Empowering Staff to Work Together Remotely with Coaching (regroove.ca)

Greater Victoria Housing Society (GVHS) is an independent charity that owns and manages low-income housing for seniors, families, and persons living with disabilities.

Challenge

Greater Victoria Housing Society operates in a small office with everyone working together in a shared space. Their workplace culture is that folks talk in person instead of sending emails or messaging online, so there was no interest or need to adopt Microsoft Teams for communicating via instant messaging or video calls.

Then COVID hit, and like so many other organizations around the world, GVHS found themselves thrust into working from home. Having less people in the office meant they could no longer do what was easy and comfortable.

GVHS knew they had access to remote collaboration tools through their Office 365 subscription. Their team had started storing their files in the Microsoft cloud earlier in the year.

The organization decided to begin using Microsoft Teams since it was readily available to all employees using Microsoft 365 without additional fees. The team quickly realized they needed some coaching on how to use this new tool together.

They wanted a Microsoft Teams expert who could work with the entire staff together in one session to get everyone on the same page. Leadership wanted everyone to be comfortable working remotely yet knew their office staff had varying experience levels with Teams.

GVHS’s Director of Finance and Administration, Troy Beyea, was responsible for locating a coaching solution for the 15 office employees.

We had to be ready. We had users of all skills. They were given this tool and expected to run with it. We wanted to give a general overall training to everyone at once to get everyone on the same level.
Troy Beyea, Director of Finance and Administration, GVHS

Solution

Troy had worked with Regroove when GVHS started using SharePoint for file management. The one-on-one coaching Regroove provided enabled him to become the in-house Office 365 administrator. Troy and other staff members can now answer Office 365 questions from staff confidently.

Regroove had also delivered a series of in-person, end-user coaching sessions to the entire office staff. This format allowed everyone to be brought up-to-speed and learn together.

Troy wanted that same experience for Microsoft Teams. However, this time around the sessions would have to be delivered remotely.

I could go around and show people individually, but we were scrambling in so many other areas I didn’t have the time. I thought we could get everyone together and have someone who actually knows what they’re talking about do best practice together.

Troy Beyea, Director of Finance and Administration, GVHS

Troy scheduled a Microsoft Teams 101 coaching session with Regroove. Regroove started by customizing the content to fit GVHS’s needs. They focused on introducing GVHS to new ways of working their staff had not tried before.

Regroove delivered the remote session using Microsoft Teams and recommended the session be recorded. The coach packed the one-hour session with best practice tips and tricks, but also included time for learner questions.

It gave us all the basic skills to work within the program at the same confidence level… one coaching session where everyone could bring their questions and answers and know they’re getting the right training.
Troy Beyea, Director of Finance and Administration, GVHS

Outcome and Benefits

GVHS staff are empowered to work together and do their work without having to be together in one location.

The knowledge gained in the coaching sessions has helped everyone feel more comfortable using the tool.

The staff are now using Microsoft Teams to stay connected. They have also embraced new ways of communicating, including instant message chats for private conversations.

GVHS will continue to use Microsoft Teams even when everyone is back in the office together.

We can still function as a team. We can physical distance, stay connected and see each other.
Troy Beyea, Director of Finance and Administration, GVHS

The organization has added value to their existing Office 365 subscription. They already have access to Microsoft Teams as part of their Office 365 license and don’t have to pay more to use it.

GVHS can meet all the COVID health and safety requirements as people return to working in the office. Staff can share the space while maintaining physical distance.

GVHS is still seeing the value of their training session with a saved recording of the session. They do not need to pay for additional coaching sessions when new staff are hired. New hires can be brought up to speed quickly by watching the recording of the session.

Management feels confident they can train new hires, and support team members themselves. They can tackle future questions and problems with the knowledge they gained from working with Regroove.