Has your office set a return-to-office date yet? Many have and some are still waiting on the coronavirus delta variant to diminish before determining the date. Regardless of the return date on the calendar, there will be issues to overcome in the next few months from technology shifts to emotional obstacles, and even social issues to hash out after more than a year working remotely or in a hybrid capacity. While we can’t help you with the emotional or social issues much, we can help you anticipate some technical matters that may pop up as your workforce returns to the office. Here are a few things for your IT department to consider as your staff begins to head back to the office.
Security Updates
Remember all those devices that went home with your employees at the beginning of the pandemic? Well, now is the time to ensure that all of those devices that make it back into the office are updated with the newest security software and patches that possibly did not get installed over the past year. We’ve all been guilty of pressing the “remind me tomorrow” button, so now is the perfect time to check on those updates and patches before something catastrophic happens.
Laptop Free-for-All
For the past year company laptops have been living at employee homes. Chances are they may not have been exclusively used by the employee. Maybe a child logged in to a Zoom class or a spouse had to look up something, but their access to your business files may be a cause for concern. According to ZDNet, “One of the first things IT personnel should do upon the 'return to work' transition is run a scan on the company network to identify all new, unknown devices being used to access the network.”Additionally, workers may have logged into corporate networks from another borrowed device. On top of potentially disclosing their password to another device, this could also pose a security risk to the company's network. Now is the time to shore up any vulnerable passwords or access allowances.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Issues
While it may have been necessary to have some employees utilize their own laptops over the last year and a half working remotely or in a hybrid-remote setting, the BYOD to work policy does not come without its risks. Malware is one of the top risks of allowing a BYOD policy post pandemic. Laptops that are used for both personal and business purposes tend to have all sorts of downloaded items from games to emails and apps for the kids. This may be fine but separating and securing business data and personal data should be a top priority for employees who plan to continue this practice. Ready or not many businesses are heading back into the office. Is your IT department ready to handle these tech issues? Let us know if you have questions or concerns that could make your transition smooth.
