Security Considerations For Your Remote Employees
Has your staff gone completely remote as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and local lockdown restrictions? Whether these employees had been with your company long before the pandemic or are employees recently brought on throughout it, many organizations are facing similar situations. What’s surprising, however, is that remote work had been seeing consistent rises in years leading up to the pandemic. Between 2005 and 2018, remote employees jumped by 173%. Of course back then employees weren’t going remote forcibly, but now more than ever remote work continues to be the safest option for employees. As organizations have come to realize, a full-time remote staff does have its benefits.
Of course, in order to achieve these benefits, organizations have to traverse through some challenges and risks. Of the toughest challenges, managers struggling to make genuine connections with their employees without face-to-face communication is atop the list. Failure to make this connection often demotivates employees and can lead to them feeling less accountable for their responsibilities. Effectively communicating and collaborating across organizational teams has also been a struggle for some organizations. Rest assured, when these issues aren’t present, remote employees have been known to flourish.
Managerial challenges aside, organizations have a much larger overarching issue they must consider with their remote staff. The liability associated with these employees must be considered as they continue to work from home. Injuries these employees face whilst on the clock at home, hardware or business property damage will still have to be covered and workers compensations packages will have to continue to be honored as well. Of the most dangerous possibilities, data breaches and cyberattacks are atop the list for organizations. Data leaks can be detrimental to any business, so avoiding them is top priority.
Insurance policies can be put in place to mitigate the risks of these cyberattacks and breaches. Both first-party and third-party cyber liability insurance policies will cover your organization’s data and your clients’ data respectively. Prior to employees beginning their full-time remote journey, organizations should ensure these policies are put in place.
While it may seem as though remote employees can cause unnecessary trouble for their organization, this couldn’t be anymore untrue. In fact, remote employees have shown signs of greater professional freedom and with additional free time, a much more positive outlook on their work-life balance. More positive mental health states and improved productivity have come as a result of remote work as well. The key to achieving these benefits is being prepared for any risks that can be thrown your organization’s way. For additional information on how to protect your employees, check out the resource featured alongside this post. Courtesy of B2Z Insurance.
