Accounting Temp Services Archives

4 Ways to Cut Down on Internal Employee Data Breaches

Data breaches may adversely affect a substantial part of your customer base and result in large financial losses. Although most people believe cyberattacks are initiated by individuals or groups outside the company, the majority of data breaches result from unintentional or malicious acts by internal employees. Fortunately, you can help reduce the threat of internal employee data breaches by taking action in these four areas.

1. Provide Ongoing Training

Provide ongoing employee training on cyber security. For example, develop policies and procedures for handling confidential information. Train your employees on their responsibilities for enforcing those policies and procedures. Also, discuss ways data breaches may occur if your employees don’t uphold their responsibilities. Have your employees sign a document stating they understand and will fulfill their duties. In addition, remind your employees to not open suspicious emails that may contain malware or view websites that may be used to phish for information. Furthermore, stress the importance of your employees choosing passwords with more than six characters, including symbols and upper- and lowercase letters, changing passwords every 30 days, and not sharing passwords. Additionally, ensure your employees use secure Wi-Fi networks to reduce the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks.

2. Allow Limited Access to Information

Provide your employees with the minimum amount of access to information needed to perform their duties. Because the majority of insider attacks happen 30 days before or after an employee’s last day, your employees may use their email account or VPN login to access your company’s servers. This may open up your company to all kinds of data breaches. Therefore, you should monitor each employee’s email account and VPN login leading up to their last day, if possible, and terminate access once the worker is no longer with your company.

3. Monitor Online Behavior

Monitor your employees’ online activities to uncover unusual activity. For example, review usage reports to proactively identify potential issues and resolve them before they become bigger. Also, communicate with and provide consistent sanctions for employees involved in activities that don’t comply with your company’s policies and procedures. Show your employees why their actions are noncompliant, what potentially harmful consequences could result, and which sanctions will occur if the employees are involved in another potential data breach.

4. Model Company Culture of Cyber Security

Because employees typically follow the behavior of colleagues and executives, every employee at every level needs to model a culture of cyber security. For example, your managers should consistently talk with their teams about how data security requirements align with team members’ work responsibilities to ensure teammates understand the importance of compliance with company policies and procedures. Also, your leaders should request real-time feedback on how effective your information controls are on completing work in a reasonable amount of time to reduce inefficiency.

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Write Better Job Descriptions to Eliminate Gender Bias

Writing accurate and descriptive job summaries is essential for attracting the right type of talent. If your job descriptions are too vague or generic, you may end up attracting a large talent pool that isn’t qualified for the job — and your screening process will take that much longer. Another important thing to keep in mind is the risk of gender bias. Some roles may often be assumed by either men or women, but you cannot discriminate based on sex for any position at your company. You need to make sure your job description conveys that anybody qualified for the position should apply — regardless of gender.

Here are some ways to write better job descriptions to eliminate gender bias:

1. Be mindful of word choice.

Avoid using masculine words in your descriptions, no matter how much you want to emphasize a certain trait or characteristic. For example, avoid using words like ‘assertive,’ ‘decisive,’ ‘driven,’ and other terms that tend to be linked to masculine energies.

2. Highlight must-have skills.

It will be in your favor to prioritize the must-haves and ‘nice-to-haves’ within your job description. Even a bulleted list can make it easier for the candidate to determine whether they are truly qualified for the job. This will help screen out candidates that could be a ‘maybe’ so you don’t have to move forward with an interview.

3. Eliminate nonessential skills.

Unless having an outgoing personality or similar qualities are required to perform the job well, eliminate nonessential skills that tend to turn otherwise-qualified female talent away. Provide a taste of company culture, but you don’t create a job description for a model employee. You want the employee’s unique personality and contributions to benefit your team, so you may not need to create a laundry list of traits, work habits, or personal characteristics as part of the job description.

If you need help with your financial recruiting efforts, consider working with an award-winning staffing firm. Casey Accounting and Finance Resources can help you attract quality candidates.

What Can You Do to Incorporate Contract Workers into Your Corporate Culture?

Hiring contractors is a great way to fill open positions quickly and secure some high-quality employees for various projects. However, contract workers are often faced with the challenge of getting settled into an organization that also has many full-time workers. Since contract workers may only be with the company for few months or a year, they may not feel like they are part of the team and full-time workers may treat them differently.

Use the following tips to incorporate contract workers into your corporate culture.

Make an Effort to Make Workers Feel Welcome

Take the time to meet contractors on the first day to learn more about them. Introduce them to the team and take them out to lunch. You want to treat your workers like they are employees so they can get settled in quickly. Encourage some casual conversation to ease the anxiety some contractors may feel during their first few days. Announce the new contractors before they arrive so employees are aware who they will be working with in the near future.

Introduce Contractors in Person

Even if many of your contractors work remotely or offsite, it’s important that you introduce contractors in person. A face-to-face meeting or introduction can help get workers acclimated with each other and encourage workers to develop a good working relationship.

Outline Responsibilities

The induction process needs to help contractors understand their role in full, and also the responsibilities of their colleagues and team. Take the time to outline these responsibilities or host a meeting so the new recruits are well aware of their job duties.

Encourage an Atmosphere of Collaboration

You want your contractors to be able to contribute value even though they are only with you in the short term. Make sure they are equipped with the tools they need to get the job done and have access to resources and employee contacts who they may be collaborating with on various projects.

Encouraging contract workers to be a part of the organization will involve extra effort to make your workers feel welcome, and outlining responsibilities so everybody understands their role. If you need help finding high-quality financial candidates for contract positions, consider working with an award-winning financial staffing agency and contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources.

4 Skills Every Candidate Needs in Every Industry

If you’re putting yourself out there on the job hunt and want to secure a position sooner rather than later, make sure your prospective employer can identify some key skills and attributes that will make you the perfect candidate for the position. Whether you’re exploring an accounting career or working in finance, your future employer needs someone who is not only a hard worker but also has certain traits that will help them succeed with the company for the long term.

Here are four skills every candidate needs in every industry:

1. Communication

Even though your role may be fairly independent, you may be required to work with other departments, lead a team and collaborate with other staff members on certain projects. Having strong written, verbal and listening skills is critical for your success in any position. You need to be able to relay information concisely and respond to other people’s communications effectively.

2. Empathy and Emotional Awareness

Being able to understand your own emotions, and being aware of the emotions of others is a skill that can be developed. Some people have more emotional awareness than others, and this trait is important in both work and social situations. Being able to relate to someone and looking at their point of view can make it easier to get along.

3. Accountability

Being accountable for your actions is critical in a workplace environment. You need to admit fault and work on finding an effective remedy. Knowing what you are accountable for and who you are accountable to is important in any position. If you are in a management position, you need to enforce accountability among your team members.

4. Teamwork

Working as a team means always contributing your fair share and also making sure you are not taking all the credit for a job well done. Do your best work and bring others up so they can do the same at every opportunity.

When you’re searching for accounting jobs or need some help to take your career to the next level, talk to the professionals at a leading Chicago accounting recruiting firm. Casey Accounting & Finance Resources provides career tools, including assessments and professional resume reviews, to help you find your ideal job. Contact us today!