Your staff is the soliders of your firm. They are the ones in the trenches, fighting the odds every day to help your business stay relevant and to appeal to the customers. They are the ones that generate the great ideas, celebrate your successes, work hard towards bonuses and care for promotions. They are the glue that binds your dream together. Just like how a head chef is nothing without his brigade, your firm would likely be sorely lacking in effective output without this team.
Of course, you could always take the attitude that ‘well, that’s what I pay them for!’ This is true, certainly. However, it’s a bad attitude to take. It reduces the effort your employees might bring to your firm each and every day, their brand loyalty, and the willingness to improve their operations. However, we know you care for them. You wouldn’t be reading an article with this title if that wasn’t the case. For this reason, knowing how to equip your staff could be considered vitally important. Consider the following:
VPN
Staff often need to work from home. To do this, they will likely work on their home computer or a laptop on public WiFi. For this reason, you need to use VPN software to encrypt your connection and prevent unwanted people from accessing your network. VPN’s can often be the price of a Netflix subscription for a year, but of course, you shouldn’t expect your staff to purchase this themselves. Equip all staff with the best VPN available, and not only will your company network stay secure, but you will open up your business for remote working efforts – allowing greater freedom in communication and collaboration.
Cloud Storage & Mobile Storage
The cloud storage your firm employs is very important. What package are you with? Might it be using the extended Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox offerings could help your staff share files, and always have access to their working documents? This can be essentially useful for staff. However, never forget that sometimes, cloud storage isn’t enough. You will still need hard digitized copies, so it’s best to buy flash drives in bulk and distribute them through your office. This can ensure that your staff is never without the critical documents of their work, no matter how little network access they have.
Computer Station
Every desktop employee secretly wishes for a nice computer setup. At the office, investing in the computing equipment your staff has access to is important. Ensure the machines are competent, have fast CPU’s and RAM, and plenty of internal storage despite all the other storage options you keep. Afford them two or three monitors at a minimum, and maybe even provide headphones for them to use if important.
Purchase premium software for your brand, not cheaper alternatives. For example, there are many free options to avoid using the Adobe Creative Suite, but only the latter mentioned is industry standard. A happy staff member will always steward a personal space and a desktop they can be proud of, so be sure to afford them this.
With these tips, you are sure to equip your staff effectively.
