With COVID still running rampant, many businesses continue to operate under remote work conditions. As such, businesses are totally dependent on technology. Even if things seem to be running smoothly, business owners and leaders need to be aware of the significant remote work challenges they are facing.
I put these IT challenges into several categories including data security, employee productivity, and employee engagement.
Data Security
Data security issues may be the most critical challenge when it comes to remote work. Some employees may use their personal computers for work. How do you know if their personal computers are secure? Or how do you know if their internet connection to the company’s data is secure? Hopefully, your IT vendor has confirmed that employees have the right anti-virus, anti-malware, and firewall software on their personal devices. Likewise, your employees can only access your company’s data through a secure connection such as a VPN or Secure remote client. This secure connection needs to have an encryption platform. Lastly, company data should not be locally stored on the employee’s computer. You should have the proper safeguards in place to protect your data!
Employee Productivity
Most reports that I have read is that employees continue to be productive in the remote work setting. That said, are you sure that your employees have the right tools? As basic as this seems, productivity can significantly decline due to poor internet connectivity. Also, they should have the right collaboration software for your teams. I have seen other reports that say employees get on earlier and stay on longer when working remotely. While that may sound good from the employer’s viewpoint, this does not mean an increase in productivity. If fact, many employees experience fatigue. This fatigue certainly leads to a lack of productivity. How do you measure remote employee productivity through remote work? How do you hold employees accountable?
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement goes hand-in-hand with employee productivity. In other words, less engaged employees tend to be less productive. As many of us know, it can be difficult to be engaged while working at home. We get easily distracted by family members, pets, deliveries, and so forth. Also, we miss interacting with our coworkers. We cannot simply walk down the hall to ask a question or blow off steam. Technology can, and should, be used to build and sustain emotional connection with coworkers. I have seen the phenomenon of what I call FOMO. This acronym is Fear of Missing Out. It is real. And it can lead to a lack of employee engagement. Lastly, do you have a system to handle employee conflicts in the remote work setting?
The aforementioned issues are critical to the success of your business during these times of remote work. At eTegrity, we can analyze each of these areas and determine if you have any potential problems. Once problems are identified, we work with your IT provider to implement solutions. Data and employees may be two of your most important assets. Call us to help you address these important remote work challenges. Failure to do so can cause significant damage to your business.
