Microsoft Teams has always been a platform that connects workgroups within an organization, no matter the physical location. This workplace solution was regarded as an ancillary tool in the years preceding the 2020 COVID-19 global health crisis. Now, eight months into remote work being the standard worldwide, Teams has become a staple in holding together business processes. However, Microsoft Teams alone can only provide limited functionality, which is where Powell Software comes in. Powell Software is a Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV) specializing in connecting organizations with employees by creating a comprehensive digital workplace. Since its founding in 2015, Powell Software has been steadily growing its suite of Microsoft integrated solutions, which has situated them perfectly to respond to the current pandemic’s business impact.
“At the beginning of the COVID lockdown, our customers already had access to Microsoft Teams, which had the basic functionality of messaging, voice calling, and document exchange. But as the situation continued, some additional needs arose”, explains Powell Software CPO, Matthieu Silberman.
“There was a need to recreate the connection employees had with each other and that employees had with the rest of their organizations. How do we recreate the link for employees that no longer see each other, and how do organizations create an inclusive workspace?”
Challenges arose due to the growth of hybrid workplaces. With some employees in the office and others at home, a solution to address both groups’ needs was required. Beyond the essential functions of Teams, business processes had to be digitized, operations had to become more fluid, and the social aspect of work needed to be maintained.
A Digital Toolbox That Improves Processes
A smooth transition to a digital workspace includes peer-to-peer communication, document collaboration, and voice calling on the surface. However, there are parts of a business that struggle more than others to replicate in-office efficiency. “A good example of how we can recreate in-office processes is onboarding new employees,” states Silberman. “This has always been a challenge for the human resources department, even when everyone was onsite. But now, with a hybrid workforce, it is even more of a nightmare. The new tool we can use with Microsoft Teams is a template that HR can deploy on the intranet that includes official policies, video trainings, and even a welcome from the company president.” With this new Teams solution, a team space can be created by HR personnel that includes the new employee, the manager, and a colleague that can help assist with orientation to the company. This team can be set up in three minutes and includes a 30-day plan specific to the employee and personalized documents formed from the stored templates. All of these components come together to create an environment unique to each new employee and streamlines a very collaborative process even better than if one were in the office.
Creating the Future of Work
The next steps for Powell Software include using APIs to integrate popular business process tools such as ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Workday into Microsoft Teams. Respectively, those solutions represent the most vital components of most businesses; IT, sales, and HR. Integrating these business process tools will create an even more robust and interconnected experience for employees and organizations. For instance, with an API for ServiceNow, KPIs can be seamlessly communicated to the IT team and all other affected personnel. Also, service requests can be processed and fulfilled by collaborating with a Microsoft Teams work group with data easily shared between the two tools. Regardless of the state of the world, Powell Software is making sure the digital workplace is a place for all businesses to thrive.
