Power Platform > RETURN TO WORK App

Get back to work after COVID lockdown in a smart & safe manner

Over the past few months I have started getting more involved into the world of Power Platform. I have a natural instinct to learn more about the No-Code Low code solutions that are out there for the citizen developers. Power Platform is a very promising Microsoft offering out there, and being involved heavily in the design, architecture & implementation in Neudesic's RETURN App to get out to MS marketplace I wanted to share it on my personal blogspace to raise awareness in my IT community. Please reach out to me  pallavi.sharma@neudesic.com to learn more or If you have any questions. More details here RETURN is part of Neudesic’ s COVID-19 response initiative to deliver new technology-based solutions to help organizations stabilize, adapt, and thrive during the current pandemic times. The primary goal behind building this accelerator was for internal Neudesic employees and build an IP / accelerator that can be utilized by other companies with minimal effort.

It is an easy to use digital Mobile ready solution that enables employees to support a safe return to their workplace. This solution is built on Power Platform – Namely Power apps and Power Automate. 

More details here

So, why RETURN: Companies can get a head-start with a pre-built framework based on the most current CDC and public health guidance to support a return to the workplace. Some of the value features are listed below for your quick reference:

• Free and easy to scale on Microsoft PowerApps.
• Mobile Ready - available over any mobile device, browser and as a mobile app as well.
• Configurable - Simple to configure workflows to the specific needs of your facilities and business.
• Accelerator Development - Ability to produce powerful functionality at a fraction of the cost compared to the development of custom code for the same purpose. 
• Automated Solution - An efficient way to shift away from manual, paper-driven work within HR and other departments.
• Secure & Efficient - ability to leverage the user’s secure environment from the start, no PII data is hosted by the RETURN framework.
• Ready to use with minimal config. - facility management, Policies, FAQ's, each screen header text, questions for Health assessment, and Check-in can be easily configured.
• Robust Real-Life Use cases in MVP since it is going to be used internally by Neudesic.

We are targeting 3 personas here in the RETURN APP

• Employees who wish to come to the workplace and they will have the ability to reserve workspace for a particular date in that facility
• Next is the Compliance team is responsible for executing policies, perform check-ins via health screening , send out announcements and manage supplies i.e. masks, Sanitizers etc., per facility.
• Finally, the Governance Committee or a set of Admins – i.e. HR legal and C-Team responsible for establishing & enforcing the Neudesic Policies as related to COVID-19 

Features Supported:

              

Watch a quick video! 

Working from Home ...

A lot has changed over the last couple of weeks, most of the world has been summoned to be at home and stay safe. COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we operate, face to face and inter-personal social interactions have deemed to be of absolutely no importance against our health safety and remote is the new normal for non-essential business.

Some of us are realizing now, remote work is not as easy as it seemed before. It's a challenge to transition from face to face and being physically in an office to accomplish targets vs being remote and try to achieve the same.For some job roles it't not even a possibility and for some we need to create innovative solutions.

In the current era of digital transformation, remote work provides us with the wide spectrum of opportunities to achieve our work goals from the comfort of our home.

while there are a lot of benefits there are equally challenging times, I say this from my experience of working from home for the past 4-5 years. Most of my projects in the last couple of years have been remote. I live in Chicago and I have successfully lead the projects for NY, PA, AZ, TX etc. from my home base office here, with almost NO travel or travelling when absolutely needed.

I am sharing my personal experiences for others to benefit from in my community. I work in the IT services industry and the below may/may not be applicable for other work streams but my hope is that everyone can have some takeaways. This is my small contribution in times of need to my friends, family and my community.

