Setting the course for Modern Work

If we were to ask people of different generations about the way they worked then and now, the statements could not be more different. The world of work has changed fundamentally.

People spend 80% of their time working together. Remote work and hybrid work have finally taken hold with Corona.

Traditional organizational models are reaching their limits in our fast-paced world, as are many employees struggling with data overload and continuous distraction.

Two questions get asked:

• How can management establish an organization that is reliable and efficient, yet fast and agile to operate successfully in a fast-paced environment?

• How do they ensure employee satisfaction and well-being in the process?

The immediate answer: Digital transformation. Technology.

Our answer: A new way of working.

Studies show a productivity increase potential of 20-25% through the use of collaboration tools. However, only those companies that adapt their way of working, encourage open communication and knowledge sharing, and bring a networked organization to life will be able to realize the potential.

7 GOLDEN RULES OF A MODERN WAY OF WORKING

Over the past 20 years, we have had the privilege of accompanying a number of companies on their journey towards a more modern way of working. The following 7 golden rules for a modern way of working have emerged:

1. Networked organization instead of rigid silos

2. Hybrid collaboration culture

3. Scalable collaboration standards

4. Reduction of redundant information

5. Open communication as default

6. (Pro-)active knowledge exchange

7. Increased autonomy of employees

FROM THE RULES TO ADOPTION

How do you create the right conditions for these rules to be applied? How do you get employees to want to comply with them?

We have developed our own Modern Work solution for this purpose.

It focuses on employees and their work scenarios. In dialog with them, we want to understand how they work today - as individual workers, in departments, in teams, on projects or in work groups. With our out-of-the-box modern workplace solution and best-practice configuration of Microsoft 365 technologies, we then demonstrate directly how their work steps and work processes can be digitized and made more efficient as individual workers or in collaboration with others. Most importantly, we let them personally experience how a more modern way of working can simplify everyday work. More independence. Faster knowledge retrieval. Easier communication. Users don't have to focus on the tools, it is about the new way of working.

ORGANIZATION-WIDE SCALING OF MODERN COLLABORATION

We store and configure the individual work scenarios as corporate standards and on the basis of best-practice templates in our Modern Work solution. This enables the organization-wide scaling of long-term orderly and structured collaboration with Microsoft 365, while ensuring the necessary governance and security in a networked organization.

We were recently awarded by Microsoft for our expertise on the topic of 'Adoption & Change Management'.

Would you like to better understand the potential of a modern way of working in your organization? Our experts are looking forward to an exchange with you.

Get in touch

New Form

The digital optimists

THE CIRCLE

Microsoft Switzerland will soon be moving into the CIRCLE at the airport Zurich. There is plenty of open space and collaboration rooms of all sizes for the approximately 400 employees in the Zurich region. Classic focus workstations, on the other hand, are down to 88. Hybrid working is no longer a vision of the future. We spoke with Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland, about the hybrid future. This much is certain: we have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now.

Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland

---

Mr. Holitscher - around 400 of Microsoft Switzerland's 600 employees will soon be moving into the CIRCLE. What awaits them?

Not a place to write emails or make phone calls, but a place to meet and innovate.

Microsoft has been using remote work principles since 2012. Already in Wallisellen, the focus was on communal spaces. What is different in the CIRCLE? Had the pandemic led to short-term changes in the room design?

We have rented another 1,000 m² for the Microsoft Technology Center, which will open its doors in January 2022. There we want to meet with customers to discuss new technologies and bring them to life.

70 percent of our office space in the CIRCLE is also open to our partners and customers. We want to come into the office to innovate together. This trend has intensified once again. In Wallisellen, there were 290 focus workplaces. In CIRCLE, there are still 88.

A clear sign that physical presence is not required for employees.

Yes. With us - with a few exceptions - no one has to be on site. The individual teams should organize among themselves - in a way that it's right for the customer, but also for each individual team member. Studies show that people do want to get together. We want to offer attractive opportunities for this in our space in the CIRCLE.

You address the paradox that Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index highlights: 71 percent of the Swiss employees surveyed would like the hybrid work model, and over 70 percent would like to spend more time physically with their teams. Does Microsoft already have answers to this?

Technology makes many things possible. The experience of hybrid meetings, for example, is improving continuously - with Microsoft Teams, but also thanks to modern infrastructure in meeting rooms. Speakers and cameras automatically focus on the person who is speaking. The meeting rooms here at CIRCLE have been designed and equipped to ensure an optimal meeting experience for people on-site and virtually.

Technology allows for flexibility. Spaces can be customized. We should use that to our advantage - for the well-being of employees as much as for the long-term success of the company.

Since the pandemic, Microsoft Teams is probably as well known to typical Swiss citizens as Migros or Coop. What do you make of it?

We're enormously proud that we've been able to empower so many people to use Teams to continue working, continue their studies, or simply stay in touch with family and friends. At the same time, it was and is a huge responsibility and a real stress test for the system. The good news: our data centers passed the test. The enormous and rapid demand could not have been cushioned with any other infrastructure. It is gratifying to see that more and more companies are making use of the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud in Switzerland and that Microsoft Teams is becoming the center of everyday work.

“The hybrid is a reality. People want to work this way. We have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now.”

Technologically, some Swiss companies have made a leap forward. They have brought their infrastructure up to date. But Microsoft also often talks about culture. The new Microsoft Technology Center wants make technology tangible. After infrastructure, where do CH companies still have the most catching up to do in order to successfully create a hybrid working model?

At Microsoft, we live in a kind of bubble in terms of technology. At many companies, there are still people who don't have mobile devices. No webcams. That's where we're in a very privileged situation at Microsoft. We have and get everything to fully embrace the hybrid work model.

We think the 3 Ps are paramount for a hybrid future.

PEOPLE: People need to understand and be able to assess how they can use technology to improve things for themselves. This requires regular education and training.

PLACES: Spaces need to be redesigned to serve different purposes and new needs.

PROCESS: Every single process, no matter how small, must be put to the test and rethought.

For example, how will we handle confidential documents that exist only on paper in the future? Can confidential documents be taken home? How do we ensure that we get the necessary signatures for contracts when not everyone is working on site anymore?

