Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
Google reveals tips to provide safe online experience for children
Excerpts from article by Danny Cyril D Cruze, published in LiveMint.com
Google recently conducted a research which found that parents of children attending school online were more concerned about online safety than ones whose children attended school in-person.
The research was conducted alongside Google’s Trust Research team in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In order to instill some confidence in parents of children attending school online, Lucian Teo, Online Safety Education Lead at Google, revealed a few tips to ensure better safety online.
Among the surveyed parents, the privacy and security of their children’s information was the top concern. Parents cited concerns around scams or hacking of their child’s accounts.
Here are some simple ways to safeguard kids’ information:
1. Strong Passwords
Teach your children how to choose strong passwords that cannot be easily guessed. Avoid simple passwords that use names, birthdates or even favourite cartoon characters. And don’t forget to check your own passwords. It is also useful to stick to platforms that have a strong reputation for user safety.
2. Know who they talk to
It is important for parents to be aware that online social platforms can also be used by ill-intentioned strangers to reach out to children. Just as in real life, it is important to be aware of who children talk to online. In order to help the children, it is important for the parents to talk to them about the games they play or the videos they watch, and also the people they play with online.
According to the survey, in India, 74% of parents with children attending school online during the Covid-19 pandemic expressed increased concern about online safety.
When assessing if a game is suitable for your child, it is important to check not only the content of the game, but also whether the app allows online communication with others. Some multiplayer games allow only a few options for social interaction, like a thumbs up rather than a text chat. This reduces risks of unwanted social interactions.
3. Offer appropriate content at the appropriate age
The fear of children encountering inappropriate content has long been among the top concerns of parents in surveys. There are family safety features that parents can use to help guard their children from content that may not be suitable for their age. In India, Google’s survey showed that 71% of parents are currently using online family safety features.
Some features that you can start using today
SafeSearch on Google helps filter out explicit content in Google’s search results for all searches, including images, videos and websites. It is designed to help block explicit results like pornography from Google search results.
Manage your child’s device by creating a Google account for him/her and using Family Link. This allows you to add filters on Google Search, block websites or only give access to the ones you allow, or track the location of your child if they have their own device.
Many parental controls are available on YouTube Kids. You are able to limit screen time, only show videos that you approve or select suitable content based on the age of your child.
Some other time-tested tips include allowing children to use the internet only in common areas in the home such as the living room.
Career
Employee misconduct: Five steps to reduce risk
Excerpts from article by Jess Bell, published in HCAmag.com
COVID-19 has posed many challenges for HR, among them the heightened risk of employee misconduct. With increased financial strain and less visibility while working from home, employees are more likely to break the rules. The pandemic has opened the door for fraud and serious misconduct. A survey found employees and suppliers were regarded as the most likely sources of fraud.
The increased financial strain on workers should be a real concern for HR professionals. Financial pressure is hitting home with people and it increases the risk of them looking for opportunities to commit fraud. It’s really key for HR leaders and employers to re-engage with their employees, make sure they’re feeling connected to the business and then start training them on those fraud risks so they can speak up when they see them.
Here are five steps for HR leaders to take to minimise their fraud risks:
1. Take a zero-tolerance approach
It sounds simple but reinforcing your company’s zero-tolerance approach to employee misconduct and fraud is a good first step – especially for a remote workforce. For those working from home the majority of the time, it can be easy to feel disconnected from their employers and the rules that are ingrained into a physical workplace. Restating the company policy and realigning that to your cultural values is the key.
2. Don’t underestimate the risk assessment
While big companies undertake regular risk assessments, small and medium firms often overlook their value. Assessing and understanding your risks as a business is the best way to get ahead of them before they materialise. It’s about being productive, trying to assess the business you’re operating in, the environment, your suppliers and your production risks so you can be proactive in identifying problem areas and finding solutions.
3. Encourage employees to speak up
Culture plays a huge part in managing fraud risks, fostering a workplace where employees have trust in the system. HR should be communicating those safe speak-up channels to ensure employees know where to turn if they suspect misconduct. Creating robust internal reporting channels through HR is a minimum, but many major employers are complementing that with external speak-up hotlines too. When it comes to a large fraud or corruption or an issue like systemic bullying or sexual misconduct, people feel safer reporting it to an externally managed hub.
4. Act!
Timing is critical, people look at the way you respond to issues so if you’re not responding in a timely manner or you’re not responding at all, then that will erode trust in the organisation. Reporting channels and a strong culture go down the drain if serious misconduct is ignored. It’s important to communicate clear, decisive action from the top down to maintain that zero-tolerance approach.
5. Go one step further
The fifth step is about building capability across your organisation through education and training. This includes looking for opportunities to do more face-to-face training and get people back in the office, or connecting with employees to reaffirm the workplace culture, policies and procedures.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
Like this post? For more such helpful articles, click on the button below and subscribe FREE to our blog.
Download our mobile app, ICS Career GPS, a one-stop career guidance platform.