Benefits:

1. Time time.. more time  - my workplace was 40+ miles away and when I used to drive to my office in Lombard a few yrs back, at times traffic was a nightmare with 2.5-3 hrs stuck in peak traffic. Later our office moved to downtown Chicago and my train commute was about 3 hrs. round trip. In cases when I started taking the train downtown I was somewhat productive by completing part of my work during my commute. This was however subject to laptop having enough power, I was seated in a Quiet car or not, and if I could contribute to some critical calls due to security and NDA's of others overhearing what I had to say!! Sometimes there was just a lot of background. It was not always a good experience for other attendees while I was speaking, not to mention when the network was lost while we switched cell towers. When I started working from home, I just had so much more time in my hands!!
2. Productivity - I felt my productivity increased drastically since I was able to manage my time better
3. Discipline - I found myself more disciplined and that went a long way in finalizing my routine and my well being. I had time to invest in my hobbies and family. We also adopted a puppy recently from a rescue shelter. Let me just say that life is hectic and busy, with ample time in my hands to reflect and streamline my thoughts.
4. Flexibility - with the flexible hours from some clients when possible, I have managed my time well (started Yoga and Zumba classes), learnt some good smart working techniques and improved drastically in my time management skills, I am planning to get work certifications, I have revisited my hobbies - started blogging again.. the list is endless!! 

This new new world of quarantine life has so much to offer, please visit my blog to get some pointers on how to adjust to the new normal 

A Dummies Guide to Quarantine Life

I have currently observed how my hubby is trying to adjust to working from home (he is in IT consulting services as well) and my daughter was trying to adjust to her e-learning from school! My suggestions for both of them showed improvements and i am witnessing more progress everyday as they are evolving as a better remote worker/learner.

Here are my foolproof mantra of working remote and how to setup yourself for success. If you have any more pointers, I am very interested to know so, please leave a comment below.

Discipline - This is #1 on my list, it’s very important that you understand that remote work does not mean you or another remote worker will be available 10-14 hrs. a day, early mornings and late evenings.

• Set expectations on the time you will be available based on the needs of your work and role you are performing.  
• Always publish your phone number you can be reached at after hours during a critical need, and setup your out of office or message on your IM status reflecting the same when you are not working or on PTO. 
• Understand the boundaries of your team members as well.  It’s important to be able to differentiate your work from your personal life, it is often easy to get distracted and derailed during the day for you.
• It is not ideal if you have a portable workplace with you wandering all over your house as a functional long term solution. Soon you will find how ineffective that is. Dedicate a good space in your house to act as your functional workplace, I certainly prefer mine with a view and good lighting.
• Needless to say try to keep your home workstation clean and uncluttered, believe me - it goes a long way. 
• Beware of your pets / children / spouse interruptions when you are working towards a deadline or on an important call. Try to manage and set expectations with them early on and make arrangements with their routine for the day. Things will fall in place eventually.
• Follow discipline of what activities to do before you start work and after. i.e. gym, morning walk, coffee, even an afternoon 30 min power nap after lunch or after work is over is recommended for being re-vitalized for later :-) 
• Find a routine that creates a good balance between your personal and your work life. After all, one of the great perks of working remotely is having more flexibility!
• Audio/Video calls - Let's hope your organization uses a good tool for calls - both audio and video. This is key, if you face challenges in this area - raise a ticket with your help desk and help your company understand what needs to be done for you to be successful doing remote work to perform your job function.
• Invest in a good headset and microphone with excellent sound quality with a noise-canceling feature to cut down on background noise and those non so welcoming heavy breathing sounds. My recommendation is mute yourself when not speaking!!!
• Web Cam - If your laptop cannot handle the needs of getting a high quality video,  research online and get a good web cam for your video calls, video calls are becoming the new normal for meetings now a days! Learn the option to blur the background if it is possible. My company Neudesic uses MS Teams as its collaboration software and we utilize that option. 

Making Teams available for everyone

With COVID-19 continuing to impact people and countries around the world, teams and schools everywhere are moving to remote work and distance learning. 

Get Teams for free and learn how to get started.

My personal experience is to gradually start the culture of video calls, don't force people to this, a lot of people specially the first time remote workers do not feel comfortable in front of the camera or being recorded. Give them some time to adjust to the new working conditions and train them if needed. It's a fact that calls where people can see each other, makes for more inclusive meetings and helps you to be present and engaged in the meeting with others. You can clearly see facial expressions, this increases your connection and understanding and at times helps you take corrective actions to make a positive impact in the meeting.

