The mass exodus to remote work earlier this year left many companies scrambling to provide access to corporate networks, adopt digital tools, and secure workers against new cyber threats. As a result, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said our company observed “two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months.” Now, leaders predict an even greater challenge looms on the horizon: returning to the office.
Many organizations don’t plan to send employees back to the workplace for at least a few months, so starting this conversation now may feel premature to some. However, regardless of if you’ve started bringing workers back to the office or you’re waiting for patiently for the right factors to align, your organization should take ample time to carefully plan a smooth transition. There are a variety of factors you’ll want to account for, including bringing your people back in phases, setting rules around sanitation and social distancing, maintaining cybersecurity throughout the transition, and ensuring employees retain access to the tools and data they need to perform their jobs.
Technology will continue to play a critical role in protecting the safety and productivity of employees throughout this entire process. There is no standard handbook for reopening a business during a global pandemic. Each organization faces the daunting task of minimizing risk in conference rooms, factory floors, storefronts, and more to ensure the safety of every employee and customer.
Introducing the new Power Platform return to the workplace solution
Microsoft Power Platform can help with preparations for the return to physical workplaces. Designed for fast deployment and customisation, the end-to-end components provide location readiness and safety tools for facility managers, self-service health and safety tools for employees, and case management tools for health and safety leaders.
The complexities of reopening for business
Organisations across industries and around the world have had to rapidly adapt their existing processes and operations while continuing to innovate, streamline to save costs, and service their customer’s needs. Many organisations closed physical locations, shops, schools, and factories per government guidelines. Now, as some organisations begin returning to the workplace, it will be a phased process with employee and organisational safety at its core.
The process will be different for everyone and will require organisations to be agile and proactive, with fast feedback loops of learning, advancing, and retreating. As a result, organisations will need to maximize resources by quickly making data-driven decisions when it matters most to maintain safe work environments. By adapting business workflows and processes to changing needs, organisations can save time and money by reducing risk and streamlining their workplace reopening process.
Return to the workplace with confidence
The Power Platform return to the workplace pre-built solution is a comprehensive, end-to-end set of modules that help organisations plan, coordinate, and manage the return to the workplace with confidence, helping to ensure the health and safety of employees. The solution is easily customizable, with fast deployment, and built on a secure and compliant platform. Together, the modules provide an end-to-end experience for executive leaders, facility managers, employees, managers, as well as health and safety leaders.
Microsoft Location Readiness: allows facility managers and task force leaders to determine the readiness of their facilities and efficiently manage their safe reopening by making informed decisions using critical factors like COVID-19 infection rates and safety supply availability. See the following screenshot.
Microsoft Employee Health and Safety Management: empowers your workforce with self-service tools that help them work safely, confidently, and productively, including a mobile app that lets them check in to work remotely and self-screen before entering facilities.
Microsoft Workplace Care Management: gives health and safety leaders the tools to actively manage COVID-19 cases, identify hot spots for safety improvement, and import data from third party systems to determine exposure.
Microsoft Location Management: gives facility managers the tools they need to keep locations open safely, helping to maintain a safe environment with tools for monitoring occupancy, health supplies, safety procedures, and other facility-related best practices.
CBRE integrates return to the workplace solution to Host hospitality platform
CBRE, the worldwide leader in commercial real estate services, serves clients by combining local market insight, broad services, specialized expertise and premier tools and resources. To help organisations reopen safely, CBRE is integrating the Power Platform return to the workplace solutions with Host, its powerful hospitality platform that connects the employee to the environments, amenities, and communities that matter the most.
Brennan McReynolds, CBRE Host’s Global Product and Technology, explains the team’s experience deploying the solution.
“Easy to customize and deploy, Microsoft’s Power Platform return to the workplace solution, together with CBRE’s workplace experience platform, Host, allows us to provide a holistic approach to addressing companies’ needs as they re-enter the workplace. Thanks to built-in data connectors, security, and compliance, the Power Platform’s intelligent data gives us the ability to measure, monitor, and support a safe and confident re-opening of the world’s workplaces. We are excited to extend the Power Platform return to the workplace solution to our Host customers as we partner to deliver the future of a safe and connected workplace experience.”
The return to the workplace solution provides an opportunity for Microsoft partners to help and support customers with customisations and deployment. It offers a foundation that partners can integrate and extend to meet unique customer requirements, with the solution available at no additional cost. Microsoft partners can also leverage a set of FY21 offers to help accelerate customer adoption. This includes funding for pre-sales activities that provide customers with insights on the solution value and demonstrate real-world business impact.
Whether you are reopening a store, a factory, an office, or a school, the Power Platform return to the workplace solution helps accelerate workplace readiness. Give people the confidence to meet in person, as needed, with this pre-built solution designed to protect teams and streamline the entire process of reopening the workplace.