We have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now. The hybrid is a reality. People want to work this way - for Generation Z, anything else would be unthinkable.

Jedes Unternehmen braucht jetzt einen genauen Plan, wie man in Zukunft physisch und digital verbindet. Aber wir brauchen dafür auch die richtigen regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen, die es uns ermöglichen, modernste Technologien einzusetzen. Die heutigen Gesetze wurden teils vor der Internet-Ära gemacht. Auch sie müssen neu gedacht werden. Dies soll verantwortungsvoll und keinesfalls auf Kosten von nicht verhandelbaren Werten wie Transparenz, Sicherheit oder dem Schutz der Privatsphäre geschehen.

Wir bei Microsoft sind digitale Optimisten. Wir glauben daran, dass sich eine hybride Welt schaffen lässt, in der wir erfolgreicher zusammenarbeiten und besser leben.

Transparency as standard - company groups unite with CoffeeNet 365

A blog post by Melodie Fleury, Business Consultant at MondayCoffee

Strictly speaking, we are very lucky: the market is neither lacking in technologies, systems nor solutions for modern working. New tools are continuously being developed, existing ones improved or entire tool landscapes consolidated to simplify collaboration - or so the theory goes. Practice shows that many companies still lack the right infrastructure, a uniform basis for everyday work. The result: complex processes, information chaos, loss of time and money. Especially in corporate groups, this is a brake on success, but one that can easily be solved.

TYPICAL CHALLENGES IN CORPORATE GROUPS

As a rule, the larger the company, the more information and communication there is to process - and the more difficult it is to maintain an overview. In addition, work and communication often takes place in silos. Without the right collaboration solution, it becomes almost impossible to exchange knowledge or information between different companies in a group. This is also the case with one of our customers, a Swiss group of companies. The challenges, which often grow over the years, are mostly of a technical, cultural and structural nature.

Technical challenges: The system landscape of companies has often existed for years, if not decades. Once set up, it has hardly been touched or changed in any major way. As a result, there is a lack of infrastructure that meets current work requirements. This starts with digital places of collaboration and extends to the processes and access rights for smooth working. In many cases, data is still sent as attachments by mail. This quickly results in umpteen different versions - and confusion about which file is the most current.

Cultural challenges: Especially in conservative industries, the corporate culture is still strongly hierarchical. Communication is more top-down than bottom-up. In addition, there is a lack of role models who exemplify the "modern workplace" and demonstrate potential. Employees are not sufficiently empowered to obtain relevant information, share knowledge or take responsibility.

Structural challenges: One of the most common symptoms of the siloed landscape is an uneven flow of information. Without uniform processes and specifications across the company, chaos quickly follows. This starts with distribution lists: If distribution lists are not maintained centrally and synchronized automatically, someone is quickly forgotten and lost in communication. Knowledge is shared informally in small groups: Those who were not present at the right time during the smoking break or at the coffee machine are not informed or are informed late. Within an organization there are departmental silos, within a group of companies there are corporate silos. Another problem is that employees do not have the opportunity to contribute themselves and their skills in the right places. The skills and knowledge of those involved remain hidden in the silo jungle.

Getting an all new meeting culture

The solution is simple: "Keep it simple" - digitally. This is exactly where MondayCoffee's Modern Workplace solution (CoffeeNet 365) comes in. Based on best practices, the collaboration platform enables centralized, simplified and efficient work - in real time and from any location.

“One of the most common productivity killers in companies is still having too many meetings.”

The rethinking already starts with the meeting culture. One of the most common productivity obstacles in companies is still too many meetings that are unstructured and without an agenda. This was also the case for our customer. MondayCoffee provided the Swiss group with a meeting app that makes recurring meetings easy, efficient and structured.

The app enables each individual to plan meetings, prepare for topics or introduce meeting points with just a few clicks. Meetings are now much more efficient and transparent than before, which was met with great enthusiasm by our customer's employees.

AWAY FROM INFORMATION SILOS, TOWARDS COMMUNITY

Modern collaboration solutions are designed to create transparency. Projects, but also individual topics, are visible at a glance with the help of such a platform - for everyone with the necessary authorizations. Relevant documents and personal tasks are easier to find and keep track of. And especially helpful in corporate groups: You can finally see what is happening in other departments and companies.

Work becomes more transparent and efficient

At the same time, everyday work becomes more efficient: The introduction of a new Workplace solution is an opportunity to clean up the old chaos in structures, processes or documents and to redesign the basis. Uniform communication channels, media and tools such as the meeting app streamline processes and free up resources for actual tasks. Documents are stored and edited in a central location on the platform - so that everyone has the latest version available at all times and from anywhere. Outdated email attachments in dozens of versions are a thing of the past. The tedious manual creation of distribution lists is also a thing of the past - the Workspaces feature takes care of that.

Projects, topics and processes are more transparent on the Modern Workplace platform and can be viewed by all - in dedicated virtual collaboration rooms that are set up simply and uniformly. Instead of the old e-mail flood, Microsoft Teams is used for short-term exchange.

Potential becomes visible - at employee and group level

The new way of working on the collaboration platform automatically strengthens the sense of unity within the group. News posts can be used to send targeted messages across the various departments and companies. All areas have the opportunity to present themselves there and show what they are working on and what competencies they offer. The contribution of new ideas meets with public appreciation and is actively promoted.

Often, this is also accompanied by a subtle change in culture: employees can show themselves, learn from each other, participate more easily and act as role models. High potentials, i.e., particularly committed employees, emerge more easily and can be promoted in a targeted manner. On the one hand, this has a positive effect on employee motivation; on the other hand, it also simplifies personnel planning and succession planning. In the long term, hierarchies become flatter and people work together as equals.

Working together more efficiently in virtual collaboration rooms

Onboarding new employees can be made more efficient, speeding up the onboarding process. But collaboration also becomes easier as information silos are broken down. Roles and responsibilities can be defined uniformly and clearly - whether within a company's own team, across departments or with external parties.

All in all, the potential of the whole group can be better utilized and interdisciplinary collaboration can be promoted throughout the group. This also opens up the opportunity to present a modern company or group to employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders - with an attractive, contemporary and modern working environment.

