NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014 - (Page 27)

Technological advances have made it possible to communicate with anyone and access files from anywhere at any time. That makes having all employees work in the same physical office a choice for BGA firms rather than a necessity. What are the considerations in deciding whether some or all of your staff should work remotely? Required Technology Hardware is required in both the BGA's office and at the remote locations; some of this equipment may already be on hand. One or more office based servers would be needed to host remote sessions along with a phone system to support users via a VOIP service or by forwarding calls to landlines or cellphones, noted Matt Boddicker, Director of Information Technology at The National Benefit Corp. No server is required if all software used is cloud-based. Remote users need reasonably modern computers, high-speed Internet connections, and a phone system, either landline, cellphone, or a quality headset to use VOIP service through their computer. A.C. Jetter, Vice President and COO of Art Jetter & Company suggests adding webcams so remote employees can be seen (although few of their people have chosen to accept them). Select hardware based on the software you use and the scope of the work being done. "For example, you may need a faster processor if you're doing lots of calculations and more RAM if you're intending to work on large files," explained Joann Mattson, FLMI, Vice President of Administration at Four Seasons Financial Group, Inc. At minimum, a Windowsbased computer needs an i5 CPU and 8GB of RAM with a 64-bit operating system. Contact your software provider to get recommended solutions for remote access operations. For employees whose jobs require remote work, National Benefit provides a laptop, cellphone, and highspeed Internet service. Initial cost is budgeted at about $2,000 per remote employee with a $2,000 continuing annual expense. Employees who choose periodic remote work not required by the firm cover their own technology costs. Jetter said these costs are similar to equipping employees who work inside the office. With a "Bring Your Own Device" policy, adding the ability to work remotely costs the BGA firm nothing. "Remote employees need the ability to access your agency management system from outside the office," said Jetter. "They also need to be able to share files and documents securely with other members of the company. Using the same software company-wide is essential." This also reduces time and cost for support and file conversion. Commonly used solutions from either Citrix or VMWare require installing a client software package on the remote user's computer, Boddicker said. This software provides the remote app or desktop access to the BGA's servers hosted. BGAs using cloud-based applications only need a modern web browser. File Sharing, File Storage, and Data Security Issues Work closely with your IT services department to maintain security. "A reliable, secure, encrypted Internet connection is tops on the list to assure the security of your data," said Mattson. Routers must have wireless security. The WPA/WPA2 encryption protocol is recommended. Install the current version of an antivirus application or security suite on all servers and remote computers to check for viruses, Trojans, malware, and spyware, and to provide website protection. Keep this software and any other software accessing the Internet updated continually. Art Jetter & Company uses a combination of a virtual private network and cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox. The same password policies and encryption methods are used on both in-house and external computers. At National Benefit, Citrix and VMWare remote apps and desktop solutions normally run directly from the firm's server, Boddicker said. Since files and important documents are stored on those servers, they are subject to the same security infrastructure regardless of whether the employees accessing them are in the office or remote. Potential Communication and Management Issues Structuring regular contact with remote staff is important. A staff meeting for all employees is held every Wednesday morning at Art Jetter & Company with special "team meetings" one day per week so members of each team or department can go over what's happening. Main office employees attend these meetings together in a conference room. External employees attend by phone by calling into a conference bridge. "We use a screen sharing program like Join.Me so we can all share the same reports, graphs, spreadsheets, and other documents," Jetter said. "Participation in these meetings helps familiarize remote workers with what's going on in the company." "External staff could go months or longer without meeting our other employees face-to-face, which doesn't give them quite the same 'connection' as an employee that's always in the office," Jetter noted. The firm has no policies about when remote employees must be there. www.nailba.org 27 http://www.nailba.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014

NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
Social Skills
NAILBA 33 Preview
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Life Happens
The Remote or Virtual Office
Member Profiles
Mooers Award Nominations
Agency Successor Networking Group
Agency Resources
BGAs Leading Technology Through Connections
Reading Ahead
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014