During this unprecedented crisis all businesses are required to operate from home reduce the potential spread of coronavirus.
Working from home during lockdown means guzzling of internet data more than what we usually do. Sometimes this means hitting the usage limits before the month ends and sometimes working at a slow internet speed due to several devices connected to a single network. So how do you deal with slow internet connectivity at homes during this period?
We have complied a list of considerations and tips to help guide businesses through these challenges.
Work From Home (WFH) Communication Tips:
- Access to a reliable internet connection for WFH staff is a critical factorin ensuring uninterrupted access to the information.
- When working from home, set up your Wifi where you get the highest connectivity. Sitting at a place that has low signal strength will hamper your experience even more and will keep you stuck at those loading pages.
- To ensure a seamless look for your communications, you’ll need VoIP services to make calls via the Internet rather than phone lines.
- Use collaboration app like Microsoft Teams that helps your staff stay organized and have conversations, from any device. You can use Microsoft Teams to have instant conversations with members of your staff or guests outside your organization.
- “Out of sight, out of mind” can be a real problem for remote workers so when you do communicate with your team, it would help to make communication “richer” by meeting over a video conferencing.
Work From Home (WFH) Cyber Security Tips:
- Remind Workers should be aware of the Kinds of Information that they will need to safeguard. This often includes information such as confidential business information, secure intellectual property, work product, and customer information.
- Sensitive information, such as particular types of personal or customer data (e.g., staff records, medical records, financial documents), that’s stored on or delivered to remote endpoint should be encrypted in transit.
- Train employees on how to detect and handle cyber-attacks. Sadly, there are an increasing amount of phishing mails moving during COVID-19 virus, preying on the public’s health concerns.
- Ensure that internet traffic is encrypted, especially if connected to a public network. Make sure employees utilize the VPN when working and when company information systems liberally if your company has one set up.
- Apply a policy to ensure company information should never be downloaded or stored to personal drop box accounts or their personal Google Drive.
- Audit current security policy to ensure that all versions are current with all patches.
- “Remember password” works should be turned off if employees are logging in to software and company information systems in their devices.
- Implement and apply two-factor or multi-factor authentication (MFA). if you haven’t switched on MFA until now then now is the time.
- Consider deploying a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. MDM can help manage and secure any mobile device while empowering you to implement numerous safety measures, such as data encryption, malware scans and remote wipe.
- Maintain IT resources and well-staffed. When more workers than normal are working remotely, or work is new IT, to an organization IT assistance that is required may increase.
While WFH arrangements may be effective to slow the community spread of COVID-19, they also present challenges that can be different than working form the office
empower ICT has been enabling effective WFH practices for many years and we’d like to continue to share our experience and ensure you stay connected and productive.
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