2020 has seen the world of business change on a monthly basis. The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has seen us have to completely alter operations and get used to a new way of working. Chances are, back in March, if you found that your staff could work from home, you ensured that they did work from home. Many businesses are still operating in this way right now in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
While this has been a difficult change for many businesses, some are seeing that their workforce can operate just as well from home and would rather continue this mode of operations and save on expensive office rent. If you’re on this wavelength, it’s first important that you do everything you can to make sure that your business is definitely ready for the permanent switch to remote operations. Here are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and your staff as best possible!
Check out this article for remote workers that might be helpful.
Give Your Staff Anonymous Questionnaires
You may want to check that your staff would genuinely be happy to continue working from home. While some much prefer this routine, you may have some staff members who’d much rather be back in the office. Employees tend to keep their negative opinions to themselves, not wanting to come across as negative or “difficult”. So if you want honest opinions on this matter, it’s a good idea to send out an anonymous survey for all employees to complete with their thoughts, queries, concerns or other thoughts on the subject of switching to permanently remote work.
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Create a Virtual Headquarters
If you go ahead with the switch, you should consider setting up a Virtual Headquarters. This could be your own or signing up with third party Virtual Headquarters to take care of tasks that you and your staff may not have time to deal with right now. Both of these options ensure customers can still get in touch as and when they need as you settle into your new working routine.
Double Down on Cybersecurity
If you’re going to run a remote business, you’re really going to have to focus on cybersecurity. Sure, cybersecurity is always important. Whether your staff work remotely or not, everyone’s always going to use plenty of techs and operate largely online, so you need to protect all staff and devices at all times anyway. But this becomes increasingly important when staff works from home.
Cybercriminals often attack remote-based businesses – especially those who are getting used to operating remotely – as they see them as potentially vulnerable. You need to make sure that your staff is on approved devices, VPNs (or virtual private networks), and that they are all fully trained in cybersecurity. Perhaps the most important area of focus should be phishing, as cybercriminals use these types of scam emails to extract passwords, data, funds, or other elements of your company.
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you will go ahead and make the switch to permanently remote work. Many are saying that this is the future, so it’s worth considering seriously! Hopefully, some of the above advice will help you along the way!
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