The Best IT Setups to Work from Home
Working from home was becoming more and more common every year but due to the current pandemic, the need for working from home has increased dramatically. It is looking like most businesses will incorporate working from home into their business plan in the future after seeing some benefits.
These benefits include teams still being productive while working from home, Staff gaining more free time through eliminating the travel time throughout the day, costs of office upkeep. Though this is a necessity now, it is important to recognize the risks that come with working from home.
These start from increasing your internet security, making sure that your company doesn’t have a data breach, looking after your mental health, and helpful working from home tools such as an employee monitoring software.
Stay Secure
With all office work being split into multiple homes across the country you are going to be at a security risk unless you have taken the necessary precautions to protect this. This will include ensuring that you have reliable and up-to-date antivirus on all computers/laptops within your company.
This will keep you protected from all viruses and any potential harm you could get from browsing the web and downloading files. It would also be wise to password encrypt any data-sensitive files and folders to protect your company’s data.
One of the biggest causes for data breaches and potential data loss is through emails. It is advised to have a strict policy among your employees so that as a team you can identify all suspicious messages and potential scams. To better protect emails, tools like Mimecast can be incredibly useful.
Invest in Quality Technology
Staff may find that when working from home, their PC, internet, or setup is hindering their ability to work at full capacity. Setting up a well working, efficient home office can require some investment. This could be a high-performing laptop/computer – multiple monitors, headset, or remote phone system.
It’s important to make sure you invest in the best equipment to optimize your team’s performance. When switching from office working to working from home you may notice a drop in internet speed.
This can really delay your work, productivity and is a nightmare when trying to join a video call. Investing in higher-speed internet and a high-performance router will help increase your performance and productivity.
Not Just IT
Remember that outside of your systems and technology you are only human, and it is important you remember to look after yourself and your mental health while working from home. This can include setting a routine, making sure you take plenty of breaks.
It is important to try to step outside as much as possible, whether that is a short walk or jog etc. Keeping your body busy will increase endorphins and help your productivity, mood, and overall mental health.
Tools
It’s vital to get some systems in place to maximize productivity and help your staff work from home as much as possible. I’m sure you have already become accustomed to using certain tools to communicate with your team, plan your day, and organize activities with team members but some we strongly recommend inputting into your business are below:
Video chat tools – It is vital to incorporate video chat into the working from home environment. Not only does this help communication between teams but also helps keep the team bond and morale high. There are many tools you can choose from for this, the popular choice is zoom though there are other options such as Microsoft teams, Join. me, and our personal favorite – Webex.
Project Managing – Many companies are finding it harder to manage their teams, projects, and productivity while everyone is working from home. Tools like Asana and Trello are great for monitoring, setting tasks, and tracking the progress of a project.
Time management – You can find yourself losing productivity with more distractions at home. In order to improve your personal productivity time management apps or extensions can give you the analysis needed to see where you are wasting time and what you can do to improve.
With these tips, we are confident you can see an increase in your productivity and performance while working from home. If you need IT support to help with your internet security, working from home setup, or any other IT support needs CST has got you covered. CST is currently supporting hundreds of companies and their working from home journeys nationwide.
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