HOW DOES THE COLLABORATION WITH MONDAYCOFFEE WORK?

The procedure in such projects is always similar: In the so-called discovery workshops, we analyze the previous collaboration. This includes, for example, communication and collaboration, target/actual comparisons, opportunities, and potential risks and dangers. In the next step, we talk about the effects of these changes in relation to the current way of working and derive new collaboration scenarios together with our customer.

The third workshop aims to obtain a big picture of the new form of collaboration and to plan the procedure, structure and responsibilities. In the later workshops, we get down to the nitty-gritty, such as mapping the structure, working out the various concepts, such as for authorizations, news and also automating processes.

“Our work is done when employees can work well and, above all, happily with the new solution.”

Throughout the process, we provide our customers with advice and support and work together in a close and friendly exchange. Our work is done when everyone is satisfied with the new solution at the end. And to ensure that employees can later work well - and above all happily - with the new solution, we train everyone in the use of the new platform.

The importance of never standing still: MondayCoffee meets Fluid Framework

For our SharePoint Master and long-term employee Oliver Zeiser, trying out new technologies and the continuous development of our modern workplace solution CoffeeNet are part of his daily business. Together with Oliver and his team, we want to make sure that our solutions also remain modern for our customers.

In this blog post, Oliver talks about what it means to be at the forefront of technology behind the scenes. And he does so using the most recent example of Microsoft's Fluid Framework for real-time collaboration. A first-hand report for anyone who wants to take a deeper look into Microsoft's technological developments.

---

Blog post by Oliver Zeiser, SharePoint Master at MondayCoffee

When I started in 2013 to leave the on-premises world step by step and to develop our modern cloud-based workplace solution CoffeeNet for SharePoint Online, I went into it with a fair amount of doubt myself. Today I know that it was the right decision. Focusing on the right technologies at an early stage pays off in the long run.

Eight years later, working with the latest technologies is by no means easier, but it has become my daily business. In this new, rapidly changing cloud age, nothing is worth more than being able to make real experiences with the latest technologies and to bring them into our products. A current example is the Microsoft Fluid Framework.

“Investing in the right technologies at an early stage pays off in the long run.”

THE MICROSOFT FLUID FRAMEWORK - FROM VISION TO REALITY 

On May 6, 2019, Microsoft introduced the Fluid Framework at the Build Conference as a new framework for real-time collaboration. Of course, at that moment, the Fluid Framework was not a finished product, but rather a vision.

Definition Fluid Framework: “First, experiences powered by the Fluid Framework will support multi-person co-authoring on web and document content at a speed and scale not yet achieved in the industry.”

For us, however, the vision quickly became reality: we have been dealing with the topic since May 2019 and made an early effort to be able to gather initial personal experiences with it.

Hence, back in October 2019, we traveled to Redmond to gather hands-on experience, build prototypes, and provide feedback on-site at Microsoft with the Fluid Framework developers and the SharePoint Framework team. During our stay at Microsoft, we quickly understood what the Fluid Framework is about and what differentiates it from classic real-time frameworks like SignalR and WebSockets.

FLUID FRAMEWORK VERSUS CLASSIC REALTIME FRAMEWORKS

SignalR and WebSockets are often used to run so-called last-write-wins data structures. For example, a message is sent over a WebSocket that updates a value in a map on the client. So, for example, in many simple WebSocket scenarios, this message is a notification such as, "You have mail."

Fluid is about managing state, not transmitting messages. While last-write-wins data structures are included in Fluid, some data structures require more complex state management. Strings and sequences are not last-write-wins.

How would a last-write-wins algorithm handle two users processing a string at the same time?

Initial state: "Hello world"

Alice adds "!" to the end

Bob adds "?" at the end

There might be some strange behavior that results in "Hello world?" or "Hello world!".

Fluid orders Bob's change and Alice's change through the Fluid service. The merge tree data structure then has a reproducible merge algorithm for applying these ordered changes. Ultimately, the string would be "Hello world?!".

Although simple examples are easy to implement, especially last-write wins, more complex examples are challenging. OT (Operational Transformation) & CRDTs (conflict-free replicated data type) are two existing ways to handle state replication. Much of the initial value proposition of Fluid is to manage complex state for developers.

DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPES TOGETHER WITH MICROSOFT

On September 8, 2020, almost a year later, Microsoft released an initial open source version of the Fluid Framework. See the release here.

But what many didn't know at the time: that this was just the beginning. The real work was going on behind the scenes. Microsoft had continued to work on the issue of integrating the Fluid Framework directly into Microsoft 365 as a service.

As developers and operators of CoffeeNet 365 (a cloud service for Microsoft 365), we know how much effort is required to run such services.

For this reason, we decided to take the path together with Microsoft at an early stage and to build our apps on the Fluid Framework, which uses Microsoft's backend service directly as a service in M365. 

Working closely with Microsoft, we developed the first apps and prototypes in a private preview program. And today, in May 2021, we finally get to write about it.

THE FLUID FRAMEWORK WILL SUSTAINABLY CHANGE WORK AS WE KNOW IT TODAY

It has been hard for us to hold back our enthusiasm the whole time, because the Fluid Framework will change work as we know it today. We at MondayCoffee have been involved from the beginning and have shown once again that we not only have a very good intuition for forward-looking technologies, but that we can offer a huge added value to our customers through our close cooperation with Microsoft and many of their developers from Redmond.

“Working closely with Microsoft and many of their developers from Redmond, we are able to offer our customers a huge added value. ”

MondayCoffee Meeting App mit Collaborative-Real-Time Meeting Minutes

On the day Microsoft announces the next stage for the Fluid Framework, we have already mastered it and can support our customers with first apps and most importantly already with real experience and best practices.

As a developer and architect of CoffeeNet 365 and as a technology enthusiast in general, I really enjoy building the bridge between MondayCoffee, Microsoft and our customers and being able to work at the forefront of technology. Even if the price is sometimes having to hold back your enthusiasm until the topics are allowed to be made public. That's why I'm even more excited that our app was introduced at Microsoft Build Conference 2021.

