16 | MARKETING
Providing certainty in uncertain times Just because we’re working through uncertain times, doesn’t mean we have to change everything about the way we run our facilities. With a few simple and careful considerations, we can keep storers up to date, continue to do business and keep our staff engaged. By Andy Pudmenzky – Big Budda Boom.
WORKING REMOTELY These days much can be done remotely. We can watch our facility CCTV remotely, open and close the gate from anywhere on the planet and we can manage your storers, units and payments with a customer management platform such as Storman Cloud. However, if your facility staff are working from home and accessing storer data (such as CCTV images, personal details, payment history, etc) on their own computer, you may wish to have an appropriate Working From Home policy or legal document created and signed by staff to ensure nothing goes awry. The team from HR Central (the SSAA’s HR Helpdesk) will be able to point you in the right direction. Some things to think about may include: l Are any remote systems (CCTV, alarm systems etc) locked down so only certain IP addresses or computers can access them?
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l If a staff member has their web browser set to auto-login and their laptop gets stolen from their home, how quickly do they need to act? What does the business owner need to do? Do you know where to go to change passwords for any of your compromised business systems? You may even be legally obliged to inform storers of a data breach. l Do any work-from-home (ie. noncompany supplied) computers have up to date virus scanners installed? Do they auto-lock after a short time of inactivity? What else do you require of staff when using their own technology to access work systems and storer data? Remember: Your storer data is only as safe as the weakest computer system that’s being used to access it. If there’s no password, no IP address restrictions or two-factor authentication in place, how might your storers feel if they knew?
Your business may have passed a PCI compliance test as part of a wider security audit, but if you’re suddenly letting staff accessing data remotely, the rules and guidelines change.
KEEPING STORERS IN THE LOOP Storers, both existing and prospective, will no doubt have plenty of questions so be sure to keep your communication channels open and up to date. For example, does your website have a prominent banner on the homepage advising of your response to COVID-19, whether you’re still open and the things your facility is doing to support social distancing, improved hygiene and cleaning practices etc. Your email signature and phone-onhold messages or voicemail greeting should also contain similar details or, at least direct storers to your website for more information so they know how to reach you, access their goods or purchase any additional supplies
www.selfstorage.org.au
