As the United States heads into the fifth month of the world’s longest remote work arrangement due to COVID-19, business leaders from Illinois to Florida are already planning a more permanent solution for when the crisis ends. Tech corporations including Twitter and Facebook have announced that employees can work remotely forever if they so choose. Experts even predict that small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout the country will follow this trend as well. 

While industries like healthcare require on-site staff, companies in other sectors are perfect candidates for long-term remote work policies. Not only do these reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, but these can also boost the company’s productivity and bottom line if implemented correctly. 

That said, transitioning to a fully remote setup can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing IT systems. There are some important steps you must take when establishing long-term work from home policies. 

Develop work from home plans

The first thing you should do is to outline how employees should conduct themselves when working outside the office. Assess your business processes and workflows and think about how they translate to a remote team. For instance, since managers will have limited visibility over their staff, your company should create plans for daily or weekly check-ins. 

Different teams may also have to create new working procedures, data sharing policies, and productivity goals to ensure everyone works efficiently. 

If employees don’t have a clear plan on how to collaborate on projects from home, they may invent makeshift solutions that severely affect your company’s productivity and security. 

Consider home office IT infrastructures

Empowering remote employees requires sufficient technology and IT support. This means you must survey your staff’s home office setups and figure out what they need to work effectively, such as: 

  • High-speed internet connections
  • Company-registered laptops and mobile devices that can run your company’s software 
  • Good quality headsets and webcams for voice and video meetings
  • Other crucial peripheral devices like printers, scanners, or a second monitor

If employees lack the necessary resources, you should offer stipends so they can purchase what they need or issue the equipment yourself. 

Keep in mind that the reliability of internet connections largely depends on the internet service provider (ISP) or location. If you have managers and top personnel that perform mission-critical tasks, you’ll need to provide them a secondary internet connection if their home Wi-Fi network goes down. This can be in the form of either a mobile hotspot, which uses the cellular network or a secondary internet subscription with a different ISP for redundancy’s sake. 

It’s also worth signing up for a managed IT services provider to optimize home networks and provide prompt support when remote staff experience technical issues. 

Set up dedicated home working spaces

Work and personal lives can easily be thrown out of balance in a remote work setting because there are too many distractions at home. Whether it’s family, household chores, or the TV, it’s often difficult for remote employees to stay productive if they’re in a casual space. 

To maintain work efficiency levels in a remote work setting, employees must create a dedicated zone where they can work without distractions. This can be as simple as finding a quiet area or room in the house, so workers can get into a professional mindset. Staff should also stick to regular office hours, with breaks in between to stand up and stretch to keep their minds sharp.  

Migrate to the cloud

Moving to the cloud gives your team the freedom to work anywhere as long as they’re connected to the internet, but there are some key factors to consider. You need to understand the type of data you’re working with so you can choose the cloud service that best serves your needs. For example, private cloud services are vital if you’re in a highly regulated industry like finance or healthcare that requires utmost security and oversight over data. Meanwhile, public cloud services are usually ideal for companies that store routine documents. 

Other factors to consider include storage space, the number of users and licenses, and internet bandwidth requirements. 

The cloud service provider you partner with can also make or break your long-term remote work strategy. Make sure their service level agreements guarantee frequently tested data backup and recovery procedures, 24/7 monitoring and maintenance, and maximum server uptime.

Implement communication and collaboration solutions

A full-time remote work environment makes it more difficult to coordinate your teams. Although you’re already using tools like email to sync up with employees, you’ll need more powerful solutions to enable seamless communication and collaboration.     

VoIP phone system

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) converts voice signals into data packets and transmits them through a network, enabling users to make and receive calls from internet-enabled devices. 

This saves your company from paying expensive long-distance and international call rates, and cuts costs associated with setting up and maintaining traditional phone equipment.  

Top-notch VoIP services even come with features like call forwarding, auto-attendant, and video conferencing, so workers can easily manage calls and connect with colleagues no matter where they are.  

Cloud-based applications

In addition to VoIP, there are plenty of cloud productivity and collaboration apps remote workers can take advantage of. Some best-in-class apps we recommend include: 

  • Asana – a project management tool where users can lay out the team’s workflow, set deadlines, and create to-do lists
  • Dropbox – a cloud storage platform where users can store and access files in a single place
  • Timely – a handy app for tracking time spent on projects and calculating billable hours
  • Microsoft Teams – a business messaging app that’s capable of HD audio/video conferencing, screen sharing and webinars, file sharing, and group chat management
  • Microsoft 365 – a service in which users can collaborate on web-based versions of Microsoft productivity apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 

Secure your remote environment

The biggest challenge with managing a distributed workforce is protecting all the employees, devices, and business assets outside the company network. To mitigate cybersecurity risks, you’ll need to do the following: 

  • Install antivirus software to defend against the latest malware attacks. 
  • Stress the importance of good password habits like setting 12-character long passwords (or passphrases) that are unique to each account. 
  • Enable multifactor authentication to protect accounts with another layer of identity verification in the form of fingerprint scans, facial recognition, or temporary SMS authentication codes.
  • Set strict access privileges on devices, locations, and job roles to prevent unauthorized access to classified information.
  • Utilize virtual private networks so employees can securely connect to company systems and hide online activities from cybercriminals. 
  • Implement endpoint management software like Microsoft Intune to monitor company-registered devices and isolate high-risk devices from accessing company resources. Intune also lets you roll out security patches across the entire company and wipe lost or stolen devices.
  • Provide security training so remote staff can recognize phishing scams and become acutely aware of security best practices.                                                                                                        

Given the many steps involved in setting up long-term work from home arrangements, we understand if you feel overwhelmed by the entire process. That’s why Dynamic Solutions Group is here to help. We provide comprehensive guidance and cutting-edge solutions that will make the switch to a fully remote environment as smooth as possible. Consult with our experts today to get started.