DIGITAL JOURNEY – ENGAGING AND

EMPOWERING EMPLOYEE

ERA OF DIGITAL JOURNEY

The word “Digital” has become the buzz word in all technology sites. Though there are many views on why this word is buzzing, here is my view. This is simply because all the businesses in the world would like to talk to their customers in a style that they would like to share information.

FOCUS AREAS IN DIGITAL JOURNEY

Engage your Customers

Transform your products

Optimize your operations

Empower and Engage Employees

Here I will focus on questions to be addressed to ‘Engage and Empower the employee’ and how it can be done. Here are the questions that need to be addressed in this journey.

TASK MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEES

1. Efficient and Easy ways of Task Management: Though we do different types of task – ranging from simple to complex, micro to macro, high important to least important, are we always sure that we are doing our task in right priority?. We all have our own systematic way of doing our tasks, we still miss on priorities and wonder if we have done it in best possible way. This is simply because we have our task information scattered in different places - Outlook, project tracker, and other timely tasks in various systems of organization. Can this all be integrated in one platform?

COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION

2. My Collaboration and Communication: Collaboration and Communication has to be effective and seamless for increase in productivity and employee satisfaction.

Can employee easily collaborate and communicate all the tasks, get all organization news and Socialize all in one platform? 

Can this all be integrated in one platform?

MY INTEREST AND INSIGHTS:

3. My Interest and Insights: Interest of employee vary and areas where an employee want to know more insights will also differ based on his/her immediate and future career aspirationsIs there a platform where I as an employee can get information queued up bases on my interests or areas where employee would like to more insights? 

MY PROGRESS AND GOALS

4. My Progress and Goals: How can I completely keep track of my progress of my goals and ways to achieve it? Can employee showcase his/her progress to intended audience?

Is there platform where I can see my progress and Goals?

SELF INTELLIGENT

5. Self-Intelligent: Can system intelligently understand what I would need and suggest based on different context – past browsing pattern, my interest, Time - Day, Week, Month, year etc ?

Can we have a platform which can intelligently deliver context aware information?

APP MODEL FAMILIARITY

6. Apps: All of us now use Mobile apps that can be easily installed and used with ease. Now we as expect the same from IT systems that we use. Having mentioned above all can be achieved in one platform, can that platform be developed with Apps that can be plugged in?

Also, can the platform have responsive web pages that fits with tablet or smartphone and operates to serve the employees right for their information on any device intelligently? BYOD to organization is important parameter in employee engagement

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH HETEROGENEOUS SYSTEMS:

7. Seamless Integration with heterogeneous Systems: Different systems in organization can be built on different technology and employee does want to go to each system to complete simple task.Can the platform be integrated to talk to other heterogeneous systems?

WHAT IS IN CLOUD AND WHAT IS NOT?8. Cloud: What gets into Cloud and what does not gets into cloud is important question from security standpoint.

Is there platform available on cloud as well as PAAS? Also, I want a Hybrid Model of having some part of my systems in my own data center and other part in Cloud, how can we do that?

HERE IS YOUR SOLUTION

SharePoint App Model combined with Capabilities of SharePoint, addresses all the above discussed 8 aspects in ‘Engaging and Empowering Employees’ in digital transformation journey.

SOLUTION CONTD App model- 1. Task Management: Apps that integrate with different MS

systems that helps in Task Management, Communication2. Collaboration and Communication: Apps in SharePoint Store

can be plugged in to SharePoint platform for effective and seamless collaboration in addition SharePoint capabilities using Yammer.

3. My Interest and Insights: Community sites, News Feeds and apps in SP store address this aspect of Employee Engagement

4. My Progress and Goals : Apps can be developed to meet organizational specific requirement and this can be linked to role based/ individual specific goals. Charting feature in SharePoint can be used here

SOLUTION CONTD Self Intelligent System: Context based information can be

designed in SharePoint. Context can be set based on role, interest and browsing patterns of employee and suggestions can be given to user on SharePoint Platform.

Apps: Functions can be built using App Model. Apps in App Store/ developed apps can be easily plugged in to SharePoint Applications.

Seamless Integration with heterogeneous system through REST APIs and WCF.

Cloud: SharePoint Application can be hosted on Azure Cloud Network or Application can be developed in Office 365 (which is on Azure). Hybrid set up is technically supported in both these scenarios.

CONCLUSION

In digital transformation Journey, SharePoint is one of the excellent platform to consider for ‘Engaging and Empowering the employee’