People are working from home and social distancing has become our new reality. Companies are wondering how to keep business running close to normal while ensuring the safety of their employees. Creating a successful remote working environment is critical for reducing frustration during trying times, protecting and securing essential data, and allowing for accessible and ongoing communication between coworkers and your customers. The team and VIP IT has prepared a checklist for remote work best practices to help you through these trying times.
LAPTOPS & TABLETS
Any employees currently in possession of company-owned laptops or tablets, please take those devices home daily and confirm your ability to access necessary work resources from those devices without issue. Don’t forget to bring your power adapter home every night, so you are prepared to work from home if/when instructed to do so.
HOME COMPUTERS
For users who might have a home computer they use or can use to access corporate resources, ensure they can connect and access the needed applications and resources without issue. If your team needs assistance getting this setup, please open a ticket with VIP IT.
REMOTE ACCESS
VPN: For those who connect remotely via VPN, test that you can access all resources needed. If, for some reason, you can’t remember how to use VPN or need some assistance operating it, please don’t hesitate to open a support ticket.
COMMUNICATION
The phone system currently leveraged in your office may offer a softphone/smartphone application to work remotely as an office phone remotely. Check with your phone vendor. If not, establish a way to communicate and conduct business outside the office environment. VIP IT can help you install a phone system to meet your needs.
COLLABORATION
If your organization has remote collaboration tools, ensure all users that require collaboration have licenses and software installed. If not, please reach out to VIP IT, and we can run through the various options available.
WEB ACCESS
Ensure all users are aware and up to date on how to access lines of business applications in the cloud that do not require VPN. Productivity tools may include Office 365, G-suite, Hosted Exchange, BOX, One Drive, etc.
SECURITY
Ensure ALL devices that are accessing corporate resources have malware protection and scheduled scanning enabled. COVID-19 phishing emails are on the rise!
These are uncharted times for us all, but together we can get through this with as little disruption to normal life as possible. The VIP IT team is here to help you through this transition. Contact us today to prepare your team for working remotely.
