Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams): Do you have the right solutions in place to allow your team members to collaborate? You should be able to send and receive files, and share desktops in real-time.
We know that you’d like to keep your business operating no matter what crisis the nation faces. With the right remote work capabilities, you can keep your staff productive and healthy. If you need help, get in touch with the Network Outsource team.
