At CNAE we are committed to ensuring our clients and their customers are as safe as possible while the Coronavirus pandemic continues. With the rush to get staff working remotely from home, some companies have found that they are not setup, ready to login remotely and have their staff start working effectively.
It is imperative that teams can work collaboratively during these new distancing measures and for business to continue to operate as normal two major areas are the key to making it a success. The ability for quick and secure access to all work tools and instant communication between teams and staff.

Remote working practices for a lot of companies is not unusual, businesses have been operating and outsourcing IT services for a long time, however, for some of our clients this is all very new and at CNAE we are here to help you.

Productivity has very little to do with a physical presence in an office, it’s more about having effective tools and communication systems in place that allow for full-time remote work to be achieved.
So, what tools does your company need to run your staff effectively?

Communications tools, business productivity software, physical home office tools, security tools and mental wellness for starters. Below we have detailed a few important points in how to create a successful working environment from home with your staff whilst also being productive and safe.

Communication
It’s a good idea to organise daily check-in calls, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Online calendars should include all meetings, calls, and of course offline work. Try and respond to emails and calls as soon as you can, if you cannot respond straight away, try and make sure it’s within a reasonable timeframe, 2hrs is a good benchmark.

Touch base with your team via video chat at least once a week to have that personal interaction that emails cannot give you when working remotely in long periods of time. It will also help keep up morale and a positive mental state.

Business productivity and monitoring
Time management tools can help to keep track of your entire workforce and make sure that everyone is working productivity.

There are many great productivity tools on the market today and they all work a little differently. Sometimes it’s hard to find one that will do everything you need it too. If you want to work out the best tools for your workplace you may find Microsoft Teams for collaboration and Microsoft remote servers for remote access to company databases and files are some of the ones we can recommend at CNAE

Setup of your home office
You can purchase a laptop and a wireless keyboard and mouse and additional monitors so you have more screen space and ergonomically you are more comfortable and productive.

Remote security for staff
Making sure you are setup remotely with the right security in place to protect your data, which means setting up the remote connection to your company office network or sharing files in the cloud.
Businesses can install virtual private networks (VPNs) for each computer. Staff should also change WIFI passwords at home regularly and make them more complex than they would normally have them, especially if dealing with personal client information via the cloud.
All staff should be made aware of online scams, particularly around COVID-19 and you should remember to lock and shut down computers when you are not working on them.

Mental wellness
A major setback to home working environments is keeping up employee morale when there is little to no connection to others. Mental and physical health of your employees must be a priority. Not only does a walk around the block keep you active it also can make you more productive at your work. Schedule a weekly walk with your staff around the block or schedule a stretch and zoom session with your staff.

Finally, during these times, it is a great opportunity to review your support services and make sure you are receiving the best IT support and cost efficient solutions. Your company’s success depends on the successful implementation of all of the above! So, make sure you have the right company to support you.