Teleworking Best Practices

As part of our ongoing efforts to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our critical services, I am providing you with important information and guidance on teleworking, the deployment of mobile devices, and new and potential future changes to network usage.

In planning for the event where our staff may be asked or required to work from home, the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB) has been working with Shared Services Canada to maximize Internet bandwidth to support remote work. While improvements have been made, our network does not have the capacity to handle the volume of remote access that would be required for all ESDC employees to telework.

Reducing stress on the network

I encourage anyone connecting to follow Teleworking Best Practices to help to reduce the load on ESDC’s network. For instance, you can:

  • Make copies of documents you need to work on (e.g. SharePoint, shared drives) while you are not connected to the network. When you reconnect, upload the documents to their original locations. Make sure to inform your colleagues of the documents you are working on in order to avoid version control issues.
  • Download large documents outside of normal business hours.
  • Use social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) on your personal computer and not while connected to the ESDC network.
  • Refrain from using online training materials (video or audio courses). Log off the network or use your personal computer for these, if possible.
  • Cancel all non-critical online meetings. If a meeting is critical, limit the participants to only those who are absolutely required to attend, and use teleconferencing instead of videoconferencing and Skype for Business video calls, wherever possible. Send documents required for the meeting in advance so that meeting participants can have the documents stored locally prior to the meeting.
  • Use alternate forms of communications that do not require a Virtual Private Network (VPN). For example:
    • If you have an ESDC mobile phone connected to your work email, use it whenever you can.
    • Use Blackberry Messenger Enterprise (BBME) for communications, including video calls.
    • Use public cloud services to collaborate with colleagues on unclassified work
      (e.g. FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, Google HangOuts, Slack, etc.).

With demand for remote access to the network expected to increase considerably over the coming days, we will be monitoring usage closely. Measures to restrict access to functions and employees supporting critical services may be taken as and when required. Even if you have a mobile device and remote network access, you may not always be able to log on, as access may need to be reserved for employees supporting these critical services. In an effort to free up network capacity, we have also temporarily blocked video streaming via remote access.

Mobile devices and remote network access

A prioritization framework has been developed in concert with every branch and region, which identifies key employees and the equipment that they require in order to continue to provide critical services to Canadians, no matter what situation we face in the coming weeks. This effort has identified more than 8,000 employees who support the Department’s critical services. Efforts are now underway to equip these employees with remote access and devices needed to telework, in priority order, and in waves of deployment to match our supply of equipment. Both of the Department’s remote access methods (AppGate and VPN/FortiClient) will be used to enable employees to telework on short notice, and to balance out the Department’s capacity.

Any urgent requests for mobile devices or remote network access related to COVID-19 should be channelled through the Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office in your branch or region, which will forward them to the National Emergency Operations Centre. We want to ensure that our mobile devices are directed where they can best serve the Department during this situation. As a result, pending and new requests for mobile devices or remote network access that are not in support of critical services to Canadians may experience a delay in processing.

If you are already equipped to work from home using AppGate, remember to restart your desktop device when leaving the office. Employees with a laptop or tablet with VPN access should be bringing their device home daily, in case of a sudden office closure.

If you need technical support, please contact the National Service Desk (1-800-268-0408). Support services are available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday. If you have any questions regarding your critical status, or whether or not you should telework, please consult your manager.

I recognize that this is a challenging time for you, your family and citizens across the country. I appreciate your co-operation to ensure our limited resources are used most effectively to support critical services for Canadians.

Peter Littlefield
Chief Information Officer
Employment and Social Development Canada / Government of Canada

This message has been approved by ESDC. Please visit iService if you are concerned about the authenticity of the message.