In times of a crisis, whether it is a hurricane, power outage, or a health risk such as the recent spreading of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), business owners worldwide are assessing how they view mandatory/voluntary remote work for their employees’ safety. Beyond modern convenience, having the right remote work environment is key for productivity, but more important is how your collaborative tools are utilized, particularly Microsoft Office 365 and its main hub for collaboration, Microsoft Teams.
At neoRhino, Microsoft Teams has become a necessity for our environment in and out of the office, however it is important to assess what may occur should you need to embrace a remote work philosophy. According to Microsoft, there are three areas of impact that business owners should know about Office 365 when preparing for remote work during a crisis.
Service Availability. Once Microsoft Office 365 has been implemented, sharing and collaborating between workers can be done at any time through your internet connection. Since Microsoft Teams utilizes cloud technology, chat conversations, documents, and user edits are saved and updated in real-time via SharePoint. There has been a significant increase in Teams utilization for Coronavirus concerns, but Microsoft confirms that they have the staff to monitor and adjust resources for businesses to work remotely at scale. You can continue working with the assurance that Microsoft Office 365 and Teams will be there for your business.
Location Availability. Microsoft maintains multiple server locations across the country, including locations in areas more heavily affected by the Coronavirus such as Seattle, Washington. Microsoft engineers their resources so they can be securely administered without directly accessing the physical location. When implementing a remote work philosophy, it is important for your administrators to be able to make the necessary adjustments to your systems in case your office is potentially unavailable to access.
Personnel Availability. Microsoft has SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) available for each individual facet of the Microsoft Office umbrella, with members having access to the necessary tools and resources to continue providing customer service. A formulated on-call plan is in implemented so an agent is readily available to rectify any issues and fill a position if someone becomes ill. When developing a remote working philosophy, evaluating your personnel to ensure that any matters are resolved is crucial, especially if your business involves a call center environment.
Thus, your remote work philosophy would benefit from mirroring these three areas of impact:
- What services do you need to have available remotely? Are there software programs that your employees need remote access to continue working? (Office 365, proprietary software, etc.) Ensure that you have a plan for accessing those required programs while away from the office.
- Evaluate your network administrators are and make sure they have the necessary tools to make any necessary adjustments for your employees to work remotely.
- Have a chain-of-command in place for communication through your entire company when beginning a remote work plan. Microsoft even created a Crisis Communication template on PowerApps that could be of help for your plan.
And finally, for Office 365 adopters, maintaining your organization through Microsoft Teams is key to seamless communication during a potential crisis such as COVID-19. Staying safe while staying in touch is a must and having your employees properly connected through Office 365 and Teams is a method you can trust.
Fill out the form above or contact neoRhino today at 281.779.4850 and trust in our certified IT consultants and 24/7 helpdesk support to keep your workforce connected during a crisis.