Some notes for web cam enabled meetings :

• Point the camera just to your face in a way your face is visible clearly.
• Dress up well with neatly done hair so you don't have that "I just got up" & "I am in my pajamas" look. 
• Be professional and try to maintain eye contact with your camera when talking.
• Consider turning off your camera if you have connection issues (Video streaming consumes bandwidth) 
• It is a good thing to NOT multitask during these meetings, it is clearly visible in the camera and does not create a good impression.
• Try to give speaking time to everyone and if possible, have a moderator (this role can be played by any capable team member) facilitate the meeting for an an important discussion or a critical meeting.

• Invest in a good ergonomic Chair and Stand up Desk -  Comfort is crucial for you to have a positive work experience, invest in a good chair and desk , some pointers below. But let's not get too comfortable that we start taking unwanted naps :-)

        

• Get a good Monitor, Keyboard & mouse - these are early on investments that help you with the setup and go a long way. A LAPTOP can suffice for a few days but trust me when I say that it just boosts your motivation to type and code when you have a good monitor with the correct brightness level extending your laptop. I personally am a fan of 2 monitors side by side which is raised to the right eye level and my Laptop just serves as a source of extension of display. I do not recommend using a combination of different size of monitors. It is a painful experience for your neck to use multiple monitors with diff dimensions & resolutions, you will thank me later for saving on those chiropractor bills. Wireless versions of keyboard and mouse go a long way in reducing the clutter in small work spaces.
• WIFI & Bandwidth - Please please please.... do some research for the best network provider in your area and get the WIFI and bandwidth that you think is applicable for your job function. Get in touch with your Infrastructure guys at work to find out the specifics if needed. I use Comcast Xfinity and it works great for me. 
• Security - This should be primary consideration when working remotely. If this is not done right, you may end up even losing your job and get penalized heavily. I recommend always use your work's virtual private network (VPN) outside of the office. When you are taking calls try not to be on speaker. In current times when both spouses are working from home, maintain the security protocol that is needed for sharing essential work info (yes .. even from your spouse... remember the NDA you signed with your company???) You should avoid using unsecured home computers or networks, if needed get in touch with your help desk to understand if your home setup is per the remote policy! 
• Mobile - In situations when you are away from your desk and need to work / take calls make sure you have a good mobile device to support the apps that your company and client needs. Download and configure them before hand and troubleshoot issues if any well in advance! If you do not wish to use your personal mobile number for office calls, research and find options for vanity numbers, thee are some options available for WiFi calling, set up your business greetings and more. You can choose a phone number of your choice and have it in your email signature and contact card. 
• Communications with team & manager - VISIBILITY is important when you are remote. Find out your own creative ways to be visible. 
• Staying connected is the biggest piece of advice I would like to give to all!! Make sure you regularly check in with your team members to get updates ( Please do not start micromanaging suddenly!) Rely on a good software like MS Teams for transparent and clear collaboration. 
• Ask questions and DO NOT assume anything, when in doubt... always validate what your understanding is. 
• Check in with your colleagues and manger occasionally to see how things are going, if they need any help or guidance. 
• Share what works good for you in your remote working style. Be open to take suggestions from others and make amends. 
• Do not hesitate to have the hallway/water cooler conversations on the side bar with your colleague friends and other employees regularly to keep yourself up-to-date!!
• Start getting used to the tools out there for creative collaboration and mimic real life office scenarios for brainstorming and producing value added outcomes.
• Start doing some lunch and learns at your work to a smaller group first and then to a bigger audience for anything that you are passionate about. Believe me every organization loves the entrepreneur mindset, think outside the box.
• Have brainstorming sessions with your internal team members before you go ahead to try them with your client. 

Remember: In consulting world you are the expert, so do your homework.

Some good tools to consider for your productive calls and work sessions are listed below, as I mentioned earlier we use MS Teams which is now FREE.

Always dry run your important meetings !!!

Test your video, audio quality in a dry run with one of your colleagues before any important meeting if possible, mimicking the client scenario. This will avoid the challenges one faces after joining the call, this will also save you from your apologies to attendees during the call and later! If this happens on a regular basis you undoubtedly will be tagged as the employee whose audio always echoes or whose audio gets cut off .. 

