How to maintain business security sand productivity in the era of hybrid work

Now that people are in the post-pandemic era, some companies have decided to make employees return to their offices. But for others, they still allow their staff to maintain a hybrid work setup.

Hybrid work is a setup that combines in-office and remote work. With this setup, some companies allow employees to have the freedom to work everywhere regardless of the time as long as they can be productive.

For companies that incorporate hybrid work as part of their operations, there are many benefits to doing so. First, you can attract and retain top-performing candidates that want to have a work-life balance. Second, hybrid work can lower operations expenses. Third, improving the staff’s mental well-being is more attainable.

There are factors to consider if your company wants to implement hybrid work. For one, you must think about security to keep your company safe both in the office and remotely. Likewise, productivity is another factor in ensuring your company will achieve its goals and objectives. If you want to maintain these two factors, continue reading.

1. Give Your Staff The Best Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Hybrid work has dramatically emphasized the need for technology. Besides the devices used in the office, employees must also have available technologies when conducting remote work. But this has its drawbacks. Employees may use their devices if companies don’t provide computers or laptops. This widens the likelihood of your company becoming susceptible to cyberattacks, such as data breaches and social engineering attacks.

So, one way to fix this issue is to allow your staff to undergo cybersecurity awareness training. You must conduct this training, as human error is a massive factor for cybercriminals to exploit. So, when you allow this training to occur, you can provide your staff with the information needed to spot cyber threats once they face them, along with dealing with such threats.

Another step to dealing with cyber threats is investing in managed IT services (IT stands for information technology). These experts know the strategies necessary to improve your IT processes to secure your business online.

2. Use A Visitor Management System

To secure your business physically, you can use a visitor management system. This is a technology that traces visitors that go within a company or office. These visitors can be couriers, contractors, clients, consultants, interviewees, or employees’ relatives. In other words, it tracks anyone who’s not an employee.

Through this system, you can secure your premises by registering visitors to your database, encouraging them to sign legal documentation, and recognizing them with visitor identification badges whenever they’re inside the property.

If you want to use this technology, it can come in the form of cost- and time-efficient software-as-a-service (SaaS). Everyone can access this software licensing model using the web. With SaaS, you can manage visitors from an application or web browser.

3. Establish Effective Communication

Communication has become more complex due to the hybrid work setup. For one, people who connect to others remotely rely heavily on technology. This makes it hard to access some contacts. 

Despite these difficulties, effective communication is still a necessity for a business implementing hybrid work, as it promotes understanding and helps with productivity. For one, it enables the staff to know the recent events within the business. Thus, when they’re informed that a specific activity requires their help, they can cooperate immediately to fix the issue on time.

If you want to improve communication for your hybrid workers, here are some steps to follow:

• Look for the best communication channel
• Determine which meetings must be done in-person
• Focus on tone when communicating through written formats

These steps will ensure that effective communication will contribute to better business productivity.

Wrapping Up

Hybrid work has continued even after the pandemic. In this setup, employees can work in person and remotely, regardless of the time or their location. Your business should consider some factors if it has chosen to allow hybrid work. Security and productivity are two of those, among others.

If you want to maintain the security and productivity of your business in a hybrid work setup, there are some steps that you can take. Those steps include training your staff in cybersecurity awareness, using a visitor management system, and establishing effective communication.

Ultimately, having proper security will ensure the adequate protection of your business data, property, and employees. Likewise, maintained productivity will ensure your business will achieve its goals and be effective in its operations. This will lead to business growth and increased profits over time.