As COVID-19 spreads, we are quickly learning that a single virus has the power to change how the world fundamentally works. With region after region going into economic and social lock down, this virus is forcing many businesses to consider a remote workforce. 

In times like these, business owners must face difficult questions, like:

• How will my operation stay relevant in this new reality? 

• How long will this last? 

• When it’s over, what will my business look like? 

I can tell you that there will be a drastic increase in the number of business owners who will realize that having a remote workforce has numerous benefits. These benefits will continue to exist long after social isolation has ended. While it’s true that not all businesses can operate remotely, there are so many that could shift to some degree of remote working, but simply haven’t. Being forced down this path merely to survive is not the best time to alter your business operations, and doing so “safely” is of paramount importance. 

Safety measures for employees new to working from home

If you have cobbled together a solution for employees to work at home during COVID-19, you likely experienced challenges. There's a good chance that while your intentions were good, you used the easiest and quickest (not necessarily the best) solution. After all, there was no time! Security is often the last thing people worry about, but it can bring down a business faster than a novel virus. If you don’t have a dedicated IT department, or if you haven’t recently had a security audit, you should be worried about this (don’t worry, we’re here to help!).

With employees working from home, there are a number of key points that should be considered:

1. If you’re asking your employees to use their home computer, how secure is it? 

2. Is their operating system current? 

3. Do they have good antivirus and malware protection? 

4. Can anyone else log on to that computer and access your business information and operations? 

If employees bring their office computers home, that may address some of these concerns, but you still want to ensure that:

• Their internet connection is private

• They understand the ramifications of cybersecurity 

After all, the best defense against being hacked is employee education - people are always the weakest link. Open the wrong email, and you could lose everything. 

The larger your office, the more likely you are to have the capabilities already in place to promote remote working. If this sounds like you, but you’re not embracing remote working, take this opportunity to be resilient, to survive this crisis, and to come out stronger on the other side.

Cybersecurity and remote working solutions? We do that!

If you are completely reliant on having your workforce “present” even though they don’t really need to be, but just don’t know how to begin to move away from your paper-based environment, please reach out to us. We can help work out some options with you, either to offer advice based on our own virtual environment, or to arrange a consultation with IT professionals to recommend and implement options that will work best for your business.

It may not be as daunting as you think. You may already be using cloud-based software: GSuite or Office 365; Quickbooks Online or Xero for your bookkeeping; storing your documents in GDrive, OneDrive, or Dropbox rather than on your computer’s hard drive. These are all steps in the right direction. Just remember to be hyper aware of your cybersecurity. Even though this is a worldwide crisis, there are unfortunately people who will take advantage just for the fun of it. 

If you’re not comfortable with your level or knowledge of cybersecurity, or what that really looks like, we can help.

What will business look like when this is all over?

Migrating a new portion of the workforce to a remote environment need not be a temporary shift. The benefits to businesses -  so many businesses! - is a long, and not insignificant list: 

• Decreased overhead: expensive office space can be reduced by not requiring a desk for everyone, every day. 

• Get optimal productivity from staff: buy into the reality that some people work more productively at home while others need the structure of an office workspace. 

• Employee engagement: offering flexible work days/hours and reducing commute time makes for happy employees.

• Environmental benefits:  reducing “rush hour traffic” will reduce emissions and change the conversation on road/transit infrastructure spending. Personally, I feel this is the easiest thing we can all do to combat that other crisis: Climate Change.

• Value your resources: recognize that people are a resource to be courted. As the working demographic gets younger, job opportunities need to appeal to their expectations. Attract the best talent, wherever they may live, by being a nimble business. If you don’t, your competitors will.

If you are the type of boss that doesn’t feel comfortable if you can’t “see” your employees working - it’s time to get over it - start trusting your employees to do the work or you may be left behind as a casualty of the virus war.