Many companies are in the early stages of returning to the office depending upon their location and Covid-19 situation. Careful planning during this time is very important – for the health and well-being of your employees, and for their expertise. This planning phase is an opportunity to review how your IT requirements have changed over the past year, as well as any adjustments needed when a large percentage of your employees return to the office.
Tips for Fun Transfers from In-Office Work:
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Appoint a Project Leader
Your company needs a strategic IT leader to plan a secure remote and advanced IT integration. Decide who will manage your transfer to the office, and what role your IT department will play. Who will ensure that strategic benchmarks meet? Who will assess how a return to the office might affect clients? Your project leader will be the driver of this change, and you need to better understand the technical obligations and roadblocks within your business.
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Back up Your Key Business Data
Your business needs careful management and backup before deleting remote employee devices. Programs such as iCorps Guardian and SaaS Protect ensure that sensitive business information can be easily retrieved after user errors – with instant retrieval and export. This is particularly important for authoritative information that can be referred to in the organizations and state privacy laws.
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Review Your BC / DR and BYOD Programs
Decide whether your company wants to maintain, review, or cancel any business continuity and BYOD policies established before or during COVID-19. What key steps from your conversion to remote work can be used during this change back to the office? Maybe your company wants to permanently include job options that are far from ideal. Have your plans been updated to reflect this structured change? Review and ensure that adequate security policies are in place to store sensitive data, access to corporate networks, and collaborative applications.
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Perform Device Testing and Security Analysis
Update and catalog any mobile devices sent to assist with remote work. Will employees stick to these devices in the event of a lawsuit? Check whether the technology is appropriate, secure, and adequate to support the production of workers. Get your IT team to do a review of staff mobile devices and office workplaces to ensure a performance update. As more employees return to the office, they should also be aware that job entry and network monitoring may change. Make sure the current monitoring solutions have appropriate limits, to avoid false warnings.
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Explore new technologies
If your organization has sent remote services, now is the time to review them. Do they meet the needs of your remote staff? In addition, do you pay for services that already exist in your technology stack? By early 2020, many companies have opted to use Zoom or GoToWebinar, even though they have already paid for a wide range of Microsoft 365 services. Groups are more than able to replace Zoom and GoToWebinar, and allow businesses to increase the amount already spent, rather than new ones.
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Pass on New Process and Safety Principles
As more companies return to the office, it is important to keep employees informed of how their commute will change. Will you stay in the office or provide an optional job plan? What steps will be taken to remove sensitive and confidential company information from your devices? How will your company ensure that local records are stored in the right company resources? Keep your staff informed of the entire migration process, so they can configure their devices and get help if needed.
