Collaboration tools open up online universe of blended working
The need for digital skills in the workplace is at an all-time high, highlighted in the recent move towards a more blended work setting. It is therefore even more important for people to receive the training and develop skills to keep up with the moving digital workspace.
At Sopra Steria, we have introduced a variety of projects to increase the digital skills of our own workforce and the communities within which we work. Here are three examples. The first is about taking care of our staff. To increase our digital skills pool in the workplace we offer cross training for those with outdated or obsolete skills, allowing staff to keep up to date.
We provide regular webinars and lunch and learn sessions on our toolset including how to run successful meetings and workshops in Teams using the latest features and Miro, our online whiteboard tool. Recruitment and inductions have switched to virtual meetings and we onboarded our first virtual summer intern this year in Edinburgh from Heriot-Watt University.
The second is about encouraging children into the industry. The local communities around our work sites also benefit from re-skilling as we offer, where possible, community projects and sponsorship of programmes. For a number of years, we have been an active sponsor of the Wild Hearts Micro Tyco project which encourages local school children to think creatively – building their resourcefulness and teamwork as well as helping pupils to develop financial literacy, communication, leadership, project management and networking skills.
Last year, we moved the programme online ensuring that pupils could still gain experience and learn how business can be a force for good. The third is an example of partnering with a charity. Sopra Steria and its public sector joint ventures NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) and Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) support the Ben Kinsella Trust via its #TechforGood campaign.
We developed an immersive virtual reality platform, which will improve the experience of thousands of young people every year who access the educational workshops run by the trust. Post Covid we all need to consciously build the digital skills of our workforce and the com-munities around us. We hope the examples above give you some food for thought on how to approach the cultural shift to blended working.
Partner Content produced in association with Sopra Steria