Cornerstone Business Solutions
managing director Chris Petty
Business as usual?
Cornerstone MD Chris Petty presents your urgent remote-working checklist
to ensure your team can work as normal from home in challenging times…
E
veryone knows the unprecedented
and difficult situation we all now
find ourselves in, but ensuring your
employees can work from home can come
in useful at any time.
We are all keen that we carry on driving
our businesses forward and that means
embracing remote working and data-
sharing on a scale that’s never been done
before.
We have created a four-step checklist to
ensure – as far as possible – it’s business
as usual for you and your team:
1. Security
Protecting your business from cyber-crime
should always be your biggest priority.
You’ve probably got security covered in
your office already – all of your computers
have anti-virus software, you use a secure
virtual private network (VPN) and your
data is stored away safely.
But if your team is working from
home, you’re widening your exposure to
potential threats. And cracks can quickly
appear in your business’s protection.
2. Access to data
Another thing to think about is how
your employees can access business
applications and how your IT support
company can access your server remotely.
4. Communication, collaboration and
management
There’s always the worry that employees
are not as productive working
System
How
Who needs
Actions /
from home. This is why clear
do we
access
Options
communication, collaboration and
access?
management channels should be
Email/
Online
All team
Buy
implemented. This could be a great
Office 365
members
laptops
opportunity to look at current
for remote
processes with a view to improving.
working
Things to be considered:
Ensure
Documents Individual Account
> Project management software
management all data is
devices
and
team
migrated
> Video conferencing
Dropbox
over to
> Instant messaging/chat
SharePoint
> Reporting and time
management
>
Office 365 applications such as
3. Home office set up
Teams, SharePoint, OneNote and
The obvious question is do your team
Planner
have the right equipment and broadband
Whatever your situation, with today’s
capability? Most employees have desktop
technology, home or remote working isn’t
computers and may require laptops/
as bad or as complicated as it sounds and
tablets. You mustn’t also forget telephony
we can communicate effectively.
systems. If your team does require an
internal phone system, you could consider
Microsoft Teams (in Office 365) to
minimise costs.
At Cornerstone, we have implemented
We do not suggest that you go out
lots of remote working solutions. If you’d
and buy everyone a desk and a chair.
like advice, please don’t hesitate to
But we do advise that you clarify with
contact us.
your employees what their home working
environment is and offer support.
For each department in your business,
think of all the different applications that
are needed and create a list like this:
CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD
MAP HOUSE, 3 GEORGE STEPHENSON COURT, OFF WESTLAND WAY,
PRESTON FARM, STOCKTON-ON-TEES, TS18 3TG
44 | Tees Business
PHONE 0845 223 2400
EMAIL [email protected]
WEB
cornerstonebs.co.uk