Salesforce’s Work.com: From Survive to Thrive

Last week Salesforce announced several updates to its Work.com platform. The platform itself is aimed at delivering a mix of different solutions and services to help organisations, their customers, and their employees go back to the workplaces safely. Designed to help companies adjust to the new normal and survive the crisis, the platform is taking on a new role as businesses now are entering a new mode. They are going from survival to thriving and Work.com is here for them.

When it was launched back in June, the platform was originally designed as a suite of new and already existing Salesforce solutions brought together in one place to aid companies to return to work safely. However, as the pandemic rages on around the world, companies, workers, and governments are beginning to realise that many workplaces will be changed forever.

In an interview with TechRepublic, Sarah Franklin, EVP and GM, Platform, Trailhead and AppExchange at Salesforce said, “Work.com focused originally on helping companies reopen safely, but now people are transitioning. We’re in a new normal that demands a new way to work. And Work.com is expanding from just safety and crisis to employee experience, and helping everybody keep their employees happy, healthy, and productive and really get that focus back on growth, which is so, so, so important.”

So what are the new features Salesforce has introduced?

Employee Workspace and Helpdesk

Employee Helpdesk is a portal for employees to ask questions and find solutions. This ranges from IT issues to career development. It isn’t a purely FAQ’s section, instead the Helpdesk will feature Einstein AI-powered chatbots that provide access to knowledge articles and escalation paths across any department.

Employee Workspace is a “central digital hub” from which employees are able to access corporate resources and apps. An organisation’s Workspace can show or link to Salesforce apps such as myTrailhead and Quip, custom software build of the platform, in-house systems, or even third-party resources such as Google Workspace. A company will be able to use Workspace to keep its remote workers connected through embedded collaboration apps, notifications and personalised communications.

Safer in-person experiences

Broadcast messaging is a feature companies can use to communicate important information to employees and customers alike. The announcements can cover things like changes to hours of operation, health and safety reminders, and so on. Messages can be sent via platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or text. Chatbots and personalised service communications can then automatically respond to follow-up questions or service requests that occur as a result of any further communications.

Queue management is a tool that will allow companies to create virtual lines at their brick-and-mortar location to minimize physical customer queues. Their customers can use an app to reserve a place in line, then get updates about their wait through the app or via text message.

Digital Trust Cards can be used by companies to give their customers important information about their physical locations. These virtual placards can contain information about mask requirements, social distancing requirements, and cleaning policies and can be displayed on a website or within an app. Employees can then easily update the information as it changes.

Covid-19: The New Normal

The Covid-19 outbreak has been rushing changes that were already in the process of happening within companies around the world. Shifts such as increased telecommuting, system shifts into the cloud and XaaS, and digital transformation will likely become permanent even after the pandemic ends. And Salesforce, much like other companies is trying hard to adapt to the new normal. Work.com seems to be a significant part of their future, at least the near one.

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