Essential Tech for Work from Home Arrangements

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the World Economic Forum estimated 9.8 million of the United States’ civilian workforce conducted work from home arrangements. In response to the spread of the disease, governments around the world have implemented different degrees of lockdowns that have forced numerous businesses to adopt remote work set-ups. For employees to remain productive and make the most of the situation, there are essential technologies for work from home arrangements that businesses can provide their people.

Personal computers

A lot of industries that have the capability to adapt work from home arrangements do their work on PCs. Companies that already issue laptops to employees can consider allowing them to take their machines home, while procuring laptops for employees that are not assigned one. Depending on the type of work and software applications necessary for an employee to perform their duties, permitting them to use their personal machines for work is another possibility. 

If an employee, for whatever reason, can only use a desktop computer instead of a laptop, it would be a good idea for a business to ensure that the employee’s set-up has the following: 

• An uninterruptible power supply – A UPS is an electrical device that provides emergency power when input power is lost. Something like a short-term battery, it allows anything connected to it to run for a short amount of time. In cases of a power outage or power surge, a UPS can provide valuable time for work on a desktop computer to be saved to internal storage safely. 
• A webcam – Unlike laptops that have built-in webcams, desktop computers require a separate webcam peripheral. 
• Headset or microphone and speakers – desktop computers also do not have built-in speakers and a built-in microphone. Users have to be provided their own. 

Whether an employee uses a laptop or a desktop, it is a good idea for them to regularly back up their computers. Computers, like all machines, inevitably malfunction. A business and an employee don’t want to be caught in the unfortunate position of losing work because of equipment failure, power disruption, or security malfunction. 

Apps for communication

It is important for co-workers to communicate with each other when performing their duties. It is also imperative for a leadership team to have an open channel to communicate with the company.  If face-to-face conversations and physical meetings in a conference room to discuss work-related matters are not possible, there are various software applications for communication that can be used as substitutes. 

• Instant Messaging/Group Messaging can be used to communicate individually or to groups
• Audio/Video Conferencing can replace physical meetings in conference rooms 
• Remote Desktop Sharing/Control can be used to grant another person control of an employee’s computer. This can be useful for scenarios in helping a co-worker who requires access to their actual machine. A good example is a situation when technical support needs to diagnose a problem in an employee’s work laptop.  

There are various applications available that a business can choose from that can perform one, two, or all three of these capabilities. Slack and Skype are popular choices for messaging and audio/video conferencing, with the latter allowing remote control access. TeamViewer is an app that does Remote Desktop Sharing/Control with very little configuration. Zoom, an app that has become extremely popular amidst the global pandemic can do all three.

Project management tools

Even without teams working remotely, effective project management is a challenge. Workgroups within a company probably already use one project management tool or another to track project schedules, employee tasks, upcoming meetings, etc. With the inability to discuss things in a room as a team, keeping track of deadlines, critical tasks, and work progress become more significant to the success of a project. 

There are several project management tool options that can provide the capability for a “remote only” team to manage a project successfully, but as they say, a tool is only as good as its user. Whether a team is using Monday or Jira to plan, run, and track its work, there must be a buy-in from the team to use the tool consistently.

The Coronavirus has forced businesses into a position where allowing employees to work from home has become a necessity. A  March survey conducted by the law firm Seyfarth showed that 67 percent of businesses, who previously did not have any work from home arrangements, are taking steps to encourage their employees to do so.  Choosing the right technologies will make remote work an advantage in these trying times:  it can keep employee productivity as close as possible to pre COVID-19 levels, and maintain the business’ operational efficiency and competitive edge.