Sending Your Employees Home
In unpredictable times likes these, it brings to attention the need for business continuity. Businesses, small and large, need the ability to adapt when employees are needing to work from home because of business disruptions, such as a contagion, water break, or building remodel.
It is understandable that not all employees are in roles where they can continue their duties in a home or remote environment. However, there are ways to keep your business operating, even at a leaner capacity.
According to the NY Times, companies such as “Microsoft, Amazon, Ford Motor, CNN, Citigroup and Twitter have put employees through work-from-home drills, dusted off emergency-response plans and ordered increasingly stringent safety measures to protect their workers. Even a small business owner in Chicago is planning to have some of his office employees work from home.” *
Locally, we know one business had all their employees work from home to test their remote connections and stability. They are now prepared when it becomes necessary for their employees to work remotely.
Remote Workers: What You Need
Depending on your network structure, your business may already be prepared to support remote workers. It could be as simple as adding a router to establish a VPN connection, or as complex as rebuilding your network entirely.
Some methods for supporting remote workers:
- Add a router to establish VPN connection(s)
- Set up a remote desktop connection
- Enable mobile app, if available from the phone system manufacturer
- Bring workplace phone home to make/receive calls as usual
Note: We do not recommend implementing these methods without support from a managed service provider (MSP) to safeguard your network from additional risk.
Step 1: Begin a conversation with a technology partner to discuss your best options for remote needs.
Step 2: Make sure your technology needs are adequately covered.
Things to consider when sending your employees home – will they need:
- Ability to take calls and return calls
- Access to email
- Access to pertinent files
- Access to software and programs
Step 3: Ensure your business is protected from all points of access.
It is important to remember that you cannot forsake security when adding the remote capability for your employees. A data breach or hack can be as damaging to your business as not having your employees work at all.
If you are considering adding remote capability, we strongly recommend working with a managed service provider (MSP). Remote employees add a level of complexity to your business network that should be built and managed by a technology professional.
Step 4: Watch for scams
Stay diligent with your health and hygiene, but also to the risk of scams. There are those that thrive off fear and will use it to their advantage, whether that be phishing emails, calls, misinformation or other. Stay informed, do your research, and verify before clicking any links.
Contact us to discuss your capability to support remote workers and keep your business operating during unpredictable circumstances.