The COVID-19 virus and response are affecting all aspects of life, including how we work. In reply to this crisis, companies are asking their workers to work remotely until the crisis diminishes. Work from home recommendations from the CDC and other government agencies are, by all indications, going to become the new normal.
If your company doesn’t have experience with remote work, there are several critical things to think about as you set up a remote work strategy. You are currently under time constraints when it comes to enacting an action plan, so think about ways to leverage the tools, procedures, and technologies you already have in place.
Issues with technology may not get resolved as quickly as they would in the office and can make it difficult to work remotely. There are 5 things you must take into consideration when setting up a remote workforce.
- Bandwidth: A good standard for home internet bandwidth is 50 Mb download, 5 Mb upload speed. If employees access your office computers, the office will have much higher upload requirements.
- Hardware: The basic hardware components necessary are a computer/laptop, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a docking station, and a printer. Other standard business components include cables, modems, port replicators, etc.
- Software: The suite of voice and collaboration tools under the Unified Communications umbrella can keep the ‘office’ humming, even while everyone is remote. Services for real-time collaboration can also boost productivity.
- Sharing Data: Next would be how employees are going to access and share their files. VPN may be a requirement for some applications. Cloud services like Microsoft Office 365, Google G Suite, and WebEx can be a good fit as well.
- Operational Procedures/HR Policies: Executives need to ‘sponsor’ changing the operational policies and procedures to include remote work standards and expectations. Many organizations have informal remote working policies and standard communication vehicles are used with no adjustments to suit off-site workers. These need to be defined and rolled up to Human Resources and your IT leadership or vCIO.
Find out why TrinWare can help with working remotely.