Since the outbreak of coronavirus, the daily life of everyone has changed, including office workers. From abandoning the office to adjusting to remote working, businesses have had to digitally transform and adapt to working from home. Now, IT support teams are taking constant queries, offering help from afar and handling new challenges.
Here at PureComms we are helping our clients overcome IT challenges presented by working from home, offering 24/7 support as well as business-grade broadband within homes. Our newly launched ‘Pure Home Working’ solution provides a comprehensive telecoms package tailored to our clients including streamlined integration, simplified billing and ongoing support.
Find out more about Pure Home Working >
Home Working IT Challenges
Remote working has brought about significant challenges to IT teams and infrastructure. Some of the main pain points include:
- Poor/inconsistent internet connection. This leads to frustrating video calls, inaccessible data and employees unable to do anything productive.
- Overwhelmed IT support teams. With rapid change and unprepared staff, IT support teams are constantly adapting to new challenges.
- Negative mindsets. Although there are great positives to working from home, workers are reporting higher levels of distraction, loneliness and isolation. Online platforms can help.
- Interrupted file sharing/access. Without accessible office hardware, data sharing may be encumbered.
- Working from home using office devices and sharing sensitive data across personal networks presents security risks.
Tips for Overcoming IT Challenges
For expert advice and telecommunications consultancy, contact PureComms. Our specialist services cover connectivity, communication, IT infrastructure and more.
Here are some top tips for overcoming home working IT challenges:
Prepare
Although most IT departments may have plans for snow days or short-term remote working, most businesses were blindsided by the sheer length and intensity of the Covid-19 lockdown. Businesses who already incorporated homeworking or used integrated collaboration platforms such as Teams and Slack were in better stead for the advent of mass working from home. Similarly, staff that used laptops and cloud file sharing are better suited to the remote working of current.
Let the pandemic be a lesson to the unprepared; ensure IT systems and business processes are available and effective outside of the office.
Bolster Internet Connections
A stable internet connection is the backbone of modern business as without one, employees can be left twiddling their thumbs and business at a standstill. While working at home, many have found their internet connection to be troublesome, yearning for the super-fast speeds they had in the office. Between video games and streaming services, on top of video calls and work functions, home broadband networks have been stretched to the max.
PureComms provide superfast business broadband for employees working at home, ensuring your communications and processes are maintained, regardless of other internet strains. If you are looking for a cost effective solution to your business’ connectivity issues, check out our internet services.
Stay Connected
Aside from the obvious required connection, while working from home, staying connected with others is important, especially for tackling loneliness or feelings of exclusion.
The added benefit of regular check ins with employees is that IT issues may be reported or sorted quicker, as irregularities may be reported or noticed faster.
Additionally, someone may believe the issue is just occurring for them because of their Wi-Fi, for example, when actually it may be a business-wide problem. Communicating IT concerns can help solve larger issues and streamline work.
Have options
In the event of a serious IT challenge, such as the internet going down, it is good to have plans in place. For example, ensure data and documents are backed up regularly so changes or updates do not get lost. This is especially important for cloud storage, where losing internet connection may interrupt uploads or downloads.
Test software and business systems to ensure that if something does go wrong, precious data and information isn’t lost.
Decrease Clutter
Working from home usually means a slightly different desk set up than what employees may be used to. Businesses commonly give employees laptops for homeworking, as they are effective and transportable solutions, however a cluttered screen can inhibit productivity. An additional desktop monitor can aid concentration and comfort.
Similarly, streamlining business processes and reducing the amount of software and platforms used can help productivity. For example, if your business uses Office365 applications, using Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration is a simple, cost effective system.
Improve Video Calls
Replacing face-to-face meetings, video calls are an integral part of working from home. However, between bad signal and background distractions, video calls can become a headache.
To avoid irritating feedback, wear headphones with an integrated microphone, or a fit-for-purpose headset, and mute yourself when not speaking. Wearing noise cancelling headphones has the added benefit of shutting out any distracting noises in the house. For optimum audio quality during your video call, enquire about headsets with PureComms; our team will gladly provide all the equipment you need for successful home working.
PureComms’ equipment services >
Use the Cloud
Cloud storage systems and platforms can be incredibly useful in ensuring employees can access files and software from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection. Being able to access files, collaborate, and securely store information is vital to successful home working.
See more: Moving to the Cloud? Read this First
Get Started with PureComms
If you are looking for a home working IT and telecommunications solution, we can help you. Based in the South West but offering leading expert consultancy and providing infrastructure across the UK, PureComms work with a variety of businesses; large and small, remote and office based. Our specialist team are on hand 24/7 to guide you and resolve issues, whatever the time, providing high availability for a high dependency service.
Get in touch with one of our friendly team today!