Virtual Happy Hour 

Go ahead and encourage virtual happy hours culture with your team members in these trying times and have a beverage of your choice for a virtual cheers .. cut a cake, celebrate birthdays, recognition & awards.. Innovation is key!

Relax & Take Breaks

 Find effective ways to relax yourself (chair yoga anyone! ) and get away from your computer for water and bio-breaks from time to time,(well you always can put a reminder on your phone!!) Health is most important & critical part of our life and no times like the current corona virus times reflects that. 

This is one of my favourite video for doing light yoga at your desk! 

                    

Enjoy remote work.. stay safe and maintain safe distancing everyone.

A Dummies Guide to Quarantine life

The current novel Corona Virus situation has probably the worst impact on our day to day lives: the lock downs, the curfews, reports of people getting sick and deaths numbers increasing every hour alarmingly is us being a part of history that we did not choose.

What we can choose however, is how we react to this. The sooner we accept this situation and start seeing the positive side, it is for our better. It's temporary & I am thankful that we have family with us, or at least the means to connect with them via video chat and share our positive thoughts with them. We can choose to be responsible citizens who are logical informed thinkers and maintain caution. 

This is a great opportunity to showcase our moral responsibility, support our elders and kids  who need our help and support. It’s time to build their confidence and de-stress them and ourselves too! there are a lot of things to do to contribute to our family, friends and society right now.

I did a lot of research for the below to get what I needed and will post some additional good apps and links for these as I find more.

1.      Music - If you love music this is the best for you, find your soulful channel of music or music videos that take you to your happy place. yes, it does exist. you just need to invest some time for this :-) 
      
          Some good generic music stations are Pandora, Spotify, for Indian music I like the playlists and radio offered by Gaana ( Radio )& Jiosaavn.

                      

2.     Pets - They help a lot with soothing you and getting you out of your anxious state of mind, if you have one great, if not - you can foster ! 
      
          Do reach out to your nearest local rescue shelters here and be prepared for your 4 legged soulmate! 

3.     Yoga - A lot has been said about this positively, and I tend to agree. For non-believers (me initially 😃) it was nothing but some weird exercises, but as I started learning more about the asanas and the breathing tips, it helped me with my daily lifestyle. You don’t need to start as an expert. Day 1  might be just you are getting introduced to what it is all about and be the learner who can do practically nothing and see your progress, it brightens your mood and energy levels. 

      I have been pretty impressed by Shilpa Shetty Yoga and Daily Yoga App 

          

4.     Exercise - some of my friends would undoubtedly put this ahead of all other activities, I certainly don't, :-) I do exercise in a very mild to moderate manner, walk - get your steps - in your backyard, front yard. if not just walk around in your house, one room to another. do some simple warm-ups to starts with, all you need is a wall and may be a chair for support and steadily increase your capacity and core strength. I will post some good apps and links for these shortly. combine with exercise and its a lot of fun

             

5.     Dance - No need for you to be a dancer to try your hands on this, you can just shake your leg on music and see how it uplifts you, if you have a partner great, if not that's fine too.  
      
          Search on Google to get your tailored dance tutorials of your like classical, contemporary, jazz, zumba,salsa .... 

                                     

6.     Social Media - This is a complicated one, it’s good to be a part of a group - family, friends, like minded acquaintances, strangers. but be sure where to draw the line when it starts to impact you negatively. that's when you need a social media detox (yes there is a group for that as well!) It’s a good way to be informed and aware of how your friends and family are doing and call them or video chat with them for some good times. In these times of social distancing i have personally felt connected when we did group video chats with friends and family. it was fun to see what everyone was doing and catching up with old school / college friends. 

     Facebook, Snapchat, What's App, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok are some of my favs. Follow some influencers of your interest on these platforms just to get a birds eye view or just have fun! If its too much get into the detox mode.. Watch your screen time with these... time flies away when you are on social media.. I have been a victim of this often! Learn about the various platforms here..

