Microsoft has built and made available to customers a free crisis communication PowerApp to help dispersed teams stay in touch and request help.
Full instructions on how to deploy the app in your business are available, but if you need more support than that, we're always here to help.
The app integrates with Microsoft Teams and is also accessible on any device. Microsoft say:
"Employees can report whether they are working from home or in an office and make requests to colleagues. This information is designed to help managers and central response teams to co-ordinate any action that’s needed."
You can use the app to make sure you know where your staff are, which is not only useful in the current climate, but should also be part of any disaster planning you do, for adverse weather events or transport disruption, for example.
The ability to request support makes it easier for teams working in different locations to maintain the types of communication we're more used to in an office environment, as well as requesting more urgent help.
The app also allows business leaders to send push notifications for immediate updates, and information from groups such as the World Health Organisation or local governments and health organisations can be shared through an RSS feed.
In difficult times like these, having the ability to communicate seamlessly with staff is critical, not only to your business, but also to the wellbeing (both physical and mental) or your teams.
Microsoft built this app in a couple of days to ensure crisis communications could be rolled out to users as quickly as possible.
If your business could benefit from this, or you need access to Teams to help communicate while working from home, please get in touch. We're helping plenty of businesses who're getting used to remote working for the first time.
