Top 5 questions to consider as working from home becomes the ‘new normal’
The Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic has forced many companies to face a new operating reality, with large swathes of the workforce being asked to work from home. Many professional services firm (especially those based in the City) reacted quickly and asked their employees to work from home – many of them already had flexible working processes and technology in place. Yet flexible working still hasn’t been embraced by every company – some managers still struggle with the idea that employees can be as efficient at home or that they can be managed as effectively. Nevertheless the step change from a flexible working policy to immediately shutting the office and performing every function and process of the company from home is significant. Every management team has had to ask of their IT team ‘will the systems, processes and availability of hardware withstand us all logging in from home?’ For some this has been the second question after ‘where do we start first?’
Here are the top 5 questions to consider as working from home becomes the ‘new normal’:
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Does everyone have the tech capability?
Does everyone have the hardware at home to perform their role? Do the software licences cover the numbers, locations and possible deployments, especially if teams are using their own devices as well as company hardware. Prioritise the multitude of hardware requests as if you are asking your employee to work from home you should be providing the kit from an HR and cybersecurity perspective. Even with the kit and software however, the internet is not the same everywhere. Video is a great way to really engage with other team members but some employees consider it an intrusion.
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Can we keep the data we hold and our systems secure?
One of the biggest risks with home working is cybersecurity. Public wifi is something to avoid. It provides open doors to cyber criminals. A VPN (virtual private network) allows employees to access the company networks remotely. It’s like a digital tunnel and all information that travels through it becomes encrypted but select suppliers carefully as supply chains are fragile everywhere at the moment. Remember – a company’s obligations in relation to personal data and confidentiality remain the same even in such trying circumstances and confidential waste still needs to be disposed of securely. Arguably any emails or company documents fall into this category.
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Criminals look to take advantage even when there’s a pandemic.
Everyone is being asked to juggle so many competing pressures at the moment that we are likely to be easier targets for scam calls, phishing emails or SMS’s where you are asked to click on a link that lets a cyber criminal gain access to your system or run up fraudulent phone charges. These links can lead to unauthorised access of company or personal information, compromising company systems and potentially leading to a data breach. Reminding staff to be aware of emails or SMS’s with links attached but to also inform IT as soon as possible if a link has been clicked on.
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How do we accommodate our employees who are juggling childcare?
With schools closed many working parents now have added child care responsibilities, unless they are “key workers” permitted to send their children to school whilst they work. Employers therefore need to be cognisant of this, and appreciate that parents’ normal back up childcare plans are not viable. Agreeing temporary flexible working arrangements will assist, particularly if working parents are sharing care, as this may mean that employees can do their work, albeit at different times of the day to normal. It is also important to ensure that these parents are not treated less favourably as a result of having these additional responsibilities as this could be discriminatory –should redundancies, or furlough arrangements need to be put in place, these employees should be considered and treated in the same way as other employees who do not have childcare responsibilities.
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What are our Health and safety obligations?
Responsibilities do not fall away because someone is working at home – employers have a duty of care to ensure that employees can work in a safe environment. Businesses need to take steps to check that employees are set up correctly at home, with appropriate and safe equipment and working arrangements. Whilst these checks can’t now be done in person employers can still speak with their employees and ask them about their arrangements at home and ensure that any issues are dealt with as quickly as possible and/or practicable in the circumstances. The requirements for each employee will vary depending on their role and the equipment they need to do their role.
It seems likely that working from home will become the ‘new normal’ for a while longer yet, the real question is once the pandemic subsides and restrictions are lifted, will employers and employees alike want to return to the old normal?
For detailed information about how your organisation can implement effective cybersecurity measures, see our Cybersecurity Toolkit
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