Balancing risk and productivity in a hybrid world

ALYSSA BLACKBURN

By Alyssa Blackburn, Director of Information Management, AvePoint

With Australia leading its global counterparts in the shift to hybrid working, local business leaders have been faced with the challenge of not ‘if’ but ‘how’ to make hybrid teams, environments and project management work as effectively as possible. Many executives are still concerned about optimising the productivity of hybrid workplaces while others are deterred by the cyber risks that come with a digitalfirst workforce.

However, focusing solely on either of these business challenges will lead organisations to miss finding the balance between risk and productivity that ensures teams are collaborating safely while staying engaged. Cybercrime continues to rise and many employees are likely to leave a company if flexibility and hybrid ways of working are not available. Consequently, understanding the implications of hybrid working on the business’ risk and productivity, and then implementing strategies to minimise risk and maximise productivity, need to be front and centre in boardroom discussions.

TAKING A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO MANAGING HYBRID WORKPLACE RISK

Recent data breaches and cybersecurity attacks on high-profile companies across a range of industries have highlighted the reality that today’s workplaces face constant and significant security risks. Whether these are well-funded international crime syndicates using email scams, human error by local teams overreliant on manual processes or data management plans (or lack thereof) that involve storing data for longer than needed, every business has risks that are unique to its operations and industry.

In fact, any business that has information carries risk. For years, businesses have competed and innovated to get as much customer and prospect data as possible. Data was seen as the end-goal. Today, as has been proven by data breaches in some of Australia’s largest organisations, businesses are starting to recognise data is an asset, but also a liability.

Consumers have been quick to recognise this and are holding businesses accountable. It is no longer acceptable for businesses to treat data security and management as a secondary business priority. There are effective steps every business can take in the short and long term to prevent cybersecurity threats and mitigate the risks of data breaches. These start with treating data protection as one of the most important business issues an organisation faces

today. A top-down and end-to-end approach to data management is necessary to ensure appropriate resources and investments are allocated for sustainable success, and to ensure loopholes or gaps in security processes do not invite greater risks.

COLLABORATION LOOKS DIFFERENT TO EVERY GENERATION, INTRODUCING NEW RISKS

For the first time we have up to five generations in the workplace simultaneously. When working with hybrid teams in the modern workplace, it is common for some team members to prefer collaborating via different platforms and channels to others. Younger generations may prefer collaboration tools that resemble social media platforms, enabling immediate commenting, sharing and reactions. Meanwhile, older generations may prefer phone calls, legacy applications or even in-person meetings.

Shadow IT is another business challenge that has evolved with the acceleration of hybrid working. Certain company-approved tools and SaaS applications might be available yet employees still opt for non-approved tools that may appear easier to use or more accessible. This introduces another level of risk. Employees could be sharing data, clicking on links or connecting to technologies their employer has not assessed or perhaps not previously encountered.

Every organisation will have ‘collaboration champions’ and ‘collaboration refusers’. Again, when assessing how to get the most out of teams with varied ways of working, the priority needs to be educating and enabling staff to work and collaborate securely, rather than determining which channels or styles of working should be encouraged over others.

KNOW YOUR BUSINESS, KNOW YOUR RISK

It is impossible to effectively prevent a problem you barely understand, and it is impossible to fix problems you cannot see. Just as the members of the C-suite are familiar with financials, sales figures, staff capacity ratios and other insights about their teams’ operations, it is important to invest the resources and time in tools that help leaders understand how their teams are working, communicating and collaborating.

With insights into, for example, how data is being shared internally, an organisation can invest in appropriate solutions that reduce the time spent finding commonly shared documents, streamline processes for updating important and broadly used presentations, or make immediate changes to how data is stored to mitigate the risk of a data breach. In addition, organisations should not be holding onto data that is not required for business purposes. Data and information should be subject to a lifecycle. Remember, if you do not have something, your risk of it being exposed is zero!

Any business operating today needs to be embracing, not debating, the various pros and cons of a hybrid workplace. Taking a proactive and preventative approach to secure data collection, management and collaboration will ensure employees can work in ways and via channels they are most confident with, and that the productivity benefits of hybrid working will not be hindered by security risks and concerns.

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