COVID-19, Is your office still open?

One of the key elements of such an approach involves cutting down on daily interactions in the workplace. That means that anyone who can work from home should now do so, thus minimising contact with others on the commute and while in-situ at the office or other place of business. Bearing that advice in mind, is it really necessary for your office to stay open in these challenging times?

Defining “key workers”

As part of its official advice, the government has stressed that all non-essential commerce should either be placed on a temporary hiatus, or else take place from the safety of people’s own homes. However, shutting down activity altogether is clearly not feasible either, since it would cripple public infrastructure, deprive people of basic goods and cause irreparable damage to the economy.

As a result, the government have identified a number of different industries whose employees are deemed “key workers”. These include those involved in critical sectors such as Health and Social care, Education, Public and National Security, Transport, Medicine, Food and Finance.

If your company is not directly involved in one of the critically classed sectors, it’s highly likely that your office should be closed until further notice. This will reduce the spread of the infection between staff and other individuals, and consequently relieve the strain on the NHS.

How can you continue operations outside of the office?

Just because your office should close its doors to help national efforts to contain the pandemic, that doesn’t mean you need to shut down operations altogether. Indeed, the advances made in modern technology mean that many people are already working remotely. According to certain predictions by the Office for National Statistics, as much as half of the British workforce will be working remotely by the end of the year.

With a wide range of technological hardware and software options available to you, there’s no reason that social distancing means your employees can’t still communicate with one another. Indeed, it’s now easier than ever for them to exchange data instantaneously from any location on the planet, coordinate virtual teams from the comfort of their own home and monitor the progress of business performance both individually and collaboratively.

While the arrival of the coronavirus may have accelerated the process of working remotely for you and your staff, it could be a good chance to adjust your company’s modus operandi and ensure your business is equipped for the 21^st century. As such, it’s possible to see the difficulties of the present crisis through the prism of opportunity – respond well now, and your company could be set up to handle whatever comes its way in the future.

For example, does your business make calls via traditional phone lines? With SIP trunking, you can manage all of your telephone calls over a single data connection.

What does this mean? Phone calls – internally and externally – through the internet. Calls can be taken by anybody, anywhere. It typically costs less, and you can even use your existing phone system and handsets. You can make the switch in as little as 24 hours with our SIP trunking service – Aura Connect – which is available globally in 78 countries.

If you need to go remote, there really are so many great solutions.

Equip your business with Aura

At Aura Alliance, we’re committed to providing all businesses with the tools they need to facilitate an effective remote team, in the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. That’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. We work with your business to find out what exactly you need, then create a bespoke, comprehensive and seamless solution.

Want to find out more? Contact our team today to arrange a consultation.