Residents rely on City of Winnipeg programs and services – ensuring the organization can continue to operate during a pandemic necessitates a high degree of coordination and technology solutions.
As thousands of City employees began social distancing in an effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community, a massive effort was underway behind the scenes to prepare them to work remotely.
By early March, the Innovation, Transformation & Technology Department was identifying ways to expand the City’s remote work capabilities in anticipation of upcoming restrictions.
“Being proactive was key and with the pace that everything was moving at, even being a couple days ahead gave us time to assess the rapidly evolving needs of our workforce,” said Glen Cottick, the City’s Acting Chief Innovation Officer.
Within a week, over 1,800 City employees were connecting remotely simultaneously – nearly 20 times the normal level. Once employees were able to remotely connect, the priority was to provide them with tools to support enhanced collaboration. Over 5,000 employees are now connected and able to collaborate through enhanced software.
Cottick added that this effort would not have been possible without the Innovation team’s dedication, commitment, and passion for serving the residents of Winnipeg.
“Our team is always eager to take on new challenges, and we’ll continue to dedicate our energies and efforts to help keep the City running,” said Cottick.
Snapshot from March 23 to May 6, 2020
1,483,148
Audio minutes
23,177
One-on-one group calls
522,708
Chat/post messages
2,400+
Employees on Microsoft Teams
25,416
Meeting participations
252,003
Employees on Microsoft Teams
1,900+
Simultaneous Remote Connections