You'll be hearing a lot more from us on this topic in the future. Unfortunately, we can't reveal everything now either. But you can stay curious. We at MondayCoffee are already taking the next step and the one after with Microsoft for our customers.

How to achieve the digital workplace: A conversation with EPRO GROUP

Simon Locher, Business Consultant at MondayCoffee, introduced the Modern Workplace Solution CoffeeNet 365 at EPRO GROUP, an independent group consisting of four Swiss engineering companies. 

The goal was to further standardize and digitize collaboration and make it more efficient within the group and on projects and to merge stand-alone solutions in a user-centric way. Alain Schlunegger, project manager on the customer side and member of the management board at EPRO GROUP, is satisfied with the result. MondayCoffee consultant Simon Locher still speaks highly of the project. A conversation with the customer and our consultant about the requirements for a good collaboration and important success factors when changing working methods.

---

Alain Schlunegger (EPRO GROUP) and Simon Locher (MondayCoffee)

Mr. Schlunegger, project management on the customer side is a key success factor for our projects. The introduction of our Modern Workplace solution at EPRO GROUP went really well - because you took on the role of project manager in an exemplary manner, as our Business Consultant Simon Locher says. In your view, what does a project manager need to bring to the table in order to make the modernization of the way we work a success?

Alain Schlunegger: A vision, a hard deadline and a huge commitment.  

Digitization is part of EPRO GROUP's vision and the entire management is behind this vision. In addition to business processes, we also set out to further digitize internal work processes. This is where we picked up with the Modern Workplace project:  

We had only six months to introduce the Modern Workplace solution (under the name EPRONET). On January 1, 2021, the EPRO GROUP companies were united under one roof. We had to take advantage of this opportunity - and it gave us a lot of drive. To accomplish this, one thing was needed above all: commitment - from me personally, from my colleagues at EPRO GROUP, and of course from Simon as a consultant.  

In my opinion, project management is less about professional competence (that's what consulting is for) and more about the will to change things. Of course, you only have the will if you are supported and have the authority to make decisions. That was the case for us.  

Simon Locher: I can only agree with that. Making decisions is so important - you can always make adjustments later on. I would add 'business know-how' to the profile of an ideal project manager. Alain knows every corner of his business. This deep understanding of the business was very helpful. It also allowed us to engage the right stakeholders at the right moment. 

Alain Schlunegger: A decision is better than none. We decided some things at the beginning without knowing exactly what they meant. Because in the beginning, a lot of things are still very theoretical. I was relieved when we then switched to 'doing' and I noticed in the test environment that the decisions were correct and worked. For me, the step from concept to practice could have been even faster. After all, it's only in reality that you can really communicate what's going to be different and demonstrate best practices.

Mr. Schlunegger, you have devoted a lot of time to the project. We are often asked how much capacity such a project requires. Can you quantify your effort in these six months?  

Alain Schlunegger: Between 20 and 40 %. Especially towards the end, it got pretty intense. 

Simon, you also put your heart and soul into it. You felt like an intern at EPRO GROUP. That is not a given for a consultant. What defines a constructive and successful collaboration between consultant and client?  

Simon Locher: Mutual trust is the key. It starts with giving each other the feeling that we are working together towards a mutual goal. Then, of course, there is communication - which can sometimes go beyond business.  

What I also experienced in a very positive way at EPRO GROUP is the evaluation of success and failure. We had successful phases in the project, but also unpleasant issues, which we dealt with constructively. Everyone did their best to solve the problems and continue to pursue the goals that had been set. 

Alain Schlunegger: We are an SME. There is only one direction - forward. And at full speed. Performance orientation is above everything. Simon shared this attitude. 

“We took the employees by the hand and paid great attention to ensuring that they were provided with as much as possible - in other words, they only had to start practicing. ”

— Alain Schlunegger

And are you satisfied with the service, Mr. Schlunegger? What are you particularly proud of when you look back on the EPRONET's launch? 

Alain Schlunegger: Yes, I am satisfied. I was particularly overwhelmed by the broad acceptance. There were some hesitations in the organization about IT projects. Even though EPRONET was not a classic IT project, it was seen as such. 

What did you do differently?  

Alain Schlunegger: We took the employees by the hand and made sure that as much as possible was made available to them - in other words, they only had to start using it. I'll explain this briefly with an example: In our EPRONET, we have project workspaces for handling our projects. There are three different templates for these workspaces. Depending on the size, one of the three is chosen and the new project workspace is created. This is not done by the employee, but by a central point of contact (at the push of a button, by the way) - because when a new project is started, a number of other secondary processes come into play.  

Simon Locher adds: Therefore, for the employees, the processes are clear. They can concentrate on actually managing their project.  

The acceptance of the solution is also due in part to Alain as a role model. His enthusiasm resonated with the others. He also knew the organization so well that he always knew where the heat was and how to calm the waters. In the trainings we held, he was not only present, but he also took an active part. He picked up the participants on the vision, but was also able to answer everyday questions. That gave the employees a lot of reassurance. 

According to you, Simon, EPRO GROUP had committed itself to 'tagging' like almost no other company and had said goodbye to document folders and subfolders. How did you manage to do that? Replacing file servers and folders often proves to be one of the most difficult steps towards a digital way of working.  

Alain Schlunegger: We had optimal conditions for this - the merger of the two companies. Both companies had completely different folder structures. What they had in common: Both were extremely complex. Tagging saved our day, but it also cost me a lot of time. I didn't want to start with just five tags and leave the rest to the employees, but rather provide and pre-structure as much as possible early on. 80% of our work is project documentation - with recurring tags. These had to be regulated.  

Simon Locher: Alain saw the advantages of tagging early on. But more importantly, he also dared to go down the path - and he was even able to convince the 'folder dinosaurs'. Mainly because he thought ahead of the tags. He didn't just make the announcement "starting tomorrow, we'll be tagging," but dove deep into the topic. This meant that even during training, for example, it was possible to concentrate on 'doing' and showing the benefits. 

Mr. Schlunegger, has tagging led to employees finding what they are looking for more quickly today? How do employees benefit from EPRONET?

