The present lockdown situation due to COVID-19 forced the world to adopt social distancing, mass gathering and many more. And also forced us to take two choices: either shut down the operations or adopt work-from-home. Work from is an old concept and implemented by various companies throughout the world. But there are certain challenges in it:
Soumen Mukherjee, Discreet Solutions
Working from home as a normal business practice needs a great deal more than just making it. In order to be more successful, a company must be able to expand almost all the facilities it provides in the workplace to the employee’s home. Digital server and device connectivity could only be the first step. The company needs to organize its working in such a way that an individual is easily open to all colleagues.
There’s a suite of solutions on the market that can allow an organization to achieve the target, but choosing such options depends on how and exactly what the company wants to do. Seamless connectivity and efficiency can’t be accomplished from home in a single day. A company must be dedicated to the same thing and take positive steps towards achieving its goals as it matures the Working From Home culture and is still able to operate.
The biggest challenge and key factor is the company’s willingness to believe that the of the company to assume that the employee will achieve results. It will not work to implement Work From Home facilities without having an inherent confidence in workers and their managers to trust each other. In some cases, companies have a tendency to very quickly abandon a facility as soon as they believe like their workers have not been fair about their work.
Another biggest challenge for any companies is data security. Customer data and other transaction- or trade-specific data are concerned and must be handled properly. Homes are more vulnerable and do not have professional security as offices are. Leaving cybersecurity threats aside, working from home ensures that non-employees including family and friends will see something they shouldn’t see and that is not an appropriate case. In addition, there is a high risk of unethical conduct leading to fraud which could simply not be traceable.
And last but not the least, hosting a client meeting at this moment is difficult. Sometimes your home network may not support properly in case of online meetings. Signature on hard copy is not possible. Above all, a good technology infrastructure also required and the cost of technology is well known to everyone. Except these, there are so many challenges but I just expressed what I experienced.
Views expressed in this article are the personal opinion of Soumen Mukherjee, Marketing and Communication Head, Discreet Solutions Pvt Ltd.
