Inspire Success

For the next few months we will discuss a different safety topic for IT within your company. This month we look at the office desktop and the security issues to be mindful of.

We all know that IT security is extremely important, it is essential to protect your business from a data breach. Here are our TOP 12 tips to help keep your confidential information secure on office desktops.

1. Every employee should have their own profile set up and all logins should be protected with strong passwords which need to be changed every 4-6 weeks;
2. Every time employees leave their desk, they should log off. Screen savers should also be set to log users off after a few minutes of inactivity;
3. Login details and passwords should not be written on pieces of paper and never written on a post it and stuck to computer screens;
4. Educate staff about your IT security, keep up to date with what scams are happening currently in the computer world and let staff know what to be careful of and monitor this;
5. All information on a business network should be saved to a central location to reduce risk;
6. Have a good privacy policy and make protecting sensitive data a part of the company culture;
7. Use a good firewall and a secure wireless connection;
8. Keep anti-virus and anti-spy ware software up to date. Most small businesses have anti-virus and anti-spy ware software in place, but forget or neglect to make sure they have the latest versions or the latest updates, which can open the business up to all sorts of data security breaches;
9. Keeping computers up-to-date individually is time consuming and can create inconsistencies in the business. Having a network server centralising the rollout of software patches and updates makes managing a network far easier;
10. Make sure you and your employees only download applications that come from reliable sources. Because applications (e.g., games, mobile apps) may contain viruses, spy ware etc, it's important to know and trust the source of an application before downloading it;
11. If you outsource any critical functions or store information offsite, ensure you vet third-party security practices such as cloud providers or ISPs. You are still responsible for that data and should ensure the third party is secure.;
12. Have very specific policy developed around this area of your business. Set standards with new employees, check often and ensure that you follow your policy to the T.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

It seems that absenteeism is causing a lot of stress for many of us – not only because employees who are consistently absent or late to work cause headaches, but they also impact on our bottom line!

Here are our top 5 tips for reducing absenteeism at your place:

1. Set standards of attendance
Start right at the start –your induction and your leave policy should outline what you expect if they are going to be late or are not able to get to work. For example employees should;

• tell their manager they will be absent;
• phone their manager within a certain time-frame to advise why they are unable to make it to work, the nature of their illness and when they expect to return;
• know that they will be contacted if you haven’t heard from them about why they are absent; and
• provide certain evidence that they are unfit for work i.e. a medical certificate or statutory declaration, in a certain way and within a certain time-frame.
  

• identify if you have a problem with absence at your workplace;
• determine what type of absence usually occurs in your workplace i.e. is it mainly Monday morning ’sickies’ or cases of longer-term sickness?; and
• highlight patterns in absence levels. For example, are absence levels higher in one particular team or at a specific time of year?

4. Promote opportunities for flexible work
We know it is a legislated requirement, but why not be a trail blazer and help employees achieve a balance between their work, family and lifestyle commitments? There are lots of statistics that show that work-life balance reduces absenteeism. Just looking at your workplace and the roles differently might unearth a few opportunities to work flexibly that you didn’t know existed.

These conversations with your people have economic benefits. All investments yield a return. How can you get your staff to work?

They are able to attract the best people, retain them and keep them engaged in their business for improved performance.

Organisations that can rally their people together can achieve rewards way above the competition!

Whether you are a business owner, CEO, Managing Director or the People Specialist, you are in the position to make a difference in these challenging economic times.

A thriving, recession proof company values their employees. Other companies will follow the traditional approach of laying off staff.

Some very talented people will be let go by your competitors and there is no better time to add their skills and experience to your team. They may bring some much needed, fresh thinking and ideas to your business.

At the same time, your current staff morale will remain high, as they won't feel threatened by impending layoffs. Leave those concerns to your competitors!

Think about how you make a positive customer experience. Front line employees in customer service, delivery, purchasing, operations, and sales often have powerful money saving ideas at their fingertips.

Now is the time to do something differently.

Why not be the one leading the pack out of this challenging economic time?