Remotely working, bringing your office with you
Remotely working has become a popular way of businesses of maximising the productivity of their staff. This is due to many workers requiring to be on the move, work from home or generally have to be out of the office. However the greatest barrier to maximising their efficiency is the access to the business data and workstation they require to perform their job. The question is then, how much do you currently provide your remote workers, and how can you improve their productivity?
Access to Data
For almost everyone the cloud has become essential to our day to day lives by giving access to data on the go. By hosting email, files and other key services in the cloud you can access what you need when you need it. For businesses with remote workers, this will more than likely be something you are already utilising. By allowing key files and information to be available via the cloud, your remote workers will be capable of accessing any information needed, and work on anything accordingly.
However it’s not just the cloud that opens up data etc. whilst out of the office. Having remote tools installed on the desktop can allow any staff to access a machine or VDI (Virtual Desktop) whilst out of the office. Therefore even whilst out of the office, you still have access to your machine and any possible key software installed on your work desktop. If you couple this with the critical IT functions that are based in the cloud, there is almost no need for your employees to be in the office!
New tools
One of the key functions of an office is to have workers together to clearly communicate, as well as create a work environment. You can also have a phone system in place to provide a clear communication line to staff and customers alike. So how do you translate that across to a remote working environment?
In order to still maintain an environment in which your staff can still interact with each other, even if based on different sites, you’ll need a system to cater to them. Southbank IT recently did another blog explaining a new and innovative Keevio system that can do just this. This phone system has all new features that allow any PC to be transformed into a full work station with video conferencing, Handset, internal instant messaging and much more. Whilst mobile phones can fulfil some of your communication needs, a system like Keevio can provide the full package, and provide you with key statistics of their performance anywhere they go.
What can really make people more productive whilst working either at home or on the road is the utilisation of their own devices. Nowadays people invest in high tech gadgets and computers that exceed the abilities of their own work machines. By capitalising on this you can ensure that your staff are productive whilst remotely working as they have the tools and capabilities to perform their duties. By implementing remote access tools and a VDI, it is clear to monitor how members are staff are working on each machine and their login times. This way you can be sure they are working to their best capabilities. With regards to security, the cloud portals will be able to ensure most of your data can be securely accessed, but for remote access to machines it would be wise to administer a VPN connection for your remote workers, therefore providing you with more security. You can also click to learn more about how to manage BYOD policies and how to securely integrate them into your business network.
If you want to know more about how your business can help its remote workers bring their office with them, then why not give us a call? Our friendly professionals would be more than happy to help.