A Virtual Learning Journey with Microsoft (25 May 2022) was organised by IHRP and the HRTech CoP held on 25 May 2022 to help HR leaders and practitioners adopt an agile approach.
by Swechha Mohapatra, Head Consulting & Delivery, hrtech
A Virtual Learning Journey with Microsoft (25 May 2022) was organised by IHRP and the HRTech CoP held on 25 May 2022 to help HR leaders and practitioners adopt an agile approach, suitable for unorthodox and complex situations in an uncertain world of work. The webinar focussed on the key learning outcomes:
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The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work. Are we Ready?
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Reimagining Employee Experience leveraging technology
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Key insights from Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Report
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Data and research to guide you on the road to tomorrow
As an extension of the Virtual Learning Journey, IHRP & hrtech.sg organised the first in-person IHRP’s Learning Journey for HR community post pandemic on 27 June 2022.The event was hosted at the Microsoft Experience Center in Singapore where group of 20 IHRP members were selected to visit the Microsoft Experience Center to witness cutting-edge technology in action. In the past, IHRP had arranged Learning Journeys to OCBC, SUTD, Suntec, LinkedIn and DBS.
Some key highlights from the IHRP-hrtech.sg- Microsoft Learning Journey at the Microsoft Experience Center in Singapore.
How to make Hybrid Work, Work?
The event kicked off with Vivek Ravindran(Director, Modern Workplace Business, Microsoft Asia Pacific) sharing the Key findings of the 2022 Work Trend Index outlining five relevant trends of the report:
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Employees are redefining what’s “worth it”.
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Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.
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Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.
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Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.
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Flexibility doesn’t have to mean “always on.”
To highlight the use of technology for growing focus on Employee Experience, Vivek showcased the various modules and applications of Microsoft Viva throughout the key moments that matter in an employee lifecycle like
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Wellbeing & Engagement
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Growth & Development
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Purpose & Alignment
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Culture & Communications
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Knowledge & Expertise
Vivek also demonstrated how these modules and features can be used by managers and HR teams – like auto approvals to free up manager bandwidth, intelligent nudges for scheduling 1:1 meetings, automatically scheduling focussed time, learning in the flow of work and using analytics to dive into potential issues to name a few.
By pairing privacy-protected operational data, such as time spent in meetings per week or number of messages sent, with experience data, employers can better understand the full scope of the employee experience to make informed decisions about how to improve the overall workplace experience.
The session was followed by networking session with a wide variety of refreshments, post which the participants were given a tour of the Microsoft Experience Zone.
Innovation at work -Microsoft Experience Center
Microsoft’s first ever Experience Center provides a one-stop-shop for customers to have a deeper and more engaging interaction with Microsoft. The centre provides first-class facilities coupled with immersive and engaging programmes to showcase innovative use cases for using technology in various industries. The practices within the Experience Center include The Experience Zone, which showcases immersive demonstrations and current implementations across industry sectors.
A team of specialists at Microsoft took the members on a customised journey through these experiences that allows them to experience first-hand relevant technology solutions that are unique to their businesses and enables them to envision the art of what’s possible.
The tour consisted of application and use case of cutting-edge technology like Hololens, Microsoft teams meeting rooms and the application of conversational AI – Nuance AI.
The members of the IHRP community got a first-hand immersive experience of the HoloLens. HoloLens provides a immersive mixed reality experience that help our clients revolutionise how they tackle business challenges. Mixed reality (MR) takes augmented reality a step further by giving digital representations a virtual position in physical space. This allows users to view and directly interact with digital elements as if they were real, three-dimensional objects — while also maintaining the ability to see and engage with the real world. HoloLens has been implemented in many use cases include medicine and manufacturing. For instance read more on how Singapore’s NUHS uses mixed reality for training.
With hybrid work being the future, the Microsoft meeting rooms with – built in cameras, sensitive microphones to ensure all voices are heard including the people not in the room, AI speech recognition, digital whiteboards etc. that allow organisations to collaborate synchronously and asynchronously with their hybrid teams. And as we emerge into this new hybrid reality leveraging technology will empower everyone to collaborate, connect & engage, from anywhere and at any time.
Nuance AI showcasing the use of conversational AI and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence for healthcare providers. The members were able to see a simulation of how Medical Practitioners can use technology to record and transcribe diagnosis, add reporting and reduce the time spent.
After being awed by the technology applications, the group was brought back for an envisioning workshop to assimilate the key takeaways from the sessions and Q&A where they shared their AHA moments and key learnings.
Conclusion
All of us have been reading a lot about the accelerating Digital Transformation and the advent of new technology that can be used to change how employees communicate, collaborate, and connect to provide a seamless employee experience. Seeing these technologies in action was an exhilarating experience where the members were engaged and engrossed in discussing how they can facilitate these interactions with technology.
As HR practitioners we can enable our organisations to better understand the employee experience holistically and make informed decisions about how to improve the overall workplace experience. This approach applies to digital experiences, too.
Accelerating the use of technology can help create an innovative, integrated, and inclusive workplace for a flexible and hybrid workforce of the future.
About the author :
Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-CP, Associate CIPD) is Head of Consulting & Delivery at hrtech.sg and has over a decade of of global experience in various Talent functions. She is a passionate HRTech evangelist, a member of IHRP HRTech CoP Taskforce, and an avid learner who is certified Six Sigma-Green Belt with a background of MBA (Specialization in HR and IT) and Master’s in Labor Laws and Labor Welfare.