7.     Movies & Documentaries- these are my all-time go-to means for entertainment, I am a movie addict and can binge watch for hrs., in current times my recommendation is to choose a genre which is enforcing the happy times, family watches, positively impacting movies and documentaries. Rest assured - there will be times in future to get to those mind-boggling and disturbing movies and dramas!! Watch the old classics and Rom-coms (I love them!!!) 

      Get a trial subscription for a channel if you want to just try. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney have some really good stuff streaming right now. Free movie suscription  http://mx1.in/Shemaroo activate your subscription 

                                            Top 10 feel good movies are below

8.     Read - it can be any book, an eBook or any online material like the news ( be careful what sources you have ..) my suggestions if you want to be aware of what’s going on just believe in what the WHO and CDC have to say. 

      Pick genre of book which uplifts your spirits, go for your classics or the adventure ones. If you are not an avid reader the below video is JUST FOR YOU!!

      Amazon canceled the subscription of books and audio stories for children and students of all ages as long as schools are closed, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.
   

       All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet using the following link https://stories.audible.com/start-listen.

9.     De-Clutter - How about de-cluttering and organizing not just your closet, your kitchen or your shoes but also your thoughts.

     Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is a good book and a series worth investing 

       

10. Art & Creative - invest your time in some good creative passion of yours that you could not get to, here is your golden time to set your foot into it. Think of innovation and document what you can do to help the community and society in current times, how you can be influencing to  your immediate family, friends and then to a greater audience if you want to. Create a website. it’s easy.  Paint your favorite scenery, bring out the crayons or download an app for coloring. write a poem if you can, shayari is always welcome! people love to hear all about some comedy try recording your very own stand up comedy that you always  wanted to try! Just revisit your resume on Linkedin and try to polish your roles and responsibilities, often times they need a nudge - don't they!  

      Or 
     
      Grab your glass of wine & just start to paint your masterpiece .

       Find your hobby or passion and start on it. How about you choose an activity per day and record your progress of how you feel in your journal or online blog. Something you will look back and be proud to share or revisit later... isn't that a great creative idea??

11. Sing - This certainly may not be for everyone, but who does not love to sing in their bathrooms. Just enjoy singing in tune OR even out of tune ( make sure you are alone!). You will feel good and that's what matters. Find some apps and websites that offer to fine-tune your voice, so you feel good and enjoy your musical creations.There are options to do duets as well if you feel confident and comfortable.

           Smule is a good app worth exploring.

12. Blog / Vlog - why not! This is the best time to try your skills. Whether it is for fun or educational just give it a try, blog about 1 min a day to start with, very similar to a journal. If you are not comfortable online, start a diary or your journal as a private one. Pen down all you feel but make it a rule to add 5 positive points for 1 not so positive thought that you record and elaborate more on your positive thoughts. Publish to the world when you feel apt.. or just be a hidden treasure..

                                       A list of top 10 blogging tools is here

              

13. Games - Board games are popular in the west and I cannot emphasis enough the power of these games to increase your intelligence and analytical skills. I am not personally into these. online or board games on a regular game but if not now when? Indulge yourself. learn a few new board games, online games and just don’t look back... there are games for single users and groups choose accordingly and get started.

      Games for iphone  & games for android, games for your Desktop PC,  
                                              Board games can be found here

14. Cooking & Baking - not everyone is a cook, but what if you ever wanted to try your hands on something as easy as a salad / omelette or may be bake a cake, a brownie, make some pasta, tacos. with the limited ingredients what can you make - how about take that as a challenge and there are apps / websites that tell you exactly what you can make easily with those ingredients. There are a lot of online resources for how to recipes with step by step instructions and simple and easy ones as cake in a cup.

      I personally would like to recommend my cooking blog (😊), but I also follow Hebbars , my hubby blindly used to follow Turban Tadka but now is a huge fan of Ranveer Brar's unique storytelling. For International & quick recipes I go to Rachel Ray. 

   

15. Photography - if you have a phone with a camera great, else take out that camera of yours you always wanted to try the different modes on ( except the auto mode!) there are some great tips on photography and within the confinement of your room find abstraction, objects and some inspirations that make your pics look unique and different .

     For beginners I enjoyed going through this blog. this has a lot if useful info.