Alain Schlunegger: Yes, employees can access data and documents more quickly today. In contrast to the past, they always have access to everything, regardless of location. Here we have a clear efficiency gain.  

Today, all applications are integrated in one place and on one platform. In the past, you had to access different apps for different tasks. EPRONET does that for me and provides me for the task at hand with the right app in the background. 

“Today, employees can access data and documents more quickly. Unlike in the past, they always have access to everything, regardless of location. Here we have a clear efficiency gain. ”

— Alain Schlunegger

One example is the planning, conducting and follow-up of meetings. In EPRONET, I do all this in one workspace. In the background, the necessary apps (OneNote; SharePoint; Planner) are automatically provided and used. The information is then immediately available to the right group of participants. 

The meeting functionality is eagerly used in EPRONET. Are there functionalities in EPRONET that you would have expected more of? 

Alain Schlunegger: Yes. We have the possibility to chat (Yammer) on the EPRONET's homepage. That hasn't worked so far. I assume that the users do not want to expose themselves too much. They prefer chatting within Microsoft Teams or project workspaces. We use the start page primarily for CEO communication. 

But you don't just use EPRONET internally; you also invite customers to project workspaces. Have you received any feedback from customers?  

Alain Schlunegger: We only use EPRONET occasionally for our customers, but we have already received very positive feedback. The customers appreciate always having everything at hand in one place. This transparency also creates trust. Of course, there are also 'dinosaurs' on the customer side - people who still prefer e-mail for everything. That requires a little more patience.  

With EPRONET, we have also been able to increase our internal quality standards. In the past, content was freely copied together. Today, it is very clear that we only use the documents on EPRONET.  

Another important benefit is that I can use EPRONET to present the services of all group companies in customer meetings. All companies are mapped on the EPRONET. As I said, we want the most up-to-date information to be available there at all times. This means that I can also pitch the offerings of my sister companies. In the past, this was done on demand: "Could you please ...?" or "I'll send you more documents." Today, this is possible without being asked. 

Simon, CoffeeNet 365 is delivered as an out-of-the-box solution. A kind of house with different rooms that can then be set up as desired by the users. What do you like most about setting up the EPRO GROUP solution? Are there any best practices that you can also recommend to other companies? 

Simon Locher: Definitely the tags, but also the standardized project templates. The effort to achieve a functional workspace should be miminal. We succeeded in doing that.  

Third, clear structures, a common goal, a common plan. This was the only way we could keep to the tight schedule as well as the costs. 

Mr. Schlunegger, EPRONET has been launched. What's next? 

Alain Schlunegger: Our vision extends beyond EPRONET. The digitization of our business processes continues.  

But even with EPRONET, there is still potential for optimization. We are collecting the topics that we still need to address in a central list. In particular, the topic of permissions will still absorb us a bit more.  

In the future, we would also like to integrate quality management in EPRONET and map the processes there - in other words, connect the documents. This also plays a role with regard to ISO certification. But before we look too far into the future, at the moment we are primarily pleased that we have managed to take an important step in the digitization of the workplace – precisely on 1.1.2021. 

Let’s go hybrid

Working in homely confinement with nothing but virtual connections to our colleagues, customers and business partners has left us longing for more.  

Since the pandemic forced us into home office, only few real in-person meetings took place – and the most fun ones are still missing: the informal chat by the coffee corner or at a colleague’s desk. Or an afterwork beer. Or the yearly office dinner.  

The question that is popping up increasingly is: Will the old office culture come back? Do we want to go back?  

---

ONLY NOW, WE KNOW 

While some industries such as media, telco, IT and energy practiced remote work for decades already, most of us hardly ever worked from home at all. Many of us weren’t even sure if it was such a good idea. I remember discussions about all the downsides of letting employees work from home: how impossible it would be to manage them. How unproductive it would get outside of the office. 

“The biggest challenge: maintaining personal relations.”

Today, the perception of remote work as a feel-good perk for selected employees is gone. One year into the pandemic the advantages have stood the test - and the real challenges have emerged. The biggest one, in my opinion: maintaining personal relations. Yes, we’ve tried the virtual coffee break and the virtual afterwork beer. But - don’t you think it is kind of awkward?  

DISCOVERING A NEW HYBRID 

So, what’s next?  As we get out of the pandemic-inflicted lockdowns, some of our remote work behavior will be here to stay. In fact, a BCG-survey with thousands of managers and employees across Europe, foresees a much higher share of remote work than before. It also says that this will come with several advantages: higher productivity, lower office costs, and higher employee benefits.  
Survey participants were also asked about the challenges of remote work - the answer: maintaining work culture, ensuring team engagement, innovating, controlling and driving productivity will no longer work the same way. 

Some of our old office behavior must and will come back - but in a new form, called hybrid.  A combination of in-person with virtual collaboration. A combination of at-home and in-the-office - but with different parameters or rules. We won’t necessarily go to the office to just sit there at our personal desk. But because we want to meet a specific group of people to collaborate in a specific format. We don’t work from home, just because it gives us more flexibility, or because we belong to the lucky ones who are allowed to do so. But because we are more productive at home for specific activities.  

“Our old office behavior must and will come back - but in a new form, called hybrid.”

At MondayCoffee, where I work, we have moved our information infrastructure to the Microsoft cloud as soon as it became possible about seven years ago. Even before the pandemic, I can’t remember office meetings without remote contributors, digital whiteboards or video conferencing.
And even in our company we are longing to get back into the office, especially for certain collaboration scenarios. Innovation workshops, training sessions and team building just are much more effective, when taking place in-person. And if these are the key reasons for being in the office, this will question the current room layout there: Less individual workplaces, more and new formats of meeting spaces that take into account the specific collaboration requirements.

“Employees have to manage the blurry line between personal and professional lives as well as the difference between – and the combination of – physical and digital work.”

WE NEED NEW RULES  

How to organize ‘hybrid work’ should be openly discussed in companies. New rules need to be established. First and foremost, to ensure the health of our employees.  

Employees have to manage the blurry line between personal and professional lives as well as the difference between – and the combination of – physical and digital work. Companies and their managers need to give employees the right tools and set the suitable rules to keep a healthy balance. Employees need to resist the temptation of checking company posts and notifications when they should be enjoying their personal time instead. But not just the employees; managers also need support in how to lead teams in a hybrid world. 

