Q: What should we know about “Working from Home” give the recent virus pandemic going on?
A: Businesses are struggling to decide how to prevent their employees or themselves from being exposed to the coronavirus outbreak that was just announced as pandemic! As a general rule, if you have ANY symptoms of a flu or are concerned with getting sick, you should avoid going to work.
I am sure you heard and read this many times already, but your best protection is prevention. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash your hands often, especially before you eat. Clean and disinfect the touched areas using a spray or wipe.
Now, there are many questions that come to mind when considering working from a remote location:
Can your company be fully functional remotely?
There are many factors involved here. I am not going to make this a technical blog but at a high level, these are the items you should consider:
- Do you have proper security measures to protect your data at work?
- Do you have a secure way to access your data at work?
- Can your data be in the cloud with a secure access method?
- Is your email accessible over public Internet?
- How would you protect your sensitive data/PII from getting compromised?
- Do you or your employees have proper Internet access?
Do you need to provide technology support to your employees to be able to work from home?
- Most people have enough Internet bandwidth at home to work remotely but you should provide the additional funding in case any upgrade is needed
- You should provide a company computer, if possible, to make sure the equipment used to access your company has proper software and protection
- Additional peripherals such as printers or scanner might be required for the employee to work effectively from home. This includes a router and/or firewall
How do you measure employees work habits/results?
Some of the recommendations could be:
- Provide a guideline on your work requirement and expect result
- Specify working hours
- Get status update from them on a daily basis via email
- Make sure they are available via chat/phone as needed
- Make sure they have proper headset if they are required to use the phone a lot
Should I stop all company travel plans until further notice?
Yes, if you can. There are many ways, a lot of them free, that you can do video conferencing. In most cases, in person meetings are not necessary
Is it fun to work from home?
Well, it could be rewarding but tough at times. You could get a lot more done if you are disciplined and organized. Make sure to allocate a designated area that is secluded and quiet. Do not be in your PJs and dress to impress. Take it seriously when you work from home.
Well, this is a tough time and we all must take this issue seriously. Try to boost your immune system by eating healthy food, exercise, and practice good hygiene. We are all in this together.
At CEO Computers we can answer all your questions, analyzes your environment and prepare your business to handle any adversities.
Give us a call at (818) 501-2281 or email us at info@ceocomputers.com for more information.
We serve Los Angeles, CA or any of the surrounding areas such as, Arcadia, CA, Burbank, CA, Chatsworth, CA, Culver City, CA, Downtown LA, Encino, CA, Glendale, CA, Hollywood, CA, Los Angeles, CA, North Hollywood, CA, Pasadena, CA, San Fernando, CA, Santa Monica, CA Sherman Oaks, CA Tarzana, CA Universal City, CA, Van Nuys, CA, West LA, Woodland Hills, CA and more
