Microsoft store employees are training and helping customers remotely

The coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to shut down their offices and stores around the work. Last month, Microsoft was one of the companies that announced its decision to close all the stores around the world. The decision was made to protect both employees and customers but it did mean that more than 2,000 employees were forced to work from home.

However, Microsoft Store employees seem to have made the best out of the situation as they are now training and helping customers remotely. Microsoft published a new blog post that shares stories of a couple of Microsoft Employees who have taken up online streaming to train others in different fields. Microsoft says last month employees have trained over 65,000 people in government, health care, education and finance on using Microsoft Teams. The company also noted that the demand for “Customer Success Trainings” has surged “among customers wanting to transform their remote work environments with the collaboration tool, including medical center Cleveland Clinic, accounting firm Ernst & Young and transportation and logistics company CN (Canadian National Railway).”

As an essential service that keeps the economy moving, CN delivers vital goods to those who need them most. Many of our functions are mission-critical, and decisions need to be made quickly to keep operations fluid and trains rolling.

When the pandemic hit, the decision to deploy Teams was an easy one. We needed the right collaborative platform that would provide a seamless transition and maintain business continuity in a remote environment. Teams ensures that we can stay connected, remain productive and continue to deliver for the North American economy.

– Doug MacDonald, CN senior vice president of information and technology

Microsoft also noted that the store employees have “helped school districts teach remotely with Microsoft 365 and are rolling out virtual coding workshops for kids.” Microsoft is continuing to provide regular pay for retail team members regardless of the hours they worked with remote workers earning a weekly bonus.

I’ve always been super passionate about learning stuff and helping people. We’re all in this troubling time together, and even though I’m working remotely, I’m still on a mission to develop my skills and train people on how they can use technology to do more.

– Carl Richardson, A consumer service adviser

I’m uncomfortable with it, but I like being uncomfortable because it means I’m learning something new. We’re all learning on the fly, and we’re very open to feedback. And right now, the world is on pause, and we have a chance to positively impact the world on a larger scale with the work we’re doing.

– Ethaniel Sinclair, manager of the Microsoft Store in Arlington, Virginia

Microsoft has seen an influx in the usage of its services since the pandemic began. The company recently revealed that it recorded over 2.7 billion meeting minutes per day since March 31. The company has also taken steps to ensure all its services are up and running during the ongoing crisis.