Plenty of enterprises are reopening their offices, some are staying fully remote, and others are adopting a hybrid setting.
However, in several studies, we’ve learned that while more employees are in favor of staying remote, executives are itching for their team to be back in the office.
Google LLC for instance, wants its temporary hybrid style to return to 5-day in-person work weeks. They want productivity up, innovation up, accountability up; all measures that executives feel have been compromised with the switch to remote environments because of the pandemic. An ex-HR Google employee shares he doesn’t think hybrid will last, despite over 60% of their employees expressing dismay over Google’s reopening plan.
While many business leaders want to balance their employee’s preferences with what’s best for their business potential, there are specific departments that are more heavily affected by this.
How are HR, IT, and Security Impacted By Enterprise Reopening?
HR has its hands full with the turnover of employees, the hiring of new talent, or promotions of existing staff, all of which are happening as Google, and many other enterprises reopen their doors.
However, while HR may be overwhelmed with all the moving pieces, they are also responsible for collaborating with their IT and security departments to accommodate the physical influx and communicate the new role privileges. Who gets access to what resources, data, or training due to their position?
Plenty of coordination is needed for a smooth reopening; one that doesn’t overlook or compromise security.
A few pieces HR, IT, and Security need to collaborate on:
Secure ID Badge Issuance
HR could be hiring, firing, promoting, or training different roles for their organization. For these transitions to take place securely and succinctly, new ID badges must be printed and administered. Once you know which roles are hired and are given what permissions, the next step is to custom print your new ID badges.
Do you know if you’re using the right ID badge printing system? We recommend the HDP 6600 ID printer for the best quality and high-speed printing capabilities.
Equally as important, is your team using the appropriate ID card personalization software?
You’ll want to leverage multiple workstations, with an integrated database across networks. With ASURE ID 7 Exchange, your team can design and manage ID printing, and utilize one internal database with a configurable Live Link plug-in. You can quickly and easily manage card memory, load multiple smart card applications, and graphically personalize smart cards such as iCLASS® Seos® in one seamless process.
Lastly, with this ID card personalization software your IT team can integrate with over 25 leading access control systems; register credentials directly from the software, and reduce the number of applications utilized during the issuance process.
Speaking of access control systems, the next piece of security logistics your team needs to collaborate on is authenticated access.
Physical and Logical Access Control
When’s the last time you upgraded your access control technology? If you’re investing in new talent or changing over in personnel, there’s probably a need to make sure access levels are up to speed. Relying on low-frequency prox cards for identity verification could be leaving your organization vulnerable, which is ultimately on your security and IT departments.
Instead:
- Use smart card technology with secure encrypted credentials to protect your personnel’s identification data, and verify physical access requests
- Upgrade to mobile-capable readers so your team can use encrypted credentials for secure computer login and access control
- Use Multi-factor authentication for secure logical access across both the physical and digital environments:
- ActivID Multi-Factor Authentication: Prevents breaches and achieves compliance with the updated NIST SP1800-171
- HID PIV (Personal Identity Verification): This government-strength solution leverages a vast ecosystem, digital and physical, across many applications and operating systems.
Upgrading from low-frequency prox to encrypted credentials + Multi-factor authentication can garner much stronger security defenses in preparation for your organization’s reopening.
Visitor Management Solutions
So hopefully by now your employees are verified, tracked, and accounted for. Your access control systems are upgraded, and you know who’s new to the team, or who has left.
Now, what about the influx of visitors to your facility now that you’ve shifted business to in-person operations? Some organizations that went remote no longer needed reception as part of their team, or perhaps shifted their roles to an online -office manager position. Either way, there is likely some new training to be had for the reception team despite the transition.
However, given that a lot of security vulnerabilities originate from human error, exploring visitor management software could help negate these liabilities. Find a solution that replaces manual visitor check-in processes like clipboards or excel spreadsheets so you don’t risk your team.
A few features to consider when exploring visitor management software:
- Pre-registration Modules: Automate visitor check-in processes; prompt visitors to sign up and check in before stepping foot on-premises
- Host Notifications: Notifying reception when guests arrive increases security and prevent reception from getting overwhelmed during busy hours. Additionally, the front desk can be prepared for when certain types of guests arrive
- Visitor Data Tracking: Tracking who and where people are, while inside, is not only important for access control, but emergencies need to determine where guests may be if they need rescuing
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Ultimately, organizations just like Google, are making several important updates in anticipation of returning to in-person work environments. Whether it’s your HR department handling a surge of job transitions, IT and security upgrading and integrating new technologies, or the financial decision-makers signing off on new projects, every department plays a hand in their organization’s safety and functionality.
