By Jill Nagy
As business owners prepare to re-open in a changed world, many are turning to office designers for guidance in meeting new requirements for minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
Dorothy Rogers-Bullis and her business drb Business Interiors in Saratoga Springs offers her own office as an example. Several employees are still working remotely. She encourages others to work in the office at alternate times. When clients arrive, they are asked to sign in and out, wear face masks and have their temperatures taken.
“People want to get back to work,” she said. “Some people work really well at home” but, in general, “not a lot of good work gets done at home.”
There are too many distractions. In addition, people working at home miss the connections, collaboration and creativity of a shared workplace.
Lisa Boyle of the Boyle Group in Ballston Spa advises clients on how to reorganize their work space.
For example, in an open office plan with everybody at eye level, desk and tables have to be moved apart, she said. Often, barriers are needed. The result is a reduced capacity.

by mark shaw
As anyone with small children at home will tell you, this working at home thing is not all it is cracked up to be. Parents are now employees, educators, day care and much more.
This means more than ever we are relying on technology to get our work done. With everyone leaving the office and its technology security blanket, we are opening doors to cyber-attacks.
I know what you are thinking, another article about cyber security and how everything we are doing now is terrible. That is not really the case at all. The facts so far have proven that there has been no major spike in cyber crime, but that does not mean we should not consider some simple and easy ways to work at home safely.
There are several small steps you can do to protect yourself and your company’s data. If you are an employer, you can use this time to refresh what might be an outdated training program.
Consider a cyber-security training program. Even a technology firm like ours still does education for all our staff. OrbitalFire Cyber Security does a great job training, educating, and testing our staff to ensure we all know the basics in the ever-changing battlefield against the bad guys. First thing is always training. All the technology in the world cannot fix human error.

NBT Bank has expanded its services to include full branch lobby access with the implementation of protocols to protect the safety of its employees and customers.
The bank had its lobbies closed for business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing ATMs, the internet and drive-through windows for services.
Appointments are no longer required for customers to visit a branch lobby.
“NBT has spent weeks developing a careful approach that both expands branch access and ensures that our employees, customers and communities remain safe,” said NBT Bank President of Retail Community Banking Joseph R. Stagliano. “Thoughtful consideration has included a market-by-market analysis of conditions, close coordination with local government and health officials and strict adherence to state and federal guidelines.”