Two years into the
pandemic, businesses are thinking strategically about the future of work and
how they can best support their employees. Although some organizations have
returned to the office or have implemented hybrid work plans, many others are
remaining indefinitely remote.
Regardless of what the future holds, it has become clear that the demand for teleworking – plus the flexibility and convenience that it brings – are not going away. And even as more organizations consider how to provide safe in-person work arrangements, if they do not also consider how to firm up their teleworking capabilities, they risk losing their competitive advantage in a cutthroat job market.
The future of work
is now. Here are three strategies for businesses to consider for the new work
experience.
1.
Invest in technology that keeps you ready
whatever comes next
As more businesses implement permanent hybrid or all-remote work schedules, their networks will need to be stronger and more scalable – after all, a network that could have started with only a dozen or so endpoints may expand to thousands of individual endpoints.
To help IT
departments create and manage extensive remote networks, businesses should
ensure they have a comprehensive infrastructure in place with the latest
technologies that can not only support remote work requirements now, but in the
future. For example, software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) can help
organizations manage their networks, even as they grow in size. Meanwhile,
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions allow organizations to integrate
their wide area networks with security tools.
2.
Enable those who want to work remotely
For some employees,
working remotely is still not a possibility. For example, their internet
connection might be too slow to support certain business applications that
require massive amounts of bandwidth not typically used in a residential
environment, or their network may not be encrypted to protect sensitive data.
Organizations that
plan to permanently implement teleworking should review and change policies
that may inhibit employees from remote access. To do that, they will need a
strong understanding of the geographic bandwidth issues that their workers
face, as well as the knowledge and skills gaps in security and IT. Simplified
telework provisioning processes, like VPN provisioning, can also make it easier
for organizations to add and manage employee connections on the backend.
3.
Be prepared for the pitfalls
For all the benefits that teleworking can offer organizations, it does come with its own set of challenges. Employees will need to troubleshoot IT issues at home, access potentially sensitive information without fear of a security breach, and even virtually maintain office culture. It’s on businesses to consider the potential pitfalls of working remotely and create best practices for each scenario that remote workers can follow.
The road ahead…
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that remote work is not a temporary fix to a problem, but a long-term solution that employees will seek out as a job benefit. A combination of tailored technology solutions, tools that remove barriers to telework, and educational materials will help businesses take the next steps toward creating network environments capable of supporting teleworkers. Those that take this holistic, thoughtful approach will be more likely to succeed – and the expertise of a trusted technology partner can help elevate your efforts to the next level.
If you are an organization that could use support developing your teleworking capabilities, visit business.comcast.com or call (248) 224-3689.
Josh Martin is a manager of SMB direct sales for Comcast Business.
