The Full Switch to Remote Work – 5 Best Practices for an Effective and Safe Remote Workplace

One of the most common issues with the shift to remote work is cybersecurity. Without the right tools and guidance, remote employees might unknowingly compromise critical business data. Hence, you must make sure to implement remote work security best practices as you make the full shift.

According to PwC, 83% of businesses claim to have successfully migrated their operations to remote work. While the figures show promising results, you must still keep an eye out on the challenges you might encounter during the shift. This way, your business and employees are better equipped in dealing with potential issues along the way.

With that, here are some of the best practices for a secure remote workforce.

1. Invest in the right tools and software

The threats nowadays are mostly unseen entities. If you and your employees grow careless, it can easily penetrate your database and leak critical data. The risk is even greater during remote work since multiple scattered devices are accessing your data all at once.

Hence, you must invest in reliable security tools and software to safeguard your employees no matter where they are. These will help you monitor for signs of any suspicious activities within your employees’ respective devices. There are different tools and software to choose from. Here’s an article where FinancesOnline shares some IT security software solutions available.

2. Create concrete guidelines on cybersecurity

Working from home is basically the same as working in the office. Your employees still need concrete policies to follow at their respective home. These policies do more than just keep your employees in line. It can even save your business from falling prey to cyberattacks.

A work from home security policy allows you to lay down the do’s and don’ts. For example, you can forbid them from using their personal smartphones, tablets, or laptops when accessing sensitive data or emails during work. Likewise, you can also advise them to always turn off or lock their laptop/computer screen whenever they leave their desks for even just a few minutes or seconds. These policies will guide your employees to make the right decisions and observe proper caution while working remotely.

3. Conduct regular trainings and courses

In cybersecurity, the human element is as crucial as the tools you will be using to protect your data. Your policies can only go so far especially since cyberattacks can come in many forms. They can target your employees in the most harmless and ordinary way. Others might even approach them while outside work. By then, you can’t do anything to stop your employees from making poor decisions.

Hence, you must educate and train them properly regarding cybersecurity. This can be in the form of seminars, weekly meetings, or courses. You can teach your employees how to identify the different threats out there and ingrain in them the best security practices whether inside or outside the workplace. This will help them make smarter decisions on how to protect themselves from such attacks.

4. Tighten login processes and security

Passwords can only do so much to protect your business. Hackers can easily brute force their way into your logins if you aren’t too careful.

To tighten cybersecurity for remote workers, you must help them manage their passwords. This doesn’t mean you will choose their respective passwords yourself. What you can do is impose specific criteria for acceptable passwords and reject those that might be too weak or easily cracked. You can set the required minimum length, the number of symbols and numbers, and capitalization within their respective passwords. And to add an extra layer of protection during the login process, you should also consider installing multi-factor verification for each of your employees’ logins.

5. Always have backup for all your data

Cyberattacks aren’t the only threat to your data and security. It can be as simple as your employee accidentally deleting crucial files from your database. Likewise, technology is just as fallible as anything else. Your system can crash from out of nowhere. Servers can be compromised. And hardware can break down. All of these can be completely out of your hands during a remote work setup. At this point, backups can literally save your business from the brink of collapse.

Backing up all your files, data, and contacts makes it easier to recover everything in cases of emergency. Keep in mind, however, that using cloud storage or application does not automatically mean you have already backed up your files. You still need to use a third-party tool to do it or use a different cloud application to back them up properly.

A safe migration to remote work

Many things can go wrong while you make the full switch to remote work. Hence, you must make sure that you have the proper tools and strategy in place before you decide to commit to it.

Fortunately, there are many ways to prepare your business and employees for a safe migration. Just keep these tips in mind as you take the leap. Likewise, embrace what technology has to offer and check out what other software you can use to make the shift a smooth and seamless experience for everyone.