Home Office Procedure
A Home Office typically includes high speed internet and a toll-free number that rings to the employees Heifer provided cell phone.
Setup Process
The employee will contact the service provider of their choice and establish an account for high speed internet. If the employee already has internet access that meets or exceeds the specifications outlined in the Service Recommendations section, they can simply use their existing service.
If new service is required, the employee needs to setup service as a Home User, not Business. Business rates are higher than Home User rates and require a contract.
Most service providers are offering some type of bundled package that includes all services at a discounted rate. Due to this new bundled offering, providers cannot generate a separate bill for internet access alone. Therefore, the employee just needs to just submit a request for reimbursement for the service(s) that have been approved by their manager/supervisor.
Service Recommendations
High Speed Internet connections should be a minimum of 10 megabits download speed and 3 megabits upload speed.
We prefer the employee contacts a provider that offers DSL, Cable or U-Verse. For employees that live in rural areas, a Wi-Fi or Wi-Max connection may be the only offering and typically work well. We DO NOT recommend Satellite for internet service unless it is the ONLY option.
Requesting a Toll-Free Number
The Manager of the new employee simply needs to send an email to the Techsupport mailbox requesting a new toll-free and include their cell number. The toll-free number will be activated and pointed to the employee’s Heifer provided cell. It takes 3 to 4 business days to setup a toll-free number. We recommend that the toll-free number be placed on the employees business cards but not until confirmation has been received from Mickey Simpson that the number is active and rings to their cell. This is just in case the number needs to be changed for any reason.
There are multiple options that can be used to pay for services. It will be up to the manager/supervisor to determine the option that is the best fit for their department.
Options
· Employee pays for service with personal funds and submits a request for reimbursement through Concur
· Employee uses their Heifer provided credit card to pay for services
· Manager/Supervisor uses an assigned credit card to pay for the employees services
Additional Assistance
If the employee needs assistance locating a local service provider, calling the service provider or if they are just not sure what questions to ask, he/she can email or call Mickey Simpson (Telecommunications Administrator) at 501.907.2615 and ask for assistance at any time.
Connecting to Heifer’s Network
Once the account has been established and the internet access has been installed, the employee can refer to IT’s Knowledge Base article to learn more about connectivity options. See KB article: http://itskb.heifer.org/article.php?id=243
Here are a few qualifying questions to ask a new employee that will have a Home Office
4 Do you know the speed (i.e. 3MB. 6MB, 12MB, etc.)
5 Who is the service provider
What is Bundling?
Most service providers now offer a bundled solution that allows them to bring all services into a residence on a single digital circuit. AT&T refers to it as U-Verse, Verizon refers to it as FiOS and Comcast refers to it as XFINITY. This is great for the consumer because the more services you select, the better the offering. The only catch is that all of the services are billed on a single statement and they will not generate a separate bill for any one service.
Please email or call Mickey Simpson (501.907.2615) if you have questions concerning any part of the procedure.