UJET Tips for Work From Home Remote Agents

As companies begin work from home and remote work policies, we’ve seen questions about how employees can be as productive at home. The first thing support organizations need to do is trust employees. The second is to provide the tools and guidance to complete the necessary tasks.

Contact-Center-as-a-Service platforms don’t require locally installed specialized contact center software, while agents simply need a stable internet connection, browser, and compatible headset to communicate with consumers.

For agents transitioning from on-premises support to a remote-based environment, here are our tips to be successful as a work from home employee experience.

UJET’s IT Best Practices

Ideally, agents will use the same workstation laptops that they use in the office and retain control over whitelisting or blacklisting, installed applications, and device and browser permissions.

If agents don’t have access to a work laptop, it’s possible for them to use personal computers if the support platform is accessible through an internet browser and they follow these best practices outlined below.

Laptop Workstation Programs and System Requirements

Laptops should have a minimum Intel Core i5 processor or equivalent AMD Ryzen processor. Additionally, the laptop should have at least 8 GB of RAM. Windows 10 or OS X operating systems are standard for most agents and provide all necessary options by default.

Each laptop will have the default operating system internet browser, Windows 10 has Edge and OS X has Safari, but your CCaaS platform may be compatible with other browsers like Chrome or Firefox. It’s recommended that agents ensure that notification access is enabled. The UJET platform uses Chrome’s notifications. Agents should check to make sure they are using the latest browser version available.

While using home WiFi is preferred, it can be unstable, in which case agents should use a wired internet connection. If you do not have an ethernet port on your laptop, get a USB hub that includes an ethernet port. This is recommended for newer laptops that have removed the ethernet port.

Don’t run network or system intensive apps on the same workstation. Streaming music and video will devour available bandwidth. Also, be aware of large downloads or uploads as they also use a lot of bandwidth.

Network requirements

Bandwidth

2 Mbps Download and 2 Mbps Upload.

The minimum acceptable bandwidth is 1 Mbps. If the agent is sharing the internet connection, they should prevent any streaming or large file download during working hours. This could affect call and connection quality.

Firewalls

Make sure your home firewall isn’t blocking any URLs or IP addresses. If you can, set device priority for your laptop to ensure a stable connection on your router.

Browser Extensions

Disable any 3rd party browser extensions that block 3rd party integrations.
Examples: AdBlock, Ghostery, AdBlock Plus, etc

Audio

Agents should use a compatible headset that comes with a microphone. Avoid battery-powered Bluetooth headsets as voice and sound quality can suffer from unstable connections and the battery could fail at a critical moment.

Recommended Features

• Binaural – Audio in both ears cuts down on background noise
• Noise-cancelling microphone
• Noise-cancelling headset
• USB connection

Suggested Headphone Brands

• Jabra
• Logitech
• Plantronics
• Sennheiser

Security and Compliance

Agents should follow guidelines set by security and compliance to ensure that remote work and personal device use is following all necessary rules and regulations.

The Security and Compliance team should provide clear guidelines for remote workers to follow and make sure these are easily accessible.

Streamline Access With Modern Platforms

Agents can be successful in the office or working from home. The ability to access an entire suite of tools inside one platform is the first step. A cloud-native platform gives agents the freedom to work anywhere as long as they have access to a stable internet connection and can communicate with consumers.