You can see the image of a Corona virus. The image says "Home Office Guide for Business".

Home Office Guide in times of the coronavirus - working fast and safe from home

Current news about the corona virus is piling up. Many send their employees to the home office - but for many industries this is simply impossible. On various platforms there are lists of digital tools for the home office. But in almost all of these articles, the security aspect is missing! The cybercriminals, on the other hand, are probably not so good-natured and suddenly stop looking for security holes. Not even the authorities stop at our privacy. Our Home Office Guide will help you to introduce Home Office in your company safely and quickly

The world stands still and the streets are empty. Companies are closed or are faced with the decision: "What do we do now? Should I send my employees to the home office? Do we close down completely for safety's sake?"

No matter where you look, you will see the latest news about SARS-COV-2 - a newly identified corona virus that causes the respiratory disease COVID-19. Everyone is screaming "Send your employees to the home office! #stayhome" - but for many industries this is simply impossible. In addition, many companies have not yet arrived in the digital world and first have to digitalize their processes. After all, there was always something more important, right? We know this thought from ourselves.

Then there are always lists of digital tools on various platforms to implement new home office structures. But with almost all of these contributions, the security aspect is missing! The cyber criminals, on the other hand, are probably not so good-natured and suddenly stop looking for security holes - just because there is a state of emergency.

For this reason, we have decided to create a 5 point plan with recommendations for action to help companies build a secure home office environment.

Think, assess, evaluate, decide!

Yes, we know that too. Two weeks ago, we were faced with a challenge: We urgently needed a cloud-based telephone system and almost hastily decided on a variant that does not meet our high security standards.

Many companies are currently making such hasty decisions. Be it the choice of tools to be used in the home office (free is not always the most important factor!) or the fundamental question of whether or not employees should work from home.

Many managers are afraid of losing control in the process: "I don't see my employees and therefore can't understand what they are doing or whether they are doing anything productive at all. - said one manager who was insecure about sending her employees to the home office.

With these blog posts we try to intercept exactly these uncertainties and to show real options for action.

A woman sits with headphones in front of her laptop and waves into the screen. Next to her is a cocktail glass

What are the reasons for enabling employees to have a home office:

More productive work:

Employees can train their own self-management skills in the home office, as they now (must) gain more control over their own working hours. After all, there are now no colleagues who can circle around you and distract you. Admittedly, with children in the home office, there are quite different challenges. Nevertheless, employees develop their own work routines, now have greater freedom of action and have to take more personal responsibility for their tasks. Under the right conditions, they can therefore experience productivity growth.

More focused work:

You will certainly miss the conversations with your colleagues, but let's face it: without the constant small talk across the screen, you can concentrate much better. Office noise means employees have to multitask inefficiently. Therefore, tasks that require high concentration often fall more easily at home.

Higher satisfaction through better work-life balance:

It is not only the assumption of responsibility and one's own "feel-good zone" at home that leads to higher satisfaction among employees. The elimination of long journeys to work can also make a significant contribution to the work-life balance.

The average commute to work takes 44 minutes. This already makes up around one and a half hours a day. Extrapolated over the entire week, this makes almost a full working day. This means that home office employees have more time for family, friends and hobbies - while maintaining social distance, of course.

Since your employees no longer have to worry about traffic jams, inconsiderate drivers or full trains and no longer have to be late, the stress potential is automatically reduced. Not to mention the positive factor for the environment.

A man sits with his son on his lap at the laptop and talks on the phone. In the background you can see a woman working at a desk with a girl

Larger network:

Companies that manage to establish the home office in the company now in the acute phase may gain a decisive advantage for the future: Those who demonstrate flexibility with regard to the place of work can access a much larger pool of employees from all over Germany (or even from all over the world). In this way, companies can expand their network of partners and freelancers and thus also gain greater flexibility in terms of time.

How does the "Corona crisis" affect luckycloud?

Our focus is not only on data security but also on the safety and health of our employees and society. That's why we have decided that all our employees work in the home office.

There will be no significant restrictions - our employees and systems will remain available to you as usual.

However, please note the following information:

  • The support response time may take a little longer than usual due to many requests.
  • if you wish to receive advice by phone, please make an appointment by email to support@luckycloud.de.

Our recommended action guide for home work

In our further articles you will find out what you have to consider when choosing digital tools. After all, not only hackers benefit from the situation, but also the authorities. Everything is currently developing in a dangerous direction that reminds us of the surveillance affair - at least as far as the data protection issue is concerned.

The third part deals with the "preparation phase" after digital tools have already been selected. Working in the home office initially takes getting used to for many. To ensure that a virtual team can work as efficiently as possible and does not end up in chaos right at the beginning, rules are needed. Managers may also be exposed to situations that they have not yet experienced.

We will then give you an overview of how you can quickly enter the home office with luckycloud. Here we give you recommendations for action based on our many years of experience with customers.

In these difficult times we try to support and advise all our customers. If you have any questions on any topic, please feel free to contact our support team. We try to help within our possibilities and ask everyone: Please do the same before it is too late! Here I am not only talking about our health, but also about our privacy, data protection and data security.

Support the German economy - together we are strong!

We would be happy if our articles were distributed, because currently editorial offices, publishers, bloggers, influencers do not sufficiently address the topic of data protection and helpful recommendations for action are missing. We should also support the German economy by focusing on German solutions and not on the "Big Five". Also from a technical perspective, it is advisable not to rely only on the usual suspects, because as we have all heard in the media, even the big companies are struggling with capacity problems and server failures.

With this in mind, stay healthy and enjoy reading our articles, which we hope will help you.

Author: Santana Michael

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Coronavirus 5 point plan from luckycloud
-Home Office secure and successful implementation

Part 1:
The fastest and safest way to the home office
-Corona-Home Office Guide from luckycloud and the advantages of working from home

Part 2:
Corona crisis becomes surveillance affair 2.0
-Data protection checklist for digital tools
Part 3:
Working from home without loss of control
-Leading virtual teams digitally, independent of location
Part 4:
In 3 steps set up cloud storage in your home office with luckycloud
-Secure cloud storage from Germany for your home
Part 5:
Using cloud storage in the home office
-Exchange data securely and easily in a team with luckycloud

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