Staying Connected - Remotely

For an industry that’s constantly on the move, keep up with the latest news from industry insiders whose job it is to keep their fingers on the pulse on the region’s exciting hospitality scene. 

Staying Connected - Remotely

March 23rd 2020

Virtual home office practices and security features presented by Lentner Technology

How do we keep work moving forward and stay aligned, engaged and motivated when we’re not able to be in the same physical space?  Lentner Technology recognizes that some industries, particularly the restaurant and hospitality industry, don’t have the opportunity to operate 100% remotely during these challenging times.  However, there are aspects of your business where much of your work can continue through online collaboration.  We have a strategic partnership with a local technology firm that has been focused on building a smart workspace to solve the kind of problems distributed teams face every day.

Let us know how we can help.  Lentner Technology has complimentary Dropbox licenses and IT consulting for your business.  Please feel free to use these services.

How do we keep the business data secure?  Giving employees the thumbs up to work from home on their own devices and remote into a virtual private network is a big danger zone.  The fact is, we don’t have control over our employees’ devices at home unless the business owns them (ie. what is their anti-virus, what content do they browse at home, etc).   If you allow employees to remote into your VPN, you have opened the floodgates to cybercriminals opening new vessels into your business data.  The solution is cloud-based file storage for all of your intellectual property.

The demand to work from home has increased by 140% since 2005, with it currently being mandatory for most businesses.  Here are six easy tips to making the work culture thrive:

Be Sensitive to different working styles

In a society still rooted in face-to-face communication, implementing remote working can be difficult to accept for some. Be considerate and introduce new working practices gradually. Whether it’s setting a cadence for video conferences or regular face-to-face check-ins, give your team time to adapt to them, and adapt to them.

Respect your teams’ work-life balance

The line between work and personal life has grown increasingly blurry as technology keeps us connected to our friends and colleagues around the clock. It means as leaders you must tread carefully and respect peoples’ rights to switch off and stay in control of their work-life balance. Work with your HR department to devise flexible policies that offer a choice for both the business and your employees. This is particularly pertinent in France, where the right to disconnect has been enshrined in company policy, and over 70% of the population already works over 35 hours a week.

Deploy a collaboration system

In some sectors, mobile working is already the norm, but many still have challenges accessing the data they need while on the move. Thanks to collaboration tools like Dropbox Business, Zoom, Slack, HelloSign, Office365, employees can access the information they need at any time, communicate with each other instantly, on any device, and keep working flowing. This, in turn, helps remote workers focus on important work and saves valuable time that would be spent looking for content.

Train leaders to manage remote teams

Managers need to ensure cohesion within their teams, and this can be difficult to do when everyone works remotely. Work with leaders to help them bring teams together – whether it’s implementing away days or regular team meetings – to ensure a well-balanced working environment that sees all team members receive valuable management time.

 

Bolster security with cloud-based tools

For some businesses, remote working raises concerns about data confidentiality and security.  However, the belief that the office offers a safer environment isn’t always true.  New cloud-based tools create a seamless and secure view of all work in progress for IT teams, helping companies meet compliance and security requirements.

Identify and work with your champions

 

As with all major shifts in business, you must respect and acknowledge the culture. Work with trailblazing champions within the business to showcase how your new initiatives can work. Everyone’s working habits vary by design, so you need ambassadors to help you spread the value of flexible working across the business.

Katherine Russian, Lentner Technology

New England Culinary Group