Remote working is no longer exclusive to larger companies. Post-COVID, across Sussex it has become the norm for smaller firms too. Staff may spend part of the week working from home, visiting customers or splitting their time between different offices.
Flexibility brings significant benefits for both employers and employees, but only when the technology behind it works reliably.
With the wrong network, however, remote working can quickly become frustrating. Teams struggle to access files, documents are emailed between personal accounts, and simple tasks take far longer than they should! Security also becomes a concern when staff are using different devices and locations without clear controls in place.
Our local construction company
Take a local construction firm based here in Sussex. Like many growing companies, the way its employees work has changed over time, but its technology had not kept pace.
Engineers spent most of their time on customer sites and office staff worked from home on occasion. The business owner, Lewis, regularly travelled between meetings and project locations. Despite this, many of the company’s systems were still built on the assumption that everyone worked from a single office.
Important information was often stored on office computers rather than in shared locations. Engineers struggled to access the documents they needed while on-site.
Staff working from home found themselves emailing files backwards and forwards or waiting until they were back in the office to complete certain tasks. Although the company had Microsoft 365, remote working felt more like a workaround than a properly supported way of operating.
The Problem
This is a situation we see regularly. Many small businesses invest in Microsoft 365 and assume remote working will naturally follow. In reality, the software alone is only part of the solution. Problems usually arise when systems have been deployed without a clear strategy.
Files may be scattered across different locations, and staff may be unsure how to access business data securely. Worse, security settings may not have been configured correctly. As a result, people develop their own workarounds, which often create more risk and reduce productivity.
The objectives were straightforward. Staff needed to be able to access the tools, files, and information required to do their jobs, wherever they worked. Achieving that meant taking a step back to examine how the business operated, rather than forcing employees to adapt to outdated systems.
The Solution
The first step was ensuring files were stored in the right place. Shared company documents were moved into SharePoint, while individual working files were stored in OneDrive. This provided employees with secure access to the information they needed from any authorised device, without relying on a particular office computer.
Just as importantly, it reduced the temptation for staff to email documents to personal accounts or maintain multiple versions of files in different locations. With everyone working from the same source of information, collaboration became easier and more reliable.
Communication was the next area to address. When people work across different locations, communication can easily become fragmented. Important conversations get buried in email inboxes, and staff spend unnecessary time chasing updates.
The Results
By making better use of Microsoft Teams, the construction firm created a central hub for communication. Engineers could quickly contact office staff from customer sites, and project discussions could take place in a single location. Meetings became easier to organise. Rather than relying on long email chains or missed phone calls, employees had a simple and consistent way to stay connected throughout the day.
Security was another key consideration. Flexible working should never come at the expense of protecting business data. The firm reviewed its Microsoft 365 security settings and introduced sensible controls designed to reduce risk without making life harder for employees.
Multi-factor authentication was enabled to strengthen account security; file-sharing settings were reviewed; permissions were tightened where necessary; and staff were given clear guidance on how to work securely outside the office. The goal was not to create barriers but to ensure the business remained protected while allowing employees to work flexibly.
The impact was immediate. Accessing documents became faster and simpler regardless of location. Engineers had better information available when visiting customer sites. Office staff could work from home with confidence, knowing they had secure access to the same files and systems they used in the office. Communication improved, delays were reduced, and the business no longer felt tied to a single physical location.
As Lewis later reflected, “It stopped feeling like remote working. It just became working.”
Your Next Steps
This is an increasingly common requirement for businesses across Sussex. Whether you operate a construction company, care provider, consultancy, professional services firm or any organisation with staff working across different locations, the challenge is rarely about allowing remote working. The real challenge is making it simple, secure and reliable enough that people can focus on their jobs instead of battling with technology.
Microsoft 365 provides the tools needed to support modern ways of working, but the results depend heavily on how those tools are configured and managed. A well-planned Microsoft 365 environment can help employees access information securely, collaborate more effectively and remain productive wherever they happen to be working.
At Sussex Tech Support, we help local businesses make Microsoft 365 work around the way they actually operate. From SharePoint and OneDrive configuration to Teams adoption, security improvements, staff training and ongoing support, our focus is on making technology practical, secure and easy to use. When remote working is set up correctly, it should feel effortless for your team and allow your business to stay productive wherever work takes you.