Alex Smith |
Thai consumer goods organisation Osotspa is using Analytics 365, an analytics solution for Microsoft Teams, to deliver insights and understanding into how it manages its remote and hybrid workers.
The firm was established in 1891 and listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in October 2018. Today, it is a leading Thailand-based consumer products manufacturer and distributor with brand presence in 39 countries.
It began working remotely two years ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic and now has around 700 people using Microsoft Teams, with 300 also using Analytics 365 within the platform.
“The analytics solution has provided us with the insights needed to confirm that flexible working is a viable business strategy,” says Pajaree Saengcum, head of digitalisation at Osotspa. “I can show the CEO and the senior management team that, with everyone online, we can gain an accurate view of how staff are working within Microsoft Teams. This will help us to both continually improve processes and enhance the well-being of our employees.”
With Analytics 365, Osotspa is able to understand the impact of remote working on its people and help guide the introduction of new processes whilst maintaining high levels of productivity.
“Without real data, there was a definite danger that this could lead us to introducing a policy for everyone to return to the office which normally causes higher costs to the organisation and our people,” says Pajaree. “With Analytics 365, we can see that managers working on the most successful projects are also those that have a high level of communication and collaboration, involving one-on-ones within their team, across different teams and with end customers. I can share these insights with managers in other parts of the organisation to establish best practices and help to further improve their management and leadership skills.”
Analytics 365 has therefore proved an invaluable tool for Osotspa in establishing a successful remote working strategy.
“It has helped us to enhance our collaboration and communication when working remotely, which in turn positively impacts our performance and productivity,” says Pajaree.
Analytics 365 adds an intelligence layer to activity profiles, resulting in management insights that deliver clarity on communication and collaboration.
“Managers can review the dashboards to understand current habits, encourage communication and stimulate useful and effective collaboration,” says Pajaree. “It also provides a good foundation for one-to-one meetings with employees, which offers valuable opportunities for feedback and driving improvement over time.”
Pajaree also appreciates the visibility of interactions with team members that the management style dashboard provides. “It shows that I have high levels of interaction with my lead team, and I expect my managers to have the same approach with their own teams,” she says.
The chat comparison board also allows Pajaree to see how well people are interacting, while the network quality report is useful for her IT support team.
“When I see a lot of activity and communication using the chat comparison board, it demonstrates that a project is in good shape,” says Pajaree. “The key is to ensure a best practice approach when scheduling meetings within Microsoft Teams, so that all activity can be captured on the charts. Meanwhile, the network quality report enables my IT support team to step-in and help individuals affected by poor connectivity before it impacts their work.”
Analytics 365 is also helping Osotspa to change and re-evaluate behaviours and expectations.
“For example, I was informed that my IT support person was not available,” says Pajaree. “Without the data, my initial reaction was to ask what had gone wrong. However, when I reviewed Analytics 365, I could see that the person had received a customer request at the end of the previous day, and then worked into the night with the customer to resolve the issue. The Analytics 365 dashboard showed all the one-to-one communication involved to service the customer. The support person had then taken time out to recover and was uncontactable.
“The end result is that we have now shifted the IT support role into the evenings and added more people to receive customer support calls during the daytime. It has given the IT support person the flexibility to work when she needs to. Most importantly, it has removed any bias from what we cannot see and prevented us from making decisions without all the relevant information.”
This article was originally published in the Winter 2022 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.