The Digital Workplace project at Fluxys is about more than just implementing Office 365. With the new tools offered in Office 365, Digital Workplace Manager Jérôme Van Der Meerschen wants to prepare the organisation for an entirely new way of working. “To get the most out of our hardware and software investments, we want to make sure our end users acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.”

Digital Coach Service: a recipe for success at Fluxys

Thanks to an information campaign, the threshold for employees to contact our coaches was very low. “Our staff have already made it a habit to contact the Digital Coaches whenever they need to know something”, Jérôme tells us. Every day, Fluxys’ employees send the Digital Coach team dozens of e-mails and chat messages or visit them personally with questions about classic software tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. “But most of the questions are now about Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Not only the staff at our headquarters regularly ask the coaches for help, but also employees in other offices in Belgium and even Germany, Switzerland, France and the UK.”

The Digital Coach Service offers more than just ad hoc assistance. Every week, the coaches host Inspire Sessions in French, Dutch and English. During these short sessions, they keep their audience engaged and show participants new techniques and tools in Office 365. This way, they’ve taught Fluxys’ employees how to collaborate on SharePoint files, how to keep their inbox under control, how to extract data in Excel and transform them with Power Query, and how the latest functionalities and mobile applications work. We often notice that session participants tend to be ‘stuck’ in their old habits and don’t realise that they could save a lot of time by using new techniques. During the Inspire Sessions, the coaches try to let participants reflect on what they’re doing now and how they could improve their way of working. “Wow, if only I had learned about this three years ago!” is a remark the coaches hear often. After an Inspire Session, those who are interested can contact the team for a one-on-one session on how to integrate these techniques in their files and their work routine.

The number of employees who ask the Digital Coaches for advice continues to grow. They’re usually looking for an alternative to overflowing mailboxes or a way to share and use files easily on multiple devices. The Digital Coaches present a solution that fits their needs and provide a connection between the technical teams and the end user. Office 365 includes all the applications people need to communicate and collaborate efficiently. The Digital Coach Service makes sure they select the right tools and learn how to use them. “The use of Teams for communication and collaboration has increased exponentially, for example”, says Jérôme.

“I have access to the team’s reporting tools and can follow up on all their activities”, Jérôme adds. “The statistics are useful to see which applications people have questions about, or which Inspire Sessions our employees are most interested in.”

“The video platform OASE is also a powerful tool in our User Adoption plan.” Fluxys’ employees use it to find the answer to their questions in short, clear videos in their own language.

COVID-19 upped the pace

“When most of our employees were working from home, the demand for collaboration tools rose spectacularly, and the number of calls to the Digital Coach followed suit.” We contacted all employees personally and offered help and advice for remote working if necessary. With webinar trainings and tailor-made videos on OASE, we made sure everyone was on board with the new way of working. “When people started returning to the office, the coaches explained to everyone how the new infrastructure in our meeting rooms works, such as the new Surface Hubs.”