Remote work is here to stay. No longer bound by the grind of a daily commute, increasing numbers of people are selling their homes in the city to work from tranquil country houses with room to spread out. The soaring real estate statistics in remote rural communities across Canada only confirm this trend! Working away from the office allows employees greater flexibility and work satisfaction, and it represents significant cost savings for companies.

Many businesses large and small handled the rapid pivot to remote work remarkably well, but as the world moves forward, the temporary measures initially put in place will need to be reviewed and updated, with a focus on both risk management and transparency.

What are the remote-work issues that businesses should be concerned about going forward?

Issues of concern fall into three main categories: communication, security breaches, and employee fraud.

• In remote work arrangements, communication is 100% virtual. Without face-to-face interaction, a great deal can be missed. Companies need to ensure that these gaps are filled in ways that don’t add to existing workloads.
• Data theft, proprietary secrets theft, phishing attempts, malware and ransomware infestations: all are more likely when people access company files and servers outside the office. Even with careful technology use, employees may expose their employers to risk inadvertently. At a minimum, security breaches cost money, and at worst, they result in breaches of client confidentiality, legal problems, and reputational damage.
• Time theft, data and information theft, equipment and technology misuse, insurance fraud, and embezzlement are all more likely to occur in a remote work environment. Remote work can also lead employees to rationalize fraud; for example, an employee might feel that if the company is saving money, they’re entitled to some of that money themselves.

How can businesses mitigate risks associated with remote work?

The challenge for business owners and managers is to maintain oversight and security while continuing to offer employees the freedom they need to do their best work and to feel that they are trusted. Transparency and employee buy-in are crucial: employees should never feel that they’re being micro-managed or unnecessarily surveilled.

• With remote work, communication can’t be left up to chance. Managers used to be able to check in on employees by popping into their offices for a quick chat, but remote work makes that difficult. To substitute for these impromptu meetings, regular check-ins should be scheduled. These are useful to maintain contact and provide monitoring, but also to take a read on employee well-being, which can be difficult to assess virtually. Communication should be offered over various channels, as neither text-based communication nor video conferencing is suitable for every situation. Explicit protocols about which channel to use for which type of communication should be distributed; these are not always intuitive, as we know from our “reply-all” coworkers!
• Security breaches can be minimized using a combination of technology and training. Businesses should require employees to use only employer-issued devices and they should set up strict security protocols such as VPNs, secure internal networks, and firewalls. Educating and training employees on how to avoid falling prey to cybercriminals remains vital, as does regularly reminding employees to use strong passwords and to change them often.
• The best way to prevent employee fraud is to have a clear set of policies, procedures, and expectations in place that employees must agree to in writing. These protect both the employer and the employee, and they make it easier for both sides to present evidence of violations should that become necessary. Random audits can mitigate the incidence of financial fraud, as can rotating the responsibility for financial tasks among several employees. Monitoring software and reporting requirements help keep employees accountable for their time and technology use, but businesses must be transparent about how and why these tools are being used.

How Can Private Investigators Help You Stay Proactive?

Risk assessment, mitigation and monitoring are ongoing tasks that will continue to need adjustment. Prevention is your best strategy, but if you’ve put all the preventative pieces in place and you’re still having problems with an employee’s behaviours, you may need to look at their activities more closely.

With over two decades of experience in investigating a broad range of workplace-related misconduct, the team of Toronto Corporate Investigation experts at Star Quality Private Investigations^® can help to assess adherence to your remote work policies and procedures, and collect evidence of any potential wrongdoings. In addition to investigating suspicious activity, we are also proud to work closely with organizations of all sizes, acting as your Undercover Boss to help identify other potential areas of risk, and develop solutions for improving the overall operations of your business.

It had certainly been an unprecedented 18 months, and while many businesses from coast to coast have shown remarkable resiliency, there still may be hurdles preventing you from reaching your optimal efficiency.  Reach out to us today to see how we can help you continue to navigate the waters, both still and turbulent.