5 Digital Mistakes Companies Make

The pandemic has been a shared reality for companies around the world. Lockdowns required major changes in how those companies operate. The status quo of having everyone work in the office no longer made sense. Many organizations quickly evolved to continue working through remote means.

During the worst of the pandemic lockdown, an estimated 70% of full-time workers worked from home. Even now that the pandemic has entered a new waning phase, remote work seems here to stay. 92% of surveyed employees expect to still work from home 1 or more days per week.

This business transformation forced companies to rethink the tools and policies they use. Many offices also needed to completely revamp how they work. Many have switched to cloud-based digital workspace to enable a hybrid office team.

The changeover brought newfound benefits, such as:

• Lower costs for both employers and employees
• Better team member work/life balance
• Higher morale
• Often improved productivity
• Increased flexibility in serving clients

Even so, the transition to a digital workplace also brought challenges and risks.
Some of them include:

• Vulnerable networks and endpoints
• Employees feeling disconnected from their team
• Communication problems
• Difficulty tracking productivity and accountability
• Increased risk of data breaches and cybersecurity issues

20% of organizations experienced a data breach during the pandemic because of a
remote worker.

Overcoming challenges and reaping benefits of hybridization takes time and effort. Doing so well also often takes the help of a trained IT professional, so you avoid costly mistakes.

We collated some of the biggest company mistakes when building a digital workplace. For the statistical research, we referenced IGLOO’s State of the Digital Workplace report.

1. Poor Cloud File Organization

When companies go virtual for their workflows, files must live in a cloud-accessible environment. When those cloud storage environments aren’t well organized, serious problems arise. Employees run into serious problems finding the files they need.

Approximately 51% of employees have avoided sharing a document with a colleague because of this. Either they couldn’t find it or believed it would be too difficult to find. As shown in the IGLOO report, this is the highest percentage for this stat in the latest report, showing it’s getting worse over time.

Tips for creating a shared cloud storage in which files become easier to locate are:

• Keep file structure flat (2-3 folders deep)
• Create a consistent hierarchy and naming structure for all to use
• Don’t create a new file for fewer than 10 documents
• Archive and delete older files monthly on a schedule to reduce clutter

2. Leaving Remote Workers Out of the Conversation

No one likes to hear people start talking about something at a meeting and realize they’re lost. They missed an important piece of an earlier conversation. Many companies haven’t yet begun to structure communications to include both in office and remote workers.

In fact, nearly 60% of remote workers report missing out on important information because colleagues first communicated it in person to in office team members. Efficiency suffers when in-office workers make decisions without including for remote colleagues.

Managers and bosses must take the lead in changing this culture. Old habits do take a while to change, but with commitment changes can be made to adapt to the hybrid world.

3. Not Addressing Unauthorized Cloud App use

Unauthorized cloud app use by employees (also known as Shadow IT) was already a problem before the pandemic, and it escalated once people began working from home. The biggest instance comes from employees using unauthorized personal devices for work.

Over half (57%) of surveyed employees use at least one unauthorized app in their regular workflow. When this happens, organizations often suffer in many ways.

Some risks of shadow IT include:

• Data leakage from non-secured apps
• Data privacy compliance violations
• Redundancies in-app use that increase costs
• Unprotected company data due to a lack of visibility
• The employee leaves and no one can access the data in the unauthorized app

4. Not Realizing Remote Could Mean From Anywhere

Remote employees don’t always work from home, connected to their home Wi-Fi that can be secured. They may also be working from airports, hotels, a family member’s home, or local coffee shops.

Companies that don’t properly protect company data used by remote employees exist in constant risk of a breach. Public networks are notorious for enabling “man-in-the-middle” attacks, where a hacker connects to the same public network. Then, using specialized software, these criminals can access data transmissions from other users on that particular network.

Use a business VPN for all remote work situations, and insist that other companies do the same. VPNs are fairly inexpensive and easy to use. The team member simply enables the app on their device. The VPN app then reroutes their data through secure, encrypted servers.

5. Using Communication Tools That Frustrate Everyone

Do virtual meetings give your team problems? As many as 85% of remote workers say that they’ve had 1-2 meetings interrupted by technology. It’s getting so you can hardly have a virtual meeting without someone having a technical issue, and that’s beyond the “could this meeting have been an email?” question.

Communication is the fuel for the engine of a digital workplace. Effective cloud-based video calls, audio calls, and chats depend on the right technology in the right configuration. Making sure it’s all set up correctly facilitates a smooth experience.

Don’t rush to use the first communication tool you find. Take your time and test them out with your IT team. Optimize settings to improve your virtual meetings. Additionally, ensure remote workers have the tools to foster smooth communications. This equipment includes headsets, VoIP desk sets, webcams, etc.

Why Is This Published By A Business Phone Company?

Here at NoContractVoIP, we believe that your success is our success. And, since we specialize in business communication, we also want to help you communicate better. We create the communication systems that modern companies need to adapt to the hybrid and remote business models. To get the latest helpful content delivered to your inbox every month, subscribe to our newsletter here.

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Featured Image Credit

 

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.