There is a whole new ground to be discovered. And I’m looking forward, together with my colleagues at MondayCoffee to go and determine the best way of working in this emerging hybrid environment. I’m confident that this time of change will bring us many innovations and opportunities to make work more effective, efficient and healthy at the same time.

Mark Albrecht is Director Corporate Development at MondayCoffee AG..

Source illustrations: vecteezy.com

FEINTOOL: An essential step towards the digital workplace

Feintool is an internationally operating technology and market leader in the technologies of fineblanking, forming and e-sheet stamping for processing steel sheets. These technologies are characterized by cost-effectiveness, quality and productivity. Founded in 1959, the company has around 2700 employees in Europe, the USA, China and Japan.

Starting point

The Feintool Group wanted to renew its intranet platform with the help of Microsoft tools. Collaboration was only possible to a limited extent in the historically grown system landscape. Collaboration across the group was to be standardized, simplified and made more transparent - on any device, anywhere and at any time.

Approach

With the implementation of the collaboration platform CoffeeNet 365, the use of Microsoft 365 technologies was simplified and the right mix was found for the Feintool Group - based on everyday use cases.

Results

On the new platform, Feintool employees can now communicate via the start page, find important information on the intranet on a daily basis and find out group-wide news. At the same time, users can collaborate easily and efficiently on projects or topics across departments with the enterprise solution.

Download Case Study

FEINTOOL: Case Study Download

SWICA: Implementation of a flexible and efficient modern work environment with CoffeeNet

SWICA is one of the leading health and accident insurance companies in Switzerland. 

In order to provide SWICA employees with a flexible and efficient modern work environment, the outdated SharePoint platform was replaced and SWICAnet was introduced. Today, SWICA employees can communicate and collaborate in a more productive way. 

Download Case Study (German only)

SWICA: Case Study Download

REICHLE & DE-MASSARI: Increased engagement and innovation power with the implementation of CoffeeNet 365

Reichle & De-Massari AG has been developing and producing cabling solutions for high-end communication networks since 1964. With high product quality and innovative, future-oriented system design, the company ensures future-proof networks and long-term investment security. R&M is the market leader in Switzerland and one of the top players in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

To replace the SharePoint intranet on site with a modern, user-friendly platform with improved social communication options and thus promote internal communication and commitment, R&M decided to implement the CoffeeNet 365 collaboration solution.

BÜHLER GROUP: Creating a future-oriented working environment for a digitally efficient organization

Bühler is an internationally active Swiss technology group. As a global company with 13,000 employees in 140 countries, Bühler needed a single platform for information, communication, and collaboration among its workforce and with external stakeholders.

MondayCoffee's cloud software, which intelligently combines Microsoft's most important technologies on a user-friendly and standardized platform, enabled the company to access, share and distribute all relevant information and knowledge - anywhere and anytime. Global teams can work more efficiently and improve collaboration with customers, partners and suppliers. Bühler has created a future-proof working environment for a digitally efficient organization.

GENERALI: Improve staff mobility and collaboration and simplify customer service

The Swiss subsidiary of the Italian insurance group Generali, with around 1,800 employees and 63 agencies, has put out a tender for the restructuring of its IT infrastructure in 2016. The general contractor Avectris won the overall tender and was looking for the right partner in the areas of Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) and call center solutions. 

MondayCoffee designed an Enterprise Skype for Business environment for Generali in the data centers of Avectris. We seamlessly integrated into Skype for Business the contact center solution LUCS and an audit-compliant voice recording solution from the market leader Verint/Verba. The mobility of the Generali employees and customer service via phone has been significantly improved. 

Download Case Study (German only)

GENERAI: Case Study Download

MondayCoffee now in the SharePoint Business Apps Partner Program!

Microsoft has selected MondayCoffee as Charter member for the SharePoint Business Apps Partner Program. MondayCoffee now joins a selected group of partners and can support customers even more effectively in unlocking their digital potential.   

Companies today need modern solutions to digitalize critical business processes. Hereby, the automation of recurring tasks plays a central role as it can simplify work for many participants and optimize customer service.    

Microsoft is one of the most influential providers in this field and supports organizations with numerous tools in the transformation of their business processes. Microsoft is partnering with top-tier system integrators (SIs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) as part of the SharePoint Business Applications Partner Program to deploy and drive these technologies in innovative and functional ways. Now also with MondayCoffee. 

MondayCoffee is already successfully on its way. For the international, family-run construction company Rhomberg Bau GmbH, three key processes were automated with Microsoft PowerApps, Power BI, Flow, SharePoint lists, Dynamics CRM and Outlook. Read the case study. 

Specializing in collaboration, MondayCoffee creates a trend-setting working environment for digitally high-performing organizations, teams and employees. The out-of-the-box collaboration software is based on Office 365 and SharePoint Business Apps. The Collaboration-Solution helps organizations get the most out of Microsoft technologies and improves their business-critical processes and workflows.  

As a Charter partner of the SharePoint Business Apps Partner Program, MondayCoffee is committed to growing with Microsoft and delivering better solutions to our customers.  

RHOMBERG BAU: Family-owned construction company uses Microsoft 365 to unlock its digital potential

Rhomberg Bau GmbH, a fourth-generation family-owned international construction company, specializing in construction, resources, and railway technology, has started its journey of digitization. MondayCoffee, a trusted Microsoft Gold Partner, is supporting Rhomberg Bau on this important project, helping them take the fast track wherever possible to enable Rhomberg’s stakeholders to experience the benefits of digitalization.

For Rhomberg, MondayCoffee combined Office 365, Dynamics CRM and Azure. Using Microsoft PowerApps, Power BI, Flow, SharePoint lists, Dynamics CRM, and Outlook, three key processes of Rhomberg were automated, simplifying collaboration, reducing time expenditure, and increasing transparency.

