Preparing to Work Remotely

At UCalgary, the health and safety of our community is our number one priority. The COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, and business continuity planning is ongoing.

Guidelines and resources for employees and leaders on working remotely: 

All faculty and staff are expected to take steps to ensure that they have the ability to work remotely. Please take immediate action to ensure you will have the capability to login and ensure data transmissions are secure.

  • If you have a University of Calgary-issued laptop, please follow the necessary protocols to securely connect from home. 
  • If you do not have a University of Calgary-issued laptop, we request that you use your personal desktop or laptop. You will need your UCalgary IT Asset Tag prior to contacting IT for remote access assistance. This tag is found on your university-issued device. If you unable to come into the office, please ask a colleague to send you the asset tag number. 
  • Employees who require their desktop computing equipment at home are required to complete the IT Equipment Agreement.  Senior Leadership Team members (Dean or AVP) will receive notification that the employee has removed equipment from the workspace. 
  • Once you have your asset tag number, please call the helpdesk to set up access from your home computer.

The IT Support Centre will be available from 8am to 8pm from March 17 – 20. We anticipate high volumes of calls to the support centre in the coming days and appreciate your patience as we work to support you during these challenging times. 

Additional protocols and guidance for remote access are available. 

Improve your ergonomic approach.  Watch a series of videos to help you setup a proper workstation 

 

Faculty and Staff

  • Contact Information – You should provide multiple forms of contact information to your leader (personal home phone, personal mobile phone, and personal email). Please also update your contact information in PeopleSoft, which is viewable to HR representatives and your manager.  
  • Create a workspace at home that considers the following:
    • A quiet space for when you’ll be on calls or video meetings
    • A place you can keep your UCalgary information secure
    • A comfortable, safe work set-up, considering ergonomics
  • Be cyber security aware: 
    • Ensure all your devices are patched and running antivirus that is up to date at home and work 
    • Be aware that bad actors will take this opportunity to phish you through email to compromise your accounts and data - prevent phishing
    • For more information, please see IT Cybersecurity.
  • Commit to speaking with someone on your team at least once a day to avoid feeling isolated. Be deliberate about building in time and permissions to connect on a personal level to discuss stories and interests/hobbies – just like if you were at the campus.
  • When working from home, it can be easy to get distracted with household and family. Create a routine and schedule that works for you. Establish times when you will focus only on work and breaks when you can allow or accommodate home distractions. 
  • Know when to stop – Commuting to and from work establishes clear boundaries for your work schedule. Remote work has the potential to blur the lines between work and personal life. Discuss with your leader and team the boundaries of work and personal time.
  • Some parents may request to bring their children into the office. Given the OHS concerns with having children in the workplace, we will not be permitting this practice.
  • Personal wellness – Like always, take short breaks every so often to move, re-hydrate, step outside and get some fresh air 
  • Focus on making each day working from home just as productive as a day at the university campus.

If you are working from home, consider the following LinkedIn Learning courses for tips on how to be productive and managing your team from a distance.

Supervisors

  • Check in with your employees regularly to ensure that they have a good work setup at home, conducive to productively and safely working remotely.
  • Leaders should remain in regular communication with their employees regarding work priorities, deliverables, timelines, etc.  Identify which upcoming meetings can/should be rescheduled and which should proceed using remote meeting technology.
  • Leaders need to continually communicate goals, initiatives and ‘what matters most’. Regularly share and track how the team is meeting its group goals and objectives.  Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) should be a key guide for us in this regard.
  • Use video conferencing.  This will help the team feel more connected to you and each other. Develop a process that encourages everyone to have cameras on during team calls. Not only will cameras help you feel more connected, but they will make meetings more productive. 
  • Meeting etiquette – Have a purpose for each meeting and an agenda you stick to. Facilitate the meeting in such a way that minimizes people talking over each other and make sure everyone has an opportunity to share and be heard. 
  • Continually look for ways to make things better. Check in with your team to see if the team norms that you established are leading to the outcomes you intended. If not, adjust them.
  • Direct staff to UCalgary ergonomics resources