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What’s not to like about remote access?

First it was casual Fridays. Remember those? Then came laptops and smartphones and before we all knew it, we could work anywhere. Literally anywhere.

While some companies cannot (or should not) allow an offsite workforce, most can. But before any employee is allowed to work away from your office, particularly if it includes access to your network, the company, employee and supervisor should be aware of some basic facts.

Good for your business?

Working from remote locations has its benefits. Many people who telecommute actually show increased productivity, including better time management and work quality. Morale goes up and stress goes down due to what is perceived as a better work/life balance. For the company, overhead can be reduced with shared work spaces. Employees are retained at higher rates, and the use of sick and personal time generally goes down.

But there are potential downsides, too. It takes discipline for an employee to work outside an office, particularly if he or she has never done it before. Home office workers have enormous distractions. Reduced exposure and interaction with coworkers and lack of supervisory control can cause feelings of detachment and a loss of efficiency. Some have a hard time cutting work off, and others attempt to take care of children or aging parents at the same time.

So from a purely business standpoint, a comprehensive assessment including employer, employee and supervisor should be done to determine suitability.

What about my network?

If remote access is something you choose to do, several things should be put into place.

First, it’s vital for formal policies with clear guidelines be put in place—to not only protect your network, but also to enable ensure work is accomplished and everyone is doing his or her job. Policies not only spell out the employees responsibilities, but give companies rules and structure, too.

Flexibility of the remote force should not be sacrificed. That is one key to the success of a remote workforce, and no two remote workers will have the circumstances. So to allow for flexibility of time and place, policies cannot be too rigid. Instead, all statements of policy should focus on outcomes and results.

With that in mind, policies relating to remote access IT should include:

  • Conduct, confidentiality, hours of work and who to report to.
  • Equipment and insurance. Equipment security isn’t a large issue for office-based staff. But when your workforce is off premises, it becomes more important to include in a policy. What will you provide your remote worker? A laptop? Smartphone? How about furniture? How does your employee request additional equipment, and who pays? Who provides insurance coverage, the company or the employee?
  • Security of information. Your prescribed (and required) level of security will depend on your business, your industry and how much sensitive information you handle. Do connections need to be secured beyond a normal firewall? If so, will you be assisting your employee  (technically and financially) in ensuring they have a secure home network? What happens if there is a breach of security? And who determines why the breach occurred?

No one likes worst case scenarios. But covering these important bases in your policy means you’ll already have procedures in place if something does happen.

There are other non-IT related considerations for remote access, including expenses and away-from-home travel policies. Assessing your needs is the critical factor.

Let Carolinas Net Care assist you! We’ll do a comprehensive study of your remote access requirements, compare it to the system you have in place and give you an assessment of your next steps

 

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