No Innovation without Collaboration

Innovation starts with collaboration. Collaboration in turn requires an open and transparent knowledge culture. A culture of sharing. The best ideas are lost if they are not expressed, discussed, documented and further developed. A system of sharing leads to a vital exchange of ideas and an open atmosphere with team spirit. This gives every employee the security and confidence to articulate and contribute. As a result, the organization grows from informing to communicating and mobilizes all its knowledge. Innovations can unfold.

A solution like CoffeeNet 365 offers the infrastructure to let ideas emerge from creative moments of individual knowledge carriers. Each coworker can open a new working group with only one click, invite internal and external participants and begin with a proven set of apps with the exchange and the work immediately. Predefined authorization structures are available for libraries and users. All rooms are equipped with Enterprise Social Media functions and thus allow more resonance to ideas or statements. This in turn promotes visibility and transparency across the entire company.

At the same time, such a modern working style eases working pressure by opening up new communication channels. Information and communications no longer focus on a single location: for example the e-mail inbox, which remains closed to colleagues. Silos are opened up, in order to distribute information on other types of communication channels.

Collaboration creates diversity, better workflows, fewer mistakes, and brings more fun. With fun comes the desire for more - for something new.

Andreas Exner works at MondayCoffee as an Account Executive.

Simple, fast and sustainable – the way we do business, the way we communicate!

Planzer is an international transport and logistics company.  

Already at the age of 3 years Andreas Pfister loved to play with trucks. Later came the trains. He is still at home in this world today. At the family business Planzer. A Swiss transport and logistics company with around 4,800 employees, 50 locations in Switzerland and 5 abroad. Every day, around 1,400 vehicles, 350 rail cars and 3 cargo bikes transport goods for small and large companies from A to B in a sustainable way.

Employees in the office as well as truck drivers on the road benefit from the 'Work Smart' environment.

Andreas started as an apprentice in the dispatch department - one of the most important departments in a transport company! "It is the linchpin between customers and truck drivers. Many people who work in this department used to transport the goods in the past: a helpful experience or rather a prerequisite for being able to do a good job when planning the tours," says Andreas.

Today, Andreas is responsible for project management at Planzer Support National, develops transport concepts for large companies, prepares offers and takes care of customer support. "It's always exciting when the theory is put into practice - in the go-live of the transport concept," explains Andreas. Will it work properly on the rails and roads?

But how is such a transport concept developed today? "Experts from several Planzer locations and customers must be involved. We used to send the documents back and forth by email, but now we use our online FamilyTable. There we also find all the documents relating to Planzer's own quality management," explains Andreas.

With its standardized structure CoffeeNet 365 provides the necessary orientation. 

The FamilyTable is MondayCoffee's out-of-the-box collaboration software. It replaced Planzer's existing SharePoint environment with the aim of creating a platform that combines intranet functionalities, communication and company-wide collaboration in a standardized tool. Furthermore, the solution aimed at a stronger integration and engagement of the employees, especially the drivers on the road.

"With the FamilyTable, I can set up my workrooms on my own, without spending hours on it. Project members can be easily invited, and if I need information from other projects, I have my pages that I follow just a click away. I like that," says Andreas. The tool with its predefined structure also provides the necessary orientation. "This used to be more difficult with SharePoint," adds Andreas. With his sleeves rolled back and a mischievous smile, he adds: "I have to admit, in the document libraries we still occasionally find ourselves using our old-famous file folder structure, even though that wouldn't be necessary anymore thanks to tags and the powerful search function."

It takes time, patience and practice to change the way we work. But it's worth it. "Our truck drivers post pictures on the road today via the integrated Yammer News Feed directly in the FamilyTable. "This reminds me of my time in the dispatch department," says Andreas. Or maybe of his childhood, when he dreamed of driving a big truck!   

Today, Planzer has a forward-looking working and communication environment.

Capturing value from collaboration

Harvard Business Review about the value of collaboration:

Two of the biggest barriers to collaboration are ignorance about others expertise and mistrust in their ability. This makes us miss knowledge we could use to solve big problems. Research found that only after seeing collaboration's value you put in the effort of collaborating effectively. 

Find the full article here

Future Teamwork and Collaboration

Entrepreneur magazine about change in teamwork and collaboration:

The new work era with diversity, distribution, timezones and cultural differences demands better collaboration to embrace team productivity. Productivity experts and futurists say collaboration needs to become a priority to unleash the potential of teams. 

Find the full article here

Co-Working Spaces Inspire Innovation and Collaboration

Entrepreneur magazine about the benefits of Co-Working Spaces:

Although it’s a common fact that we can gain ideas from interacting, collaborating and competing with others, employees still seem to lose their efficiency and productivity by not knowing each other well. Examples of how coworkers collaborate, innovate and work together mostly fall into one of these four categories: Learning and Advice; Recruiting and Employment; Networking and Clients; Innovating and Collaboration.

Find the full article here

Focusing on what matters most!

The company Emmi is Switzerland's largest diary processor.

Everywhere and anytime. This is what many people expect at work. Employees also work increasingly with colleagues and externals without sitting anywhere close to them. However, it has become crucial to collaborate efficiently, easily and in a professional manner to achieve the defined objectives. A case in point is the introduction of a company-wide ERP system. 

Lukas Fischer, project manager in the Corporate Development team at Emmi, Switzerland's largest dairy processor, was part of the successful implementation of their new ERP system based on SAP between 2012 and 2017. The certainty that Emmi would not be able to deal without an integrated ERP system was matched with equally large respect: this was a huge project with many unknown factors at the start. 

Lukas Fischer implemented, with the help of EmmiNet, a new ERP system at Emmi.

"Every core process is affected by the introduction of such a system: countless stakeholders, countless meetings, and a never-ending number of new people who have to be onboarded and get involved as quickly as possible," explains Lukas Fischer the situation. “How can we make sure that everyone in the project team is connected intelligently and that we do not have to spend too much time with administration and IT issues?” These were the questions the project team had right from the beginning. 

Efficient collaboration – agile progress 

Questions that were easy to answer at Emmi. As early as 2009, Emmi started to facilitate the company-wide collaboration across its various businesses. "We wanted to enable our employees to become more efficient and agile in their collaboration. Everyone had to be able to access relevant information and existing knowledge quicker and more effectively, as well as to communicate and collaborate digitally with all involved parties, from within the company and with externals. That was the goal. 

