5 Ways You Can Prepare Your Technology (and Your Employees) to Return to the Office

5 Ways You Can Prepare Your Technology (and Your Employees) to Return to the Office

Whether your employees are still mostly remote, or you’ve moved into a hybrid setup, many employers are looking to return to business as usual as COVID numbers drop and speculation increases that we’re moving into the endemic phase of this illness.

We covered this topic much earlier in the pandemic, and we still agree with the advice we gave for prepping employee devices before bringing them back into the company network. We’re all aware of the waffling opinion about whether offices are really necessary or remote work is the wave of the future.

For some businesses the collaboration that occurs in person just couldn’t be replicated remotely, while others found that their employees were even more productive when not subjected to the hustle and bustle of office life. These choices are best made on an individual company and even individual employee basis.

We do think it’s a good idea to offer some more sound technology advice for returning to the office, even if you’re only considering the idea for now.

  1. Check on your office network: If your office has been mostly unused the past couple of years, or only lightly used, it may be a good idea to make sure your network can still support your whole workforce. Employees coming in the first day and being unable to get online would be a poor way to kick things off.
  2. Think about your existing technology structure as well: Has a server become unreliable in the time you’ve been away, or your current backup solution handles small uploads fine, but your entire staff would overload it? It’s a good idea to perform these upgrades before welcoming employees back.
  3. Don’t switch the current workflow all at once: If there are systems in place that have been working throughout your time spent remote, don’t immediately switch back to “how things used to be”. It’s a good idea to evaluate whether the new systems and processes are perhaps better than the old ones too.
  4. Also be sure to check incoming devices before allowing them on the company network: As we said in our previous article, devices that have been allowed outside of the office should be checked prior to coming back and logging into sensitive work systems. Hackers know how to bide their time so just because a device hasn’t shown any signs of malware doesn’t mean there is no malware.
  5. Finally, now is the best time to bring in new assistance: An event such as returning to the office, or moving offices marks a great time to bring in technical assistance. A technical provider can help you get past where you are to where you want to be.

Is your office planning to stay hybrid or continue remote? Even if you’re not returning back to the office – now or ever – we’ve created this template of online safety tips your employees should keep in mind. Whether it’s with a company device if you allow it to be used personally during off hours or just for keeping their home network safe (because malware can spread).

Click to download the full printable version.

In the office, remote or anything in between, Valley Techlogic can assist you with getting the most from the technology you use to facilitate running your business. Learn more with a free 10 minute consultation.

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This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/valleytechlogic.