Are you work-from-home ready?

How to work securely and confidently from home on your PC or Mac with Office 365

Chances are, you’re reading this post from your home office, kitchen table, or couch now that employers around the world have asked most of their employees to work from home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in our communities. With your laptop literally on your lap or mobile device in your hand, how do you know if you have the technology to be fully functional to communicate and collaborate with your team, and serve your constituencies, such as partners, vendors, clients, and students with minimal disruption?

I teach the world's smartest people how to use their technology, including Bill Gates' executive support team and employees from major brands and organizations such as Microsoft, Starbucks, SAP, Ericsson, The New York Times, Stanford University, UK's Parliament, among many others. Evolving cloud-based technologies over the last ten years have prepared my clients for the lock down situation we're currently facing.

For those using Microsoft Office 365 for PC or Mac, this list will validate your work-from-home (WFH) readiness. You’ll be able to download the corresponding checklist if you need more guidance.

These can also serve as guidelines for organizations to help employees get WFH-ready and job candidates who need to gain virtual technology skills.

You are work-from-home ready if you can:

Access email using Outlook from anywhere

• On your laptop: Use Outlook on your laptop as you typically do
• In the browser: Launch Outlook from Office.com
• On your mobile device(s): Use the Outlook mobile app on your phone or tablet

Access your files using OneDrive

• On your laptop: Confirm that the documents you create are stored in your OneDrive app on your laptop and NOT stored on your Desktop or in My Documents folder
• In the browser: Access all your documents using the OneDrive app on Office.com
• On your mobile device(s): Access your documents using the OneDrive mobile app

Access team files using Microsoft Teams

• On your laptop: Use channels in Teams to access and sync team files to your laptop.
• In the browser: Save, access, and sync team documents using the Teams app on Office.com
• On your mobile device(s): Use the Teams app on your mobile device to navigate to the team's channel and view team files.

Communicate using Teams chat, calls, and meetings (formerly Skype)

• On your laptop: Use Teams chat, audio and video features to communicate effectively and conduct virtual meetings.
• On your mobile device(s): Use Teams chat messaging, audio, and video features to communicate and meet on the go.

Next steps

If you're already using Office 365 , you have all the technology you need to deliver results from anywhere, anytime. The next step is to increase yours skills and confidence in how to use them.

Here's your WFH-readiness homework

1. Download the free Office 365 WFH Checklist to practice navigating Office 365 technology on your devices.
2. Attend the Work from Home with Office 365 virtual course to boost your productivity and work securely and confidently from anywhere.