As countries from across Asia continue their struggle with the coronavirus outbreak, work has come to a grinding halt. Vacant offices and deserted streets present a grim picture for businesses, which have now remained paralyzed for months. Moreover, the novel coronavirus infection has forced millions of people into their homes, following self-quarantine measures. So, can a massive work-from-home drive help businesses get back on track? We think the answer is in remote work. Let’s find out how.
How are companies coping with the coronavirus outbreak?
With the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak posing a direct threat to all businesses, companies are upgrading their emergency protocols, reconsidering business travel, and urging their employees to work remotely. According to ChinaDaily, more than half of Beijing’s workforce plans to work from home instead of going to the office. Tech giants like Tencent, Alibaba, Chevron, and Microsoft have already taken steps to allow remote work on a full-time basis. In contrast, international banks in Japan have adopted a new approach of split teams to curb intra-company contamination.
Let’s see how the service industry can leverage technology to address the challenges of remote work during the coronavirus outbreak:
How do you realize employee productivity and accountability?
Monitoring employee productivity in an office setting is challenging in itself, let alone tracking it virtually. However, employee monitoring software can make light work of it. It’s time tracking capabilities allows it to track and record active, idle, unproductive, and productive time with high accuracy.
For instance, Remotedesk is an AI-enabled employee monitoring software that creates detailed time-stamped reports for manager review. Above all, it is a self inspiring tool that improves the productivity of remote workers. The employee dashboard gives an overall analysis of the time spent working, on which tasks, and the number of breaks taken in comparison with the team average- all this from the place of your choice.
How can you ensure seamless communication while working remotely?
Communication is key to succeeding at remote work. A company’s virtual communication strategy should outline appropriate channels of contact for remote teams. For example, a common contact directory for easy access and clear communication channels like Slack for internal chat, e-mail for exchanging files and Zoom for video/audio conferencing.
How do you ensure data privacy and confidentiality?
Since most companies deal with confidential client data, strict security protocols are crucial in creating a secure working environment for remote employees. For this, companies can implement multi-factor authentication upon entry, set clear BYOD (bring your own device) guidelines, provide Secure internet gateways (SIG), ensure end-to-end data encryption and actively monitor employee activity.
With Remotedesk, managers can equip themselves with state-of-the-art identity verification technologies. Be it detecting imposters, conducting ID verification, blocking access to restricted sites or preventing data leaks (clicking pictures of the screen, copy/paste), Remotedesk can protect companies against malicious threats from both insiders and outsiders.
Finally, as management becomes more decentralized and work environments more flexible, remote work is one effective way to curb the coronavirus spread. To learn more, visit www.remotedesk.com