           

16. Play an Instrument - If you know one. maybe challenge yourself with something you have not tried before. if you don't know how to play one, that's ok, now is the perfect time to learn online about notes and an instrument of your choice and can start an online learning tutorial.

     Khan Academy or YouTube is one of the best sources for a lot of learning.

            

17. Rest & sleep - it’s perfectly fine to rest, sleep for a good 8-12 or even more hours to start with, with the super busy life schedule we had in our past let’s take this time to unwind and give our brains and body the much-needed rest. You have no idea how rejuvenating this can be! try it!!!
           Try the deep sleep music to get a good night sleep.. it really helps

                         

18. Garden & plants – start your very own indoor mini garden, or an outdoor garden, work with what you have and build upon it, learn about what it takes to grow your own herbs, flowers, well even produce, there are some very simple gardening tips to grow the simple things in your kitchen. 

      See this video to learn more tips and tricks for indoor gardening 

            

19. Training, Courses & Certifications - were you looking to do some good courses and never had the time. a lot of universities are offering free online classes. just do it! get certified or get trained on a business class, some security training, cooking sessions, some DIY's on plumbing, how to blog, create your website etc. etc. the list is endless...

      Free Harvard Courses , ivy league courses can be found online.

           

20. Believe in Yourself & Think Positive - This is what everyone should be doing, we will get through this and come out as better humans. we all have our little ways to contribute. let's smile and take it one day at a time. whether you are alone, or with your family- SPEND this time wisely to build positive energy. This is once in a lifetime opportunity that we have, let’s spend it effectively and make every moment count.

Please remember, as some people are adjusting for remote work, there are front line workers still going to the hospitals and essential workplaces. 

Media is at its best (worst perhaps) to show and tell things as they are, 

As someone has rightly said: “Honesty without tact & compassion is BRUTAL” and I truly believe in "This too shall pass."

      We as social creatures were so used to being together, meeting people, sharing our lives that it is kind of a setback for us, not just as adults but young adults, teenagers and kids in our houses all are trying to understand what's going on. How we react to these times is going to define our kids as well - Let’s not forget that! Working from home for people who are not used to it have their own challenges, I plan to blog on how to effectively work from home since I have huge experience in the IT services industry & strategy consulting and have been working from home primarily for the last couple of years.

Some kids activities and things to do for kids are also listed below, I received these as a whats app forward, so cannot credit the author but a big shout out to whoever compiled this list below.


Online resources:
- BrainPop
- Curiosity Stream
- Tynker
- Outschool
- Udemy
- iReady
- Beast Academy (Math)
- Khan Academy
- Creative Bug
- Discovery Education

YouTube Channels:
- Crash Course Kids
- Science Channel
- SciShow Kids
- National  Geographic Kids
- Free School
- Geography Focus
- TheBrainScoop
- SciShow
- Kids Learning Tube
- Geeek Gurl Diaries
- Mike Likes Science
- Science Max
- SoulPancake

Some resources to help with kids at home: 

Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and

activities. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Pretend to travel the world. Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums. 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

This is the awesome free curriculum that we use. Everything from preschool activities

 to 12th grade is here!

https://allinonehomeschool.com/

List of thinking games by grade: https://allinonehomeschool.com/thinking/

More awesome free learning websites that we like to use

·        https://www.starfall.com/h/

·        https://www.abcya.com/

·        https://www.funbrain.com/

·        https://www.splashlearn.com/

·        https://www.storylineonline.net/

·        https://pbskids.org/

·        https://www.highlightskids.com/

·        https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

·        https://www.coolmath4kids.com/

·        http://www.mathgametime.com/

·        https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

·        http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp

·        http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

·        https://www.switchzoo.com/

·        https://www.seussville.com/

·        https://www.turtlediary.com/  

·        https://www.e-learningforkids.org/ 

For Indian community Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle have made their entire catalog free for 30 days to help with social distancing. Their books can be read on their mobile apps. Enjoy!

• Amar Chitra Katha: bit.ly/ACKFree 
• Tinkle: bit.ly/TinkleFree

More to come...!!!