The coronavirus pandemic has changed the workplace of employees. Most employees have transitioned from office to work-from-home. They are working from a remote location. Organizations are trying to deal with the challenges of remote work. In this article, we are going to share some tips that will help you in dealing with these challenges.

Definition of a remote office:

If you want your business to succeed in a remote work situation, then you should help your employees in setting up a remote office. It is a good idea to embrace remote work as a permanent solution as it can help you in saving a lot of money. The best thing about a remote office is that it can be located anywhere. Thus, your employees can complete their work from anywhere in the world.

Remote offices mostly need three things only: your employee, device, and internet. If your employee device is compromised, then it will affect all the network applications. Thus, your entire business network will get compromised. Sometimes data breaches can occur due to human error. Your employees should know about the latest cybersecurity scams. This will help them in protecting your data. Phishing has again become very popular due to the coronavirus pandemic. Attackers are sending emails stating that they are giving away free vaccines. It is important to protect your employees from phishing attacks.

Effect of Remote Office:

The main issue with the remote office is security. However, productivity is another factor that companies are worried about. Some companies think that remote workers are actually less productive as they are working from their comfort space. There have been various studies on this topic and the results are mixed. According to these reports, the productivity of employees will depend upon the hours that they are working. Also, if they have more control over their work environment, then they will perform better. There are various little tweaks that can boost your employee’s productivity.

However, many employees are actually working with their kids. They don’t have access to a suitable workplace. Also, they have no in-office days. Thus, it is affecting their productivity.

Most employees don’t know how to separate their personal and work life. If your employees don’t have the right work environment and structure, then they will lose their focus. They will become unproductive due to distractions. Thus, you can’t ask your employees to work optimally from their homes. It is important to provide them with all the important guidelines and tools. This will ensure that they will be productive.

We are going to share some strategies that will help you in building a perfect remote office.

Embrace cloud technology

Remote workplaces can’t exist without cloud platforms. Employees can use cloud technology for accessing the same work and applications from anywhere in the world. This ensures that your employees can work on the same projects. Your employees don’t need to mail files to other team members. The cloud has changed the concept of a remote workplace. Shared cloud platforms will ensure that all your employees have access to the same data and employees. Thus, your employees can work on the same files. If you are using various different cloud platforms, then you should go for multi-cloud deployment. This will ensure that multiple departments can work on different applications. Thus, it will give flexibility to your workers.

Video conferencing

Video conferencing has already become a standard feature. Most employees were already using it. However, the coronavirus pandemic has made them very important. You can’t expect your employees to focus on phone meetings. Thus, video conferencing is the best way to interact with your employees. You can build a better relationship with your team members.

Time tracking

Most employees can set up their own remote office schedule. Thus, you don’t need to help them. However, there will be some employees that will find it difficult to create a schedule. There are many tools available in the market that will help you in tracking your employees. It can help you in tracking their internet usage. Also, you can check if they are meeting their deadlines. You can check if they are actually working from their home. Many companies think that this is micromanaging. However, it will help you in promoting accountability and structure.

Reassess your security

If you want to embrace remote work, then there are numerous security issues that you need to deal with. Most remote offices don’t have access to the best security tools. They won’t have access to firewall, antivirus, and device management software. Thus, you should conduct a vulnerability assessment. This assessment will help you in identifying gaps in your security plan. Thus, you can protect your network by addressing these security gaps. You should also create new security policies for your remote workers.

Remote office orientation

Your employees think that working from home is very easy. They might think that is similar to working in an office. However, they actually need to protect themselves in a remote environment. Make sure that you are regularly conducting a remote office orientation. This will help you in educating your employees. You can teach them about the latest security trends. Also, you can help them in increasing their productivity. Make sure that they know about phishing attacks and how to avoid them. You should help them in setting up MFA. It will help you in protecting your account from attackers.

Conclusion

Remote work has become the new norm that businesses can’t ignore. Thus, it is important to build a remote office for your employees. These tips will help you in building a remote office. However, most businesses don’t have access to an IT team that can handle a remote workforce. Thus, you should consider working with a good MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can help you in protecting your business from attackers. Also, they will help you in managing your remote employees. You don’t need to worry about the security issues related to the remote workforce. If you need more information regarding the remote office, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.