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Important Information About Telecommuting during COVID-19

COVID-19 & Telecommuting

UCI Human Resources: Information for Staff Regarding Coronavirus

As the health and well-being of the UCI community continues to be the University’s number one priority, effective immediately, UCI departments are strongly urged to implement temporary telecommuting arrangements for employees in non-essential positions, performing non-critical business functions in response to the current COVID-19 public health emergency.

The work of some essential positions may be performed remotely and should be considered for telecommuting as well.

Take Care of Yourself

Physical & more health resources

Your physical and mental well-being are very important, particularly during stressful times. Please take care of yourself!

Plan Ahead

Identify the tools, logins, and information you need to do your work

Take some time to make note of what you need to do your job, including:

  • Software
  • Hardware
  • Special equipment
  • Access to specific websites and web applications
  • Access to account information (usernames / passwords)
  • Access to a phone
  • Access to video / webcam services

Do a test run

If possible, arrange to work remotely for a full or partial day as a test run. Try to go through a typical workday and see where you run into barriers.

Some things to try:

  1. Log in to the websites you regularly visit
  2. See if you can access tools and applications you rely upon
  3. Try out a conference call with colleagues over Zoom
    • Test out screen-sharing, breakout rooms, and other Zoom features you may employ in your course of your work
    • Test your microphone and web camera (or camera on your phone, tablet, or other device you may use for Zoom)
    • Test Zoom on multiple devices (e.g. laptop, home computer, mobile phone, tablet) to see what you find most effective
  4. Document any barriers you hit. For example:
    • A website you login to might be restricted to on-campus access only
    • Your internet connection speed is insufficient for certain tools or tasks)
    • You may realize you forgot your voicemail password, and need to find or reset it
Work with your supervisor to identify workarounds.

Identify gaps and seek solutions

After doing a test run to identify gaps in your remote work plan, research solutions on your own or with your colleagues and immediate supervisor. There may be some tasks you simply will not be able to perform away from UCI Health. Make sure to document those tasks and follow up with your supervisor to either identify workarounds or confirm that those tasks will not be done while remote. Discuss how or if you might mitigate any impacts; for example, by alerting others who may depend on a specific task being done and working with them to determine what, if anything can be done to address the gap.

Consider what hardware/software you may need off campus

Here are some scenarios:

  • If you have a UCI Health managed laptops:
    • You can access internal UCI Health information using VPN.
    • For more information see section: Virtual Private Network (VPN)
  • If you have a UCI Health Office PC:
    • You can gain access using RDP from any personal device.
    • For more information see section: Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
  • If you have a personal device with no UCI Health PC:
    • You may need to request access to VDI
    • For more information see section: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
  • If you primarily use Epic applications:
    • You can gain access installing Citrix Remote Access.
  • Please refer to the “Access UCI Health Remotely” section to find out how you can request for these services.

Stay informed: Sign up for campus emergency alerts

  • Everbridge »
    • Everbridge is used to send urgent message by text in the event of a UCI Health emergency.
  • ZotALERT »
    • ZotAlert is used to send urgent messages by text in the event of a campus emergency.

Hold Meetings

Use Zoom

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) provides a way to do work on you UCI Health PC located at the hospital in a remote way from your personal device.

This would apply to staff who have a dedicated UCI Health PC. Does not apply to staff who access a shared device such as a Kioks.

For more information:

To request access, see steps in Requesting for Access Services

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure VDI

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a technology used to create a virtualized desktop environment on a remote server setup. It allows UCI Health staff to remote into a virtual windows environment to do work that you relied on when using a shared workstation at the hospital.

This would apply to staff who relied on Kiosk or shared PCs to do their work.

For more information

To request access, see steps in "Requesting for Access Services"

Citrix External Access

Citrix is a client that provide virtual access to Epic applications in a virtual manner.

This would apply to staff who deal primarily with Epic applications on an everyday basis and are able to install it on their personal or UCI Health issued device.

Follow these steps to install:

First install the client, which can be downloaded here »

  • Next, go to access.hs.uci.edu and log in with your HS credentials (Duo is required)

To request access, see steps in "Requesting for Access Services"

DUO two-factor authentication

DUO is a two-factor authentication that adds a second layer of security to your HS and Campus account. Verifying your identity using a second factor (like your phone or other mobile device) prevents anyone but you from logging in, even if they know your password.

This would apply to all staff, faculty, and students who access any resource from UCI Health or Campus.

For more information:

Requesting for Access Services (Including Remote Desktop, VDI, and Citrix)

  • Request via ServiceNow »
    • Login with your HS account
    • Navigate to Service Catalog > Access > Remote Desktop Access
    • Complete the request form

Collaborate with Colleagues

Chat

Communication between colleagues is vital to accomplishing your task and duties. If you find that you need to chat with a fellow employee find out what chat options are available to them and use that service for conversations.

To learn more:

Document Collaborations

Microsoft O365 provides several ways to collaborate with your team. Microsoft applications that can provide collaboration include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

To learn more visit: