Remote desktop connection problems

Hello,
I got a job where I am able to work remotely from home via the remote desktop. I installed the company software which contains a Cisco Systems VPN client. I can connect to the VPN just fine, but when I get to the remote desktop, there is just a blank grey screen. Oh I can however see the remote windows log in box in the center of the screen, but it is partially greyed out as well.confused

After a few minutes I get an error message stating the connection has timed out due to connectivity problems..blah blah. This happens over and over. The IT guys can't seem to figure out what the problem might be. You guys have always been so helpful to me in the past, any ideas?

Thanks!
H~