Submitted by Ken Dwight on
We've all been inundated in the past few days with e-mails, articles, news stories, blog posts, webinars, advertisements, and lots of misinformation about the current worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. One of the most common (and reasonable) responses by many businesses is to have their staff work from home as much as possible.
Preparing your clients for telecommuting
While some businesses and other organizations already had some mechanism in place for remote work, or telecommuting, many did not. As a result, they are in desperate need of our help to set up that environment for them. This blog post includes two resources from other, reputable vendors that can help you transition your clients into a secure, user-friendly telecommuting environment.
Checklist from LifeCycle Insights
The first resource comes from my friends at LifeCycle Insights. They have designed a sample assessment for companies to review their needs for "Telecommuting Technology." Their platform, if you're using it, allows you to give the assessment, but they have also created a .pdf version of it that you can use for free. You may download that form from Telecommuting Technology. When you click on that link, you will need to enter your e-mail address, and the form will open in your browser. I recommend that you save the form, so that you can use it as many times as necessary without having to download it every time. Any questions, you may contact them directly at e-mail.
Free training from Bigger Brains
The other vendor that has stepped up to help our clients is Bigger Brains, led by my friend Chip Reaves. Their library of training videos includes many that are helpful for everyday needs, but they are featuring one in particular to help deal with this situation. That is their training on Microsoft Teams, which they are making available to you and your clients free of charge.
If your clients are using Teams for their staff to work remotely, but it's new to them, this training is an excellent way to get them started and productive in the shortest possible time. You may find the details of this training, and several download links, at Bigger Brains. Thank you, Chip Reaves and Bigger Brains!
We're all here to help
Our clients are counting on us to help them work through this challenging situation. I'm happy to share these resources with you, and you have the vendors' permission to pass them along to your clients as you deem appropriate.