Not only are HR departments charged with developing and implementing pandemic safety protocols, onerous budget and personnel reductions, and the rapid transition to remote work, but they must also support a workforce that’s stressed out, less productive, and off-site. This problem predates the pandemic, but it’s taking on renewed importance as companies fight to thrive in an increasingly digital environment.

Employees, contractors, and vendors have unparalleled access to company data, requiring careful adherence to data privacy best practices to secure personal information. Unfortunately, many employees are either unaware of these practices or are unwilling (or forgetful) to regularly implement them into their workflows.

Some of the most iconic brands started during crises. As documented in an Entrepreneur article, the Hyatt hotel franchise launched during the 1957-1958 economic recession. Microsoft was founded during the oil embargo in the mid-1970s, and several prominent tech brands, including Uber and Airbnb, were created during the Great Recession. For today’s entrepreneurs, the lesson is simple: Don’t let these uniquely disruptive times deter innovation. Many are already embracing this mindset.

As digital security and data privacy become increasingly caustic issues, regulatory compliance is exceedingly challenging. Not only are various regions implementing unique standards, but industries, municipalities, and platforms are issuing new guidelines as well. While CTOs have many solutions for ensuring system compliance, the human element remains more difficult to oversee, mandate, and manage.

For many small businesses, a hybrid workforce is the new normal, creating novel opportunities and unique challenges that organizations will need to navigate in the year ahead. Change is never easy, and the past year has been a constant exercise in disruption. From shifting consumer demands to a radical reorientation of workplace structures, most organizations are becoming even more proficient at navigating uncertainty than ever before.

Last year, Gartner estimated that 80% of companies would implement some form of employee-monitoring software, a noteworthy 50% increase in five years. I’m a vice president at an employee-monitoring provider, and the surge in software sales reflects a growing desire for companies of all sizes to achieve oversight in an increasingly digital environment.

Similar to Workpuls (check out our Teramind vs. Workpuls review here), Hubstaff is primarily a timesheet management and productivity tracking solution that has some employee monitoring capabilities such as app and URL tracking, screenshots capture, and basic notifications features.

Many organizations only embrace cybersecurity as a bottom-line business priority after years of unprecedented, expensive and significant data breaches and cybersecurity incidents. More than 80% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) view IT security as a top business concern, and 75% of corporate executives rank cybersecurity enhancements as a pressing issue in the year ahead.

It has been nearly a year since COVID-19 hit the Western world, bringing most of our in-person interactions to a grinding halt. As face-to-face commerce became far less tenable at the old brick-and-mortars, more of our businesses moved to the virtual. With companies no longer able to greet their customers with a smile, the responsibility for maintaining relationships with customers shifted increasingly over to the contact centers.