How HR Leaders Can Remotely Secure Their Mobile Workforce

Last Updated by Justyn Newman on November 17, 2023

Remote work is here to stay. Telecommuting, flex jobs, working from home, virtual office teams. Whatever people call it, we know that flexible work is in higher demand than ever.

That’s why it’s so important for HR managers to prepare themselves with the best practices in managing the host of new considerations that come with remote work. You need to keep your remote workforce productivity high, while still protecting the security and privacy of the company. That includes anyone who could be susceptible to a data breach; executives, workers, clients, and customers.

Research shows that over 60 percent of American companies now offer some degree of flexible remote working options, while over 80 percent of employees would prefer to work remotely some or all of the time.

Remote work presents new opportunities, but also new challenges. It’s a balance that your company may not have much experience offering. If your colleagues are reluctant to set up and maintain a remote work option, keep reading.

We’ll walk you through the many benefits, and a few potential headaches, to consider before making the change. You can decide for yourself if transitioning to a remote work option will be integral to the future success of your company.

Isn’t Cybersecurity a Job for IT Managers?

In the case of remote work security, not entirely.

People tend to think of telecommuting is a job for IT professionals. It’s about wireless networks and cloud-based productivity services, antivirus software, and screen-sharing capabilities.

While all this is true, it’s essential to recognize that remote work is not solely a venture of technology. HR managers and hiring specialists have unique skills sets and a critical knowledge base to bring to the remote work discussion. Arguably, HR is more important than the tech side of things.

What’s in a Name?

As an HR professional, you give employees the tools needed to advance and succeed.

You serve as a gatekeeper for personal information, and enforce compliance with company policies and organize training. HR specialists know about employment law and have an excellent grasp on company security policies, data retention regulations, and several other factors that IT professionals may overlook. This is the expertise needed for a remote work environment to succeed.

Remote-work companies across the globe are discovering how important it is to partner their IT efforts with HR expertise.

When remote work programs have failed in the past, it has been mainly due to human errors. Factors like improper personnel training and management of employee personalities played the largest role. The lack of communication and collaboration between HR, IT, and individuals can spell disaster.

In other words; without HR, remote work doesn’t work.

Is Remote Work Necessary or Just Another Headache for HR Managers?

Conventional wisdom suggests that companies willing to adapt and grow with technological change will outpace competitors who are stuck in the past.

Exploring the Benefits

Maybe your local workers want the flexibility to work from home part-time? Or perhaps you’re looking to include out-of-state professionals who don’t need a brick-and-mortar home to be part of your team.

Many HR professionals are tasked with helping save the company money on operational costs, which can be achieved in part through telecommuting. Maybe you’re worried about talent retention because of competitors who offer more attractive work options?

Whatever the motivation, remote work is one of the most cost-effective ways to leverage a diverse talent base while keeping employees more productive and happier.

Managing Personalities, Behaviors and Emotions

Human Resources professionals understand workplace psychology.

Remote work involves plenty of personality-based and behavioral components. For example, because research shows remote workers are happier, you can assume happier employees are committed to their jobs, which means remote workers should have a strong desire to protect the benefits of working from home by protecting their employer’s data.

However, Harvard Business Review shows that over half of remote workers end up feeling overlooked or forgotten compared to their in-office counterparts. Therefore, having sufficient teleconferencing options set up in a secure, easy-to-use manner helps everyone stay connected, secure, and on task.

Remote workers are grateful for the opportunity to save time and money working from home, so they are innately more compelled to abide by HR and IT guidelines for cybersecurity. Take advantage of that worker gratitude and use it to enforce careful remote work guidelines for your company.

Of course, there are other psychological considerations. Many HR professionals find they need to help their workers understand the necessity and value of securing records. Employees often take for granted that the company will protect its interests, so workers are not devoting much time to thinking about building security or fire suppression or cybersecurity.

Likewise, while working remotely, workers are in the comfort of their homes and may have reminders of their connection to the company. Studies show that while remote workers have less work-related stress, they may need more motivation to reinforce the shared responsibility to safeguard the data and equipment owned by the company.

Remote Work Data Breaches – Cautionary Tales to Learn From

Remote working has been around, to varying degrees, since IBM started experimenting with it in the late 1970s. That means there’s plenty of data about best practices and some severe complications you could run into if your remote work policy isn’t robustly enforced.

Screenshot of cyber monitoring for remote workers

The University of California, Santa Cruz, cataloged several security breach examples – from stolen laptops taken from an at-home Veterans Affairs worker to virtual data theft from remote workers who lacked the proper VPN and antivirus infrastructure.

By the way, the VA employee whose laptop was stolen resulted in 26.5 million confidential records being compromised. That’s the impact one mistake can have.

Security experts report that fully one-third of American and European companies have suffered data breaches, mainly due to lackluster cybersecurity protocols and training for remote workers.

The Potential Risks

Public networks – more vulnerable to attacks
Personal devices – corruptible, and can be lost or stolen
Malware, phishing, etc. – without a single dedicated network, exploitation is more achievable

Fortunately, for any digital problem, there is a digital solution.

Develop a Remote Work Plan and Enforce It

It can be difficult enough for HR directors to manage onsite employees, never mind those working remotely.

