3 Tips On Cybersecurity You Can’t Miss

Julie Starr • Jun 30, 2021



Much like business sustainability, cybersecurity is something that all businesses and project managers need to be concerned with every day. Whenever you approach a project, you need to determine the security risks and put measures in place to mitigate them. It is also important that your team is educated on how to operate with security in mind. After all, the vast majority of data breaches happen because of employee errors. You don’t want your project to completely derail because of a cyber attack, especially as this will not only impact your current project, but also it will damage your reputation, which can hurt you going forward. With that in mind, read on to discover more about cybersecurity in projects.

You are a target 

There is only one place to begin, and this is by explaining that you are a target. A lot of people naively have the “it won’t happen to me” approach. This is a dangerous stance to adopt. Everyone is a target. You may think that cybercriminals only target big and lucrative businesses , but that is not the case. They view small companies as an easy hack and, therefore, an easy payday. So, it does not really matter how big or small the firm you work for is, you are still going to be a target, and this is something you need to take very seriously.

Assessing risks

No matter what project management training course you have taken, you will have learned all about the importance of risk management, and this is what cybersecurity falls under. You need to assess all of the risks with regard to the data security of your business. You then need to put steps in place to address any vulnerabilities. You may want to invest in the services of an ethical hacker for this. This is someone that will hack into your system, but they will do it for the purpose of spotting any vulnerabilities so they can be patched up before a genuine hacker finds them and exploits them.

Educate your team members

Last but not least, cybersecurity needs to be a project effort. Make sure your team members are aware of the importance of cybersecurity, as well as the best practices to use. Something as simple as creating effective passwords for cloud solutions needs to be discussed, as not everyone will be doing this with security in mind. Make sure they use a different password for each system, and that this password is changed every three months. It also needs to be a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and special characters.

As you can see, cybersecurity is a major concern for all businesses and project managers, irrespective of the type of company you operate or how many employees you have. The impact of a data breach could be devastating so you need to put steps in place to prevent this from happening. You also need to make sure you have a disaster recovery in the plan so you can move swiftly to minimize damage if the worst does occur.

Is Your Small Business an Appealing Place to Work?

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Bringing passionate, enthusiastic and talented people into your business is obviously a top priority when you’re growing a company. However, the only way to onboard the brightest talent is by ensuring that your brand is an appealing place to work. Driven employees have certain expectations when it comes to choosing their ideal workplace, so you need to show them what you have to offer. Whether you’re looking into your business ethos , or reassessing certain compensation plans, you can do so much to ensure you’re attracting the best possible employees. Consider some of the following methods and your small business will soon be the go-to place for skilled, driven and talented individuals to work. Pay and Benefits Should Be Competitive When you’re running a small business, the idea of paying regular salaries to your employees will always be on your mind. Keeping up with bills and ever rising costs will never be easy, but you have to offer a competitive salary in order to attract the right type of people to your business. You should also consider all elements of a compensation plan so that your employees always feel valued for their contributions at your workplace. It may be worth talking to your current staff members to see what would be most important to them so you can assess it in the near future. Create a Career Development Plan Working towards the next goal is certainly something that most career driven individuals are keen to do. Staying stagnant in the same role for a prolonged period of time can reduce motivation and cause issues with staff retention. Making sure that there are clear progression opportunities will help to bring in the most talented and focused employees who are willing to put in the work and climb the ladder within your business. Adopt an Eco-Conscious Approach More and more employees are looking for workplaces that put the environment at the forefront and actively choose sustainable processes. Taking care of the planet and going green with your business may help you to align with the right talent for your company. Although this might not be the priority of everyone, it’s certainly a very popular value that a number of people carry in the modern day. Working in an environment where sustainability is a priority is extremely appealing and these people will help you to work alongside like minded colleagues within your business. Your small business goes above and beyond you as an individual; it’s also about the people who work for you and the potential employees you could be onboarding very soon. You can be sure that you’re reaching out to the right type of people and attracting the best possible talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits and working in a sustainable way that always keeps the environment in mind too. Hopefully, these ideas will give you a huge advantage when it comes to bringing in new people who would be an asset to your business.

How to Make Clinical Trials More Sustainable

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Running a business means you should know how to follow a sustainable path toward success. But while this is straightforward in some industries, it can be trickier in other professions. One common problem involves scientific businesses and laboratory environments that often struggle to ensure full sustainability and eco-conscious approaches. So how can clinical trials become more sustainable? Here is some advice to consider. Early Planning Planning is always a useful tool when working out how to improve sustainability within any workplace. You already know what you need to do, so why not focus on planning the different stages to ensure you can avoid delays or other problems that could generate wasted resources and electricity? Planning in laboratory settings is arguably even more crucial as the controlled environment requires a careful approach that is entirely error-free to ensure success and genuine results that scientists can use. Digital Solutions Businesses are using digital solutions more often as these can accelerate lessons and help them find accurate information immediately. The same can apply to clinical trials where using AI will reduce costs and provide quick insights into what you have learned, allowing you to make the most of the data without worrying you’ve made a mistake. Furthermore, this approach can avoid delays and reduce the number of people required in the lab at any time, meaning you can use fewer resources and don’t need to worry about getting to and from the lab. Partnerships Partnering with other companies or organizations can also help clinical trials become more sustainable. You can collaborate to share information, which means you have an entire library of data at your disposal without needing to collect it yourself. This can provide fast and efficient solutions and you don’t need to waste time and energy going into the field to collect this data yourself. Finding The Balance As much as clinical trials can improve sustainability, they also need to know how to find the balance. Since many central laboratory services require face-to-face conversation, it’s important to determine when to hold these meetings and invite patients into the controlled laboratory environment. You know you need to collect samples, but you must do as much as possible to avoid wasting resources. Ensuring you get everything right the first time will make a significant difference and help maintain a sustainable approach. Recognizing Where to Improve No business is perfectly sustainable, so understanding where to improve will be a continuous process. Clinical trials and similar environments can identify strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and take a more eco-friendly approach to their work. Although you won’t reduce your emissions or environmental impact entirely, you can do as much as possible to minimize any damage by maintaining transparency and following compliance regulations that put your laboratory in the best position to excel in every area. Sustainable Building sustainable practices is vital for any industry, and scientific environments are no different. These tips should highlight how and why clinical trials can become more sustainable to improve conditions and reduce the impact on the planet while also striving to further humanity’s knowledge and ability to overcome diseases and other issues.
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