As a part of Simpplr’s ‘Work from Home’ Series – we wanted to hear from our customers and get insights for what communication tools are working best as they keep their workforce updated and engaged.
A new and valued customer of Simpplr, Xilinx, launched their Simpplr intranet in early March and within two weeks had to shift their strategy in the wake of COVID-19 and move their workforce to work from home.
Xilinx began the transition to remote work following guidance from local health authorities and government guidelines. Originally, the company had communicated a return to work date in April but with updated government recommendations forced a shift in strategy.
As uncertainty and news about COVID spread, Xilinx created a dedicated COVID-19 site to share updates about the company’s response, contact information for resources and tips from IT to help with the remote transition. The Chief of Staff to the CEO sends out weekly updates using Simpplr’s newsletter feature to keep employees updated and informed of the latest news not only internally but related to COVID as well.
During this time, leadership stepped up to conduct virtual Ask Me Anything sessions to give employees an opportunity to ask questions directly to the CEO. For a majority of employees, this is the first experience working remotely for an extended period of time so communication across teams, departments and the organization is vital.
Xilinx positioned the intranet as the single source of truth for company news and information for employees. This guidance gives employees a central location without having communication that gets lost on other portals. While they may come to the intranet for news, they stay for the interaction as it gives employees a chance to connect with other departments and across the broader organization.
With the abrupt transition to work from home, Xilinx utilized their intranet to build a resource to connect employees around the world. A new site called ‘Working from Home Community’ was created to serve opportunities for employees to engage on a personal level maintaining a social aspect to their work life. Each week, a new themed photo album is created to share pictures like their workspace or pets or lunch meals. The site also has weekly fun polls like ‘Who is your favorite James Bond?’, ‘What is your WFH set up? Bed, Floor, Kitchen Table’ and ‘I’m staying sane by…drinking lots of coffee, practicing social distancing or not yelling at the kids/pets’ to keep employees engaged and having fun during this time.
By creating a fun, light hearted environment on the intranet, it has normalized interacting and engaging not only with content but also with leadership and fellow coworkers on a public platform. The intranet is helping make the world a lot smaller and comfortable for employees to interact.