Slowly and necessarily, things are changing. There is so much speculation now about what the “new normal” will be. Our innate resilience is bringing some good new insight into how we can both stay safe and still get on with our lives. I see a promising new hybrid approach to the work structure we so suddenly had to enforce.
Some Hybridized Quickly
I remember that in mid-March there was the rush to shut down and start sanitizing. We have been in a strong economy for so long, it was hard to project what an extended closure would look like in our global commerce networks. What we saw at Aptica, though, was that some small business owners reached out to us quickly to get their newly-remote workers seamlessly and securely connected to the company network. These owners did not want to spend time guessing about when things would go back to the customs of last week. They asked how they could sustain company continuity based on how business was being restructured right now. Maybe it was the understanding that, if the company freaked out about having to close the building to multiple workers, then their clients would also freak out and perhaps lose some confidence in their ability to continue production? These were the small business owners who got to us early. Their questions were not about how to get back up and running in two weeks or in two months; they wanted us to see to it that they could keep running tomorrow and the next day and the next—no matter what the circumstances.
Thinking Differently: Now There Are No Fences
We have learned that many workers do quite well working remotely. I love hearing of the possibilities that in the near future, mega office buildings will be able to convert former office spaces into living spaces since the notion that everyone has to be in the office every day to be productive has been disproved. Certain roles in most companies can be successfully outsourced (think accounting, for example.) Obviously if you work in manufacturing on the assembly line, you will need to be there. But can that inventory tracker or those sales analysts be hired in Kansas? One of the big revelations of this mostly overwhelming pandemic crisis has been that, in business, talent does not have to be found locally. Whoever has the skill sets and can meet my expectations can have a job in certain roles. It’s up to me to have the infrastructure for that in place, including how to be sure this geographically distant worker is integrated into my company’s culture. You must be ready to spend time onboarding, just as you would someone local. Maybe more about that later.
Aptica’s Service Now Includes A Process To Secure Home Office Networks
If you don’t need to bring everyone back into an office, how you can be sure that your remote workers are secure in their connections to your business network? We now have service plans that include vetting, security, and maintenance of critical home office networks. Your company database cybersecurity can be extended to your remote workers. Maybe it’s time for you to run some numbers to see what the cost-effectiveness of this can be? We are happy to help you, and to answer your questions about how everything works. Give us a call—it never hurts to ask.
Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2101, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium-sized businesses for 19 years in the region that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.