How a Bank transitioned its staff to work from home and remain productive during the Pandemic: Case Study

How a Bank transitioned its staff to work from home and remain productive during the Pandemic: Case Study

The Pandemic put most businesses in a tailspin, with new rules around distancing and working from home. Covid-19 could never have been anticipated and the impact it has had on multiple businesses has been phenomenal. Some businesses have completely closed-up shop and some plunged headfirst into a digital transformation investment. 

Our client had to transition into a remote workforce because of the Covid-19 pandemic given the stay-at-home order. Pre Covid-19, all staff was functioning in one building and there were no plans or policies in place for remote work. Because the Bank provides an essential service, it was imperative that staff should be able to continue functioning even from remote locations. We were tasked with finding a way for them to seamlessly access their data and perform their duties.  

THE CHALLENGE 

1. How do we deploy a solution that allows for an easy transition while flattening the learning curve within a short space of time?   
2. We also needed to ensure the weekly company meetings were maintained as this provided an opportunity for all employees to meet and give management the opportunity to provide company–wide updates on the overall progress or targets.  

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS 

800-Tech recommended Microsoft Power Platform Solution that would allow the client to perform their functions remotely. The client needed to purchase subscriptions for some of the tools while others were configured to enable the staff to work remotely.  

The following tools were deployed to assist with the transition-:  

• Microsoft Remote Desktop Service  
• Microsoft Teams  
• Microsoft SharePoint  
• Microsoft PowerApps  
• Microsoft Power Automate  

THE SOLUTIONS

We responded by deploying SharePoint modern workspaces for the various departments and specialized departmental units.  

This allowed the Bank to have access to their files remotely with coauthoring features which increased departmental collaboration.  Remote Desktop Service was configured to allow remote access of the core banking application by users, allowing secure processing remotely with availability 24/7.     

To ensure the weekly company meetings were maintained, we recommended the use of Microsoft Teams video conferencing features ensuring all company meetings were transitioned digitally with weekly recurring schedules configured. The Microsoft Teams sites were configured in tandem with Microsoft SharePoint to allow unification of the modern workspaces.  We also configured Power Automate which delivered documents via email for approvals and created business process workflows.   

THE RESULTS 

These initial steps provided a solid foundation for our client to begin their Digital Transformation process. 800-TECH was able to get the Bank online within seven days. As with each client, we performed an IT Audit to determine what solutions are already in place and where we needed to bridge the gaps.  

With this client, they already implemented some of our recommended programs and solutions so we were able to transition them to working remotely with the seven-day timeframe.  

In addition to being able to work from home, the client saw  

1. An increase in productivity as reported by the management team 
2. Increased efficiency from members of staff  
3. 80% increase in application processing  
4. Motivated staff because of the flexibility  

They were able to meet all their deadlines and all requirements.  

We faced the biggest hurdle getting the staff acclimated to working from home, however we were able to help make this process smoother by providing training on programs that were more complex.   

NEXT STEPS

We are continuing the digitizing process for this client with a focus on automating processes that are still being done manually to further increase efficiency within the organization.  

With COVID-19 affecting us all, this automation process has become more accelerated. Therefore, we are continuing to provide the solutions that allow our clients to function with the highest level of productivity possible. 

We can provide you with an audit of your business processes to determine what you can do to streamline and enhance the functioning of your organization.

Contact us to schedule your audit.