Since the pandemic, many small businesses have elected to change their standard setup for how employees work.

According to an April 2022 survey by Envoy, 77% of companies use a hybrid working model for employees. That allows them flexibility on whether they work in an office or remotely.

This not only benefits the employees with a better work-life balance, but employers as well. Need to be home for a delivery or home repair? Now you can be.

In fact, The Harvard Gazette discovered 81% of employees working want to stay home or want a hybrid schedule moving forward.

Hybrid models offer:

• More flexibility with hiring. Now you’re not limited to a talent pool that exists in your local area. This literally opens up the world for positions you need to fill.
• Reduced overhead expenses. This could be as basic as not having to purchase as much coffee for your team. It also helps lower costs on office phones, printers and paper – even office furniture.
• Less chance of illness. By not being around a group of people each day, there’s less chance of catching something. This increases productivity by having fewer employees “off sick.”

As with everything, there are upsides and downsides to hybrid work models. While there are great benefits, there are concerns to be aware of as well, such as monitoring employee activities, no centralized files, in-person conversations and a big one… cyber security.

If you do have employees working remotely, you are exposing more computers and networks to cyber-attacks. More workspaces equal more chance of vulnerability.

Thankfully, there are so many tools nowadays to make the hybrid model more effective:

• Zoom or Microsoft Teams for live audio/video collaboration

• Monday, Basecamp or Asana for online project management

• Google Drive or Dropbox for collaborating on documents

• ActivTrak or Hubstaff for employee monitoring

While the toughest aspect to monitor is cyber security, there’s one easy fix. You need a professional to install and monitor remote workers’ computers. This can quickly be discussed in a 10-minute call where we guarantee data protection on ALL computers in ALL workspaces.

To schedule a 10-minute call to make sure all hybrid employees have all the tools necessary to protect your company’s data, visit here to schedule or call us at 1-888-966-9514.

TOSS C3 is a trusted Cyber Technology Services provider in Massachusetts that specializes in serving municipalities and businesses throughout the US.