The massive shift to remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most critical challenges small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Chicago and the whole world are facing today. SMBs can’t just send their employees home with a laptop and hope everything pans out. 

A productive business requires the right tools to manage remote workers seamlessly. 

Here are five crucial solutions you can get from a managed IT services provider (MSP) that help you do just that.

1. Employee monitoring software

When you have employees working remotely, you must provide the supervision, training, and support necessary for them to thrive in their new environment. Employee monitoring software is integral for this because it is installed on employee devices and tracks computer activities in real-time, keeping tabs on metrics such as: 

  • Application usage – monitors whether employees are using company software safely and efficiently
  • Login and logout times – checks employee attendance and sees how much they can accomplish during any given day  
  • Web activity and social media use during business hours – determines whether employees are visiting harmful or time-wasting online content
  • Active and idle time – finds out what part/s of the day employees are most productive and when they’re not

Monitoring these metrics gives major benefits to your business. Firstly, you can identify underperforming remote workers and provide customized training regarding the safe and efficient use of applications and the internet. 

Secondly, by tracking attendance and idle times, you can better reflect on what’s causing the disconnect with work and set up initiatives to engage employees. For example, dedicating a time slot for fun team video chats and co-op games can convert idle/unproductive time into great team-building activity. With the right strategies backed by data from employee monitoring software, you can dramatically increase productivity, employee morale, and cost savings.    

2. Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)

UEM is a platform where you can oversee devices (or endpoints) that connect to your company network, applications, and data. Devices are enrolled into a UEM platform by installing and activating software clients, which essentially feed device information and data to a central console. From there, system administrators can remotely manage devices, fix IT issues, and enforce company-wide security policies all in one place without disrupting users.   

Some of the core UEM capabilities include: 

  • Single-pane device monitoring – enables you to view critical information related to an endpoint, such as system processes, users, software patch versions, CPU and memory usage, and more
  • Role-based access control – grants users the minimum level of access privileges required to perform their jobs 
  • Centralized authentication settings – enforces strong passwords and makes multifactor authentication mandatory
  • Endpoint remediation – blocks vulnerable devices that are outdated, jailbroken, or connected to public Wi-Fi hotspots 
  • Application and patch management – lets you transfer files and roll out patches from a single console
  • Remote troubleshooting – allows technicians to access devices for troubleshooting purposes and even wipe potentially compromised ones
Learn more about securing remote work environments in our previous blog entry

3. Virtual Private Network (VPN)

The biggest concern with remote work is that employees are accessing company files through public and personal networks, which are not as robustly protected as business networks. This creates an opportunity for hackers to position themselves between your staff’s devices and your systems, intercepting data transmitted between these two points. 

That’s why VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN are so crucial for telecommuters. They sit on employee devices and create a secure tunnel to the organization’s internal network and the internet. Any data that’s transmitted through this tunnel is fully encrypted, preventing hackers from stealing sensitive company information and tracking your employees’ web activities. 

VPNs also route your connection to a remote server that visits websites on your behalf, making it seem like you’re in a different location. This is particularly useful if your remote workers are unable to access business data and region-exclusive websites due to geo-restrictions. 

4. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Hosted VoIP phone systems are great for staying in touch with and managing a distributed workforce. These systems convert a caller’s voice into a digital signal and transmit it over an internet connection rather than traditional phone lines. This allows remote employees to make and receive calls from virtually anywhere as long as they have an internet-enabled computer, smartphone, or other mobile devices. Employees also don’t have to foot hefty bills for long-distance and international calls since VoIP leverages the internet.  

Where VoIP truly shines, however, is in its features. It has call forwarding, which reroutes incoming calls to the recipient’s landline or mobile number, ensuring that they never miss a call. If the recipient has set their status to “busy” or “unavailable,” VoIP apps can be pre-programmed to save a voicemail or forward the call to the next available staff member.  

There’s also built-in call monitoring tools that let you coach customer service representatives and ensure everyone is following proper communication protocols. Finally, VoIP solutions record call stats that give you valuable insight on call volumes, staff response times, and call resolutions so you can evaluate your remote team’s overall performance.    

5. Cloud collaboration tools

The best way to organize your remote team is to use feature-rich cloud collaboration solutions. For instance, Microsoft 365 gives you and your team a centralized platform where you can store and share company files and collaborate on web-based versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The cloud productivity suite also features shared calendars and group inboxes that help you synchronize work schedules and leave important announcements for your team. 

If you need to host meetings, webinars, and one-on-one reviews, business messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams are vital. These offer powerful HD audio/video calling capabilities and let you integrate work documents, polls, and reminders into conversations. You can even create channels dedicated to specific departments and groups so conversations in HR don’t get mixed with marketing announcements. 

Finally, project management tools like Asana and Trello enable you to plot out project workflows, tasks, and deadlines on easy-to-use dashboards. This makes it easy to assign work, track progress, and prioritize projects without having to instruct people individually. 

Leading a remote team is fairly straightforward when you have the right solutions in place. Dynamics Solutions Group is a leading managed IT services provider that can give you best-in-class services and solutions optimized for remote workers. From cloud collaboration tools to UEM software, we have everything you need to succeed. Contact us today.