Here at Softcat, we’ve seen just how effective Office 365 (O365) can be in providing solutions for the everyday challenges Human Resources departments face. Helping to improve collaboration, boost productivity and increase security, lots of organisations are seeing how it can benefit HR teams.

With an ever-changing multi-generational workforce, HR teams compete to recruit and retain the best talent, whilst at the same time tackle rising demands for flexible work styles, increased productivity, new innovative technologies and mobility. Office 365 is being used by a lot of organisations to assist with these challenges, helping employees stay connected and productive wherever they work. Applications such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Forms and PowerApps allow a range of departments to address their business challenges, and with an overarching emphasis on building a strong and supportive community within the organisation, we’ve seen HR departments benefit from the efficiencies that Office 365 offers.

Teams

Microsoft Teams allows people to work together, across departments, allowing them to collaborate on documents with colleagues securely, from any location. It’s really straightforward to use, with secure channels set up specifically for each project, and members working collaboratively. Teams supports various compliance standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA and more, providing a secure platform that supports flexible work styles.  

In addition to document sharing, Teams also offers a familiar conversation experience, similar to many social media platforms, so you can use emojis, stickers, GIFs, and custom memes to add your own personality to chats. We like it’s facility for hosting online meetings, and you can also use it for calling and web conferencing, making working across different geographical locations easier and allowing you to support your organisation’s culture.

We’ve seen Teams to be a useful tool and the backbone of collaboration for lots of organisations, allowing them to evolve, regardless of size or operating market.

Forms

Microsoft Forms is a simple app that lets you create surveys, quizzes, and polls. We’ve seen HR departments effectively use Forms to monitor and manage employee requests, in addition to collating employee feedback on specific policies or activities, by creating simple surveys.

When users create a form, they can invite others to respond to it using any web browser or mobile device. As results are submitted, you can use built-in analytics to evaluate responses and make impactful changes.

SharePoint Online

SharePoint gives you storage, sharing capabilities, content management and somewhere for you to communicate and collaborate, encouraging and empowering colleagues to work together. Its enterprise search uses built-in intelligence features to find the best files, sites, and people to assist you with your task and helps users discover information and expertise around them.

Lots of HR teams are using SharePoint so multiple users can have access to common resources and broadcast any changes via intranets and portals. All your policies can be uploaded to SharePoint and locked down, so users can view content without you having to worry about it being modified or deleted.

PowerApps

PowerApps enables users to build apps with a simple point-and-click approach to app design. We like the way that it can be used by anyone – developers and non-technical users – without requiring any knowledge of code as it has a large selection of templates, or you can start from scratch. Once created, users can publish their app to the web, iOS, Android, and Windows 10 so others can have access.

We’ve seen HR departments use PowerApps to create new apps that allows employees to request leave, using APIs, as it can integrate with various other data sources within the business.

Here at Softcat, we’ve supported organisations with a range of solutions offered by Office 365. We understand the challenges HR departments face on a daily basis, and have seen the real benefits of Office 365.

With Office 365, the real benefit to HR departments is:

• Quickly write and review documents with colleagues

• Streamline employee onboarding

• Visualise and analyse data

• Engage employees with better online training

• Empower employees to self-serve

Get in Touch

If you’d like to find out more about how O365 could help your HR department, or have any other questions, please speak with your Softcat account manager, or get in touch using the button below.