EmmiNet - the name of the SharePoint-based solution at Emmi - crystallized as a future-oriented and sustainable platform. Emmi’s operating system was already Microsoft Office at that time, and that had to remain unchanged. Hence, a professional Microsoft-compatible platform had to be found to prepare the company for its digital transformation. 

Every core process is affected by the introduction of an ERP system. Thanks to EmmiNet all involved people in the project were intelligently connected with each other.

No file shares, less emails 

"CoffeeNet, the collaboration solution by MondayCoffee, sparked our interest not just of its original name," the application managers summed up. "We were presented an out-of-the-box and user-friendly platform that allowed us to work more efficiently and effectively, from a collaboration, communication and an enterprise-wide document management point of view. That, of course, was exactly what we needed”, Lukas Fischer recalls. 

File shares and thousands of emails with attachments were gradually becoming something of the past. Needless to say, the project workers needed time to get used to the new way of working. However, they quickly familiarized themselves with the benefits of this collaboration platform and made good use of it. 

The concept and implementation phases of the ERP project were entirely handled over EmmiNet. All project members can access the various documents in virtual workspaces, working together at the same time and from any device. Project updates or meeting notes can be placed at the same location, where the task lists and documents are also stored, "Lukas Fischer explains. "This has helped us to focus on what really mattered." 

The rollout of the ERP project across the entire group will also take place on the EmmiNet as it allows our international colleagues to access relevant information and data quickly and easily. 

Ongoing development 

For Thomas Pizzolato the implementation of CoffeeNet is much more of a business project requiring intense change management.

In parallel to the ERP rollout, Emmi's application managers developed the EmmiNet further and also switched from a on-premise to an online solution, based on SharePoint Online / Office 365. "We focused on user-friendliness, modern and intuitive design, and a strong search function", explains the SharePoint team leader at Emmi, Thomas Pizzolato. 

"We handed over the responsibility for the daily administration of EmmiNet to the business. In other words, they had to decide what kind of workspaces they wanted to use for what kind of topic and with whom”, Thomas Pizzolato summarizes the most relevant change that came with the new development. That’s why adopting the new way of working away from file shares and towards SharePoint technology is not an IT project, but much rather a business project with a large change component. "But once the users are familiar with the advantages, they don’t’ want to go back.” Precisely because one can focus on what matters most!

Changing today, means being ready for tomorrow!

For the development of new technologies and products, an efficient collaboration between USTER employees in Switzerland, US, China or India is key. 

Roger Heckly works with data every day; He collects data, combines data, generates information and knowledge to then put it at disposal for his work colleagues. "I help my employer Uster Technologies AG, a leading Swiss manufacturer of measuring instruments for the textile industry, to get easier access to information and knowledge," says Heckly about his role in the company.

For Roger Heckly UsterNet was a catalyst for a cultural change. 

As a key success factor, he sees above all a consciously chosen culture, which promotes collaboration between the globally distributed employees of USTER. "Five years ago, we began to change the way we work together, triggered by the introduction of the collaboration solution UsterNet, based on CoffeeNet and Microsoft SharePoint.” 

New way of working - Top-down 

Whether an employee works in Tennessee or in Suzhou, the company goals must be clear to everyone. This requires, in particular, a direct and easy accessible communication from the CEO. At the same time, there must be no obstacles to effective collaboration between employees in Switzerland, the USA, China or India. These were the objectives of the former CEO of USTER. He initiated the launch of UsterNet in 2011 and personally supported the worldwide roll-out of the platform during the two subsequent years. 

"UsterNet was a catalyst for change. Because it was not enough to just log in to the new tool, we had to learn a new way of working that fit the digital world. In that sense, having the top management as a role model was extremely important", Heckly summaries his observations during that time. 

Historically grown data silos between departments and locations, which too often hindered efficient collaboration, had no right to exist anymore. With the UsterNet, employees were able to create virtual collaboration rooms, so-called workspaces, independently and without IT support. The information stored therein is accessible to authorized persons at any time. "This independency as well as the dismantling of the silos had to be practiced again and again," says Heckly about the most important tasks after the rollout of UsterNet. 

The global UsterNet started as an intranet, a uniform information platform and a hub for all workspaces. But that was only the beginning. 

The digital transformation happens everywhere. 

More services - Bottom-Up 

"This cultural shift continues to affect us today," says Heckly. For USTER, a long-term oriented increase in productivity is a central requirement. "After the UsterNet became an integral part of our daily work and we slowly familiarized with the new way of working, many are now realizing what is still possible." 

Little by little, while using UsterNet, each business unit identified additional areas for efficiency improvements. One example is process-specific knowledge management in global sourcing, product management, textile technology or research & development. Key information, which previously one only got via its own network, can now be found through a central search function. 

"One of the main points was dealing with correct information from the ERP system," says Heckly. Almost in every process there is the opportunity to integrate data from the ERP system, for example key figures on customers, products or suppliers, through UsterNet in the daily work. "This allows employees to work faster and with the right information, of which the source is clearly defined. And this reduces the number of mistakes." 

Another example is Microsoft OneNote. OneNote is now increasingly used as an additional collaboration tool, accessible via the UsterNet. The open format of OneNote complements the features of the libraries for structured document storage, task management or posting news. In informal 'brown bag training' sessions, employees were shown how collaboration can be more informal yet also more effective with the help of OneNote: employee meetings, minutes or brainstorming sessions, for example. 

"Employees have realized that thanks to UsterNet and to changing their way of working, it is now easier to organize and structure the exchange of information , also in teams with colleagues who work on other continents." 

Communication, training and role models 

Change or adopting a new behavior, does not happen just like that. It needs explicit support from top management. It needs training. It needs communication. It needs ambassadors such as Roger Heckly, who recognize early on how a new tool and the right way of handling it can have a positive impact on one’s own work and the organization. "It is still in my interest to remind colleagues that no more documents are sent via e-mail, that there are better solutions for individual excel sheets in UsterNet, or that one can work very well with a search engine, as long as documents are properly tagged. The change of today means being ready for tomorrow - Heckly is convinced about that.