The relationship between human resources managers and IT managers has deepened as the desire and availability of remote work has increased. Studies show that remote workers are often happier, more productive, and save both themselves and the company money in travel and overhead costs.

However, when employees have escaped the watchful eye of in-house firewalls, hardware, and software, how can a business ensure its data and its communications are safe and secure? The answer lies in a combination of traditional personnel technology policies and using reliable tools that simplify security and privacy.

Develop a remote work plan that bridges any potential knowledge gaps between workers, HR, and IT. IBM’s Security Technology blog has a helpful overview of establishing a policy, but we’ve covered most of the key takeaways below.

1 Analyze and Categorize Your Company’s Remote Work Needs

Do your workers need to bring in physical backups of data, or can it all be cloud-based?
Are your workers mobile all week, or part-time?
Will you provide workers with all devices (laptops, phones, tablets)? If not, do you have an agreement to install VPN and other software on personal devices?
Will you outline how to run the office and the tools that should be used to ensure security?
How will you comply with OSHA safety requirements and worker’s compensation incidents, whether for physical harm or damage to personal equipment used for work?

2 Identify the Eligible Workers

Not every type of employee role can operate remotely. Think carefully about who should be allowed to work virtually and establish clear criteria, so employees know their options.

3 Train and Retrain

Cybersecurity evolves frequently. With the ever-changing risks to digital safety, your employees need to be appropriately trained and updated regularly to stay ahead of the latest privacy and safety concerns.

4 Manage Equipment Use

Decide how much equipment, tech devices, software licenses, and office furniture your company is willing to provide offsite workers.

Will you institute a Bring Your Device (BYOD) Policy? If so, consider the pros and cons.
Will you require remote workers to purchase their equipment insurance or cover it under your company’s policies?
What about antivirus software?
Will your company contribute toward their home electric or Internet bill?

5 Cybersecurity Tools

By collaborating with your IT department, you’ll be able to determine the best tech-based tools to keep your company’s and employees’ data secure and private.

VPNs

Because remote work relies on more third-party apps and cloud-based servers, it is more vital to protect incoming and outgoing data transmissions with secure servers like those used by VPNs.

VPNs establish an encrypted connection between your worker’s devices and your company’s private servers. A VPN is vital for protecting confidential and proprietary information. It is your best tool for preventing unauthorized users from looking at company data and transactions.

Training remote workers how to use a VPN properly is an effective way to secure data, as well as connect to a company server. Make sure employees don’t tinker with the VPN settings on their end.

Antivirus Software

A fundamental tool. Preventing data theft, browser hijacking, ransomware takeovers, and all manners of cybersecurity threats is vital.

Third-Party Cloud Platforms

Communication and productivity tools are vital. To streamline project management and remain connected for any communication needs, it’s essential to offer the appliances and protocols for regularly connecting with remote workers.

Work with your IT department to take advantage of custom security settings on productivity apps and websites that remote workers may use. Educate employees about the dos and don’ts of online safety.

Platform Examples:

Microsoft Office 365
Google Suite
Slack
Skype
Asana
Trello
Basecamp
VNC desktop-sharing software

Enforcing Your Comprehensive Remote Work Policy:

Communicate the Rules

As an HR professional, you are uniquely positioned to equip employees with clear and proven guidelines for workplace safety. Today, safety goes beyond physical security and includes cybersecurity measures to protect private data and avoid viruses, ransomware, and other digital threats.

A well-designed and executed remote work plan will mitigate any risks while maximizing benefits. When developing a remote work/telecommuting policy, keep in mind that these guidelines should be considered in addition to existing employee contract and hiring agreements.

You don’t have to overhaul current work policies and procedures completely, but if any dimensions of remote work appear to violate your standard work agreements, compromises and exceptions need to be explained explicitly.

Plan for worst-case scenarios. Make sure employees have guides for standard operating procedures of day-to-day considerations, and provide them with an emergency plan and contact list in the event of a breach.

Include the following in your remote work policy:

Secure password requirements
Communication etiquette
Mandatory VPN use on all devices
Confidential information handling procedures
Required browser updates
Company-approved or provided antivirus software
Frequent and compulsory conferencing with the office to report progress or security concerns
Prohibit the use of public Wifi. Mobile workers who use cafes and other hotspots are more vulnerable to the unsecured nature of public internet signals
Require firewalls to prevent access to risky or time-wasting content like social media or streaming sites
Use encrypted email services
Install encrypted disc drives
Establish policies for hard-copy document shredding
Require employees to have adequate home security and items like safes and locked drawers
Remind employees to be aware of not leaving devices unattended in public places
Install GPS tracking software and remote locking abilities on mobile devices

Final Thoughts

Companies offering remote work options have, by definition, decentralized many of their operations. To take back some of the control lost to virtual work environments, it’s important to standardize remote worker behavior to comply with company policies by properly training and equipping them to protect your company.

Implementing a system of virtual teams consisting of remote workers has proven beneficial for both companies and their employees. However, the proper management of a remote work policy requires careful consideration and ongoing effort. It is not a process that can be simply established and then ignored.

That said, if your HR and IT departments put together a comprehensive plan that addresses company and employee needs, remote work can pay big dividends in costs savings, access to new talent and increased work output.

Don’t rush developing your remote work plan. Treat it like any cybersecurity protocol or any other workflow of your company’s business model. Careful planning takes time.