Remote work is here to stay. Are you ready?

Over 60% of Irish employers are looking at ways to make remote working a permanent option for their employees.

What key criteria do you need to consider to ensure a productive and comfortable environment for your employees?

Health & Safety

Under Irish law employers maintain a duty of care to all employees and so must ensure that their home working environment complies with all the same Health & Safety Regulations as office-based employees.

What you can do:

• Ensure your remote teams have the basics in place – not just the technology, but the right workspace and equipment to safely and effectively work remotely.

See our selection of home office and remote work products

Protecting your business’ vital information

Security should not be left to employees to implement on their devices. It should be controlled and managed by the employer. Issuing a company laptop to remote workers brings with it improved ability to manage security permissions. Acknowledging the obligations companies have is essential to safeguarding not only their data, but that of their customers. Failure to do so will not only result in a loss of reputation but also risks the large monetary penalties legislated by GDPR.

What you can do:

• Formalise security – ensure you have the right systems and processes to protect your company’s vital information – either through remote IT infrastructure or the cloud.
• Educate and engage employees on security processes and practices.

Read more about document management and workflow automation

Keeping the remote workforce productive, engaged and healthy

Although the power of technology can address many of the challenges related to remote working, one area it can’t support as effectively is ensuring that the remote workforce continues to be engaged and looks after its health. Remote workers will benefit from a better work-life balance, however they may also encounter problems such as isolation. Workers may also face a range of unique challenges when working from home, especially in today’s environment. They are juggling work with other external distractions such as childcare, chores and home dynamics. It is imperative that when adopting policies to ensure teams can work remotely, these policies ensure that a workforce’s well being is also prioritised.

What you can do:

• Out of sight, but not out of mind – the well being of your workers should be of the highest priority.
• Help them create an environment that ensures remote working not only benefits the company, but the employee.