Is Your Firm Equipped for Full Staff Work From Home?

The events of the past weeks have left many of us dizzy considering not only our businesses and the people who are reliant on our decisions for continued steady incomes, but also the safety of our children and our parents. Some of us even have had an occasional moment to think about our personal health and welfare.

But even in the darkest of times, there is light. We are more prepared globally, both as consumers and producers, to be able to weather this storm. Much of this is due to advances in cloud technology and the rise of technology-driven services. Shipt and DoorDash enable consumers to stay home and employees at grocery stores, restaurants, and delivery services to continue working. The internet enables all of us to stay connected to the news and to each other. Teams, Webex, Zoom, and other platforms enable businesses to continue to stay connected internally and with their clients.

As you think about how to get through the next eight to ten weeks, here are six things to consider as you implement your Pandemic Plan:

1. Have I identified all critical information systems and internal or external dependencies? In some instances, core systems receive critical data from information systems that are not initially considered during planning, and it may be important to have remote access to such systems during a pandemic.

2. Have I tested whether all my employees are able to connect to critical business systems from the confines of their homes? If you have not already done so, you should have every employee attempt a work from home day and ensure that they can connect to all the systems that they must access to be effective in their jobs. This includes files, time entry, email, and phone.

3. Does my VPN have enough capacity for all of my employees to connect to our network when not in the office? There may be a need to beef up VPN connectivity to ensure that all employees can work effectively and efficiently.

4. Are there systems that I could and should consider moving to the cloud if I have not already made that move? For a law firm, time entry, billing, email, and document management remain the most important systems, and you must ensure they are accessible at all times. Working with your vendor to transition these systems to the cloud will ensure that business continuity is in place for not just this crisis, but any other future crises.

5. How can I ensure the productivity of employees who have never worked from home before? Implementing morning virtual standups or daily check-ins can be critical to keeping people productive. Education in the form of webinars or courses on online platforms such as LinkedIn Learning can help employees and managers ensure productivity when working from home. Even gamification can be an effective motivator for productivity.

Finally, are all my employees connecting to business systems securely and do I permit remote access to systems that are not owned and administered by the firm? Ensure that MFA and SSO are in place as individuals connect from outside locations. Implement governance policies and technical controls related to Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) to ensure that unprotected or unauthorized systems are not used to access sensitive data without the approval of your IT security department.

We wish each of you the very best during these unusual times. If you have any questions or would like to see how cloud solutions can help with your firm’s day-to-day operations, we’re happy to meet with you – by video conference.