Pros and cons of letting credit union employees access their e-mail remotely
I think we’d all agree that email is a vital tool for all areas of credit union operations. We’d probably also agree that it is not uncommon for work (or the need to work/communicate) does not stop when the credit union doors close for the night or weekend. Allowing remote access to credit union email (whether it be via smart phone, OWA (Outlook Web Access) or some other method) is certainly not uncommon but doesn’t come without risks. If you are evaluating (re-evaluating?) your remote access policy for email then this post is for you.
Let’s start with a general assumption:
- Any remote access privileges should be dependent on the employee’s specific role and need. While it might make sense to provide OWA for the executive or Information Technology staff – it wouldn’t make sense for other areas such as front office staff (although I’ve seen this too!).
With that out of the way, let’s look at the pros and cons of letting credit union employee’s access their email remotely:
PROS
- Faster decisions – Not having to wait until “the doors open” to receive a response to a critical email is a no-brainer. Next steps can be taken and key services or projects can continue to make progress even during off hours