Protecting Your Business, advice on managing remote employees

2022-09-28
By: Advocate Brokerage

During the pandemic many companies found it necessary to make shifts in the way they did business. One common shift was transitioning employees who would normally report to the office to work as remote employees from the comfort and safety of their homes. We understand, at Advocate Brokerage, in order to ensure the safety of our employees and to continue to provide our valued customers with the kind of personalized service they were accustomed to, we allowed our team to work from home. As things are slowly returning to a new kind of normal, many businesses are making the choice to continue a work-from-home environment, and some are transitioning to a more hybrid structure where employees divide their time between work and home.  As your insurance advocate, we’d like to provide some information for you to take into account and offer some advice that may help you overcome some of the challenges you can face in working with remote employees.

Let Us Help You Take Care Of Your Insurance Needs

First things first, we want to help you make sure you have the proper insurance in place to protect your company from the additional exposures you may face when you have employees working from home.  While you may want to rely on your employees’ individual homeowners or renters’ insurance, those types of policies are not ideal when it comes to protecting your business.  It is best to make sure that you have updated your existing business insurance portfolio to include coverages you need to protect your business from the risks associated with remote employees.

• Cyber Liability Insurance is Important. You will want to protect BOTH your employees and your business from security threats no matter who is responsible for the breach.  A cyber liability policy will include coverage for legal costs, identity restoration services, and fraud monitoring.
• Business Liability Insurance is also key.  This will protect your company from common claims including injury, property damage and claims of slander.
• Commercial Property Insurance will help to protect any damage to company property your employees are using in their homes (such as laptops or phones). You will want a policy that provides coverage for both in-office and work-from-home employees.
• Workers’ Compensation Insurance is also important. You will want to be sure that the coverage you have in place extends to remote employees so that in the event of a work-related injury, their medical bills and lost wages are covered.

Additional Considerations For Remote Employees

Once you have the right coverage in place, you can rest a bit easier.  However, there are other items you should consider when you are going to have employees working from home. Take some time to consider the following:

• Ensure a secure setup to make sure your employees are following health and safety protocols, including using an office space that is well lit and free of fire hazards.
• Beef up security to protect your business from data breaches and other cyber security threats. Ensure any employees working from home have up-to-date security software, firewalls and other protections in place to prevent a costly breach.
• Focus on communication by have telecommuting policies in place and ensure your remote workers know what’s expected of them. Train your staff on cyber security measures and keep in regular contact to ensure your work from home arrangement is going smoothly.
• Confirm their coverage by checking that your remote employees have an up-to-date homeowners or renters insurance policy to avoid gaps in coverage that may affect your business.

Final Thoughts From Your Insurance Advocate
Do what you can to ensure your employees have all they need to succeed.

Working from home can often blur the lines between work life and home life. It is important to have an open dialog with your employees so that they know you are encouraging a healthy work-life balance. Encourage them to take breaks and plan for vacation time. Discuss any benefits that are available (such as gym memberships and paid time off) and encourage them to take advantage of them. The goal is to bring out the best in your team and help them to avoid burnout!

We are committed to helping our clients protect their businesses as if they were our own. Our goal is to provide useful information to help prepare our clients so that they can take steps to ensure they are properly protected. If you have remote employees and want to have a conversation about your insurance coverage, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.  We are always happy to share our experience and expertise with you.