At a time when contact has to be kept to a minimum during COVID-19, it may seem as if some jobs can only be carried out face-to-face. But innovative use of tech means that those who need to stay away from the frontline can, whilst still working to be of vital support in their roles.
Cultrix recently spoke to a healthcare professional who was enabled to work from home due to their underlying health conditions and need to keep safe. Having never worked from home before, the initial opinion was that homeworking was not possible, since nursing, and the community work this person also carries out as part of their course, can only be done face-to-face.
However, with some thought and innovation, this became entirely possible. The person we spoke to cites their line manager as being particularly supportive and innovative in the process, with an essential role being created for the person working from home to support colleagues remotely who are working in the community.
With remote access to the organisation’s systems, online help and support from a proactive IT team always at the end of the phone, the person is able to take care of admin and other supportive tasks that their team and colleagues in the field require. Not only is their work able to continue to support people during COVID-19, but their development continues to progress them along their path of healthcare expertise.
What was the tech needed to work from home?
Once the role was defined for the person, surprisingly little tech was needed to get them setup for homeworking. An encrypted laptop, access to remote working systems, a smartphone and “a lot of support in navigating the systems” were identified. The role of IT support has been crucial for this person.
“The IT support team are easy to contact by phone or email. They have user guides and online learning resources. They will also talk you through anything if you find the learning packages inaccessible.”
Thinking differently
This is a good example of traditional face-to-face roles being able to be fulfilled by thinking differently about what can be achieved and innovatively deploying tech and resources to the task.
“I never thought I could work from home during COVID-19, but IT makes it possible.”
It’s also interesting to note that this healthcare professional who is discovering technology for homeworking for the first time can see that there could in the future be a much larger role for tech in supporting people in the community.
“If we had the technology, we could offer additional support to older people whilst working from home too, particularly those who are socially isolated.”
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