The City and County of San Francisco’s digital transformation journey with Microsoft Teams

When most people think of U.S. government institutions, they picture old buildings, with even more outdated systems that power the people inside them.

Citizens of the United States have witnessed their government shift and pivot dramatically to meet the needs of its constituents during the coronavirus pandemic. Technology has helped nearly all levels of government maneuver from collaborating in person to working securely from home. State and Local governments across the country are committed to innovation, with an estimated $111B in spending in 2020, driven largely by modernization, cybersecurity and transparency.

The City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) had also pledged to adopt and adapt to new technologies—as COVID-19 spread, they needed a way to uphold their values of openness and transparency even while not in the office. In order to maintain the level of trust expected from their citizens, the city and county had two main priorities: equip their 25,000 employees to successfully transition and function while working from home, and create a remote environment that was able to host City Hall meetings for the public. CCSF had already incorporated Microsoft Teams into their toolset, and leveraged Vitalyst’s industry leading change enablement and learning services to help them maximize the app’s features.

How CCSF aided their work forced and involved the public with Microsoft Teams

The Department of Technology at the City and County of San Francisco has this mission, to provide “innovative, reliable, and secure business solutions that support and empower CCSF agencies and departments in their delivery of high-quality government services for the public.” Microsoft Teams was ideal application to support these goals, as Teams was already included in the Microsoft 365 Suite and had support from the c-suite. Additionally, Teams was also selected for the capabilities of its Live Events feature, which enables the hosting of up to 10,000 viewers to participate in town hall style meetings. Teams Live Events made certain that CCSF complied with its “sunshine ordinance” which aims to keep government meetings and records easily accessible to the public.

“We had to move quickly to enable a competent, remote workforce” said Chad Bradford, Enterprise Support Services Manager for the City and County—all while sustaining they level of transparency their constituents require. They continued, “We wouldn't have made the progress we did if it wasn't for the exceptional personnel and services Vitalyst delivered”.

 Leveraging the top Teamwork solution provider within Microsoft’s rich partner network, the City and County of San Francisco transformed their work force and governing structure. CCSF utilized Vitalyst’s proprietary Adaptive Learning Platform to propel their technology transformation, which includes a suite of adoption and change enablement services and content.  The City and County Government used the Adaptive Learning App, Employee Software Coaching, Help Me kNow Guides, and other services in the platform to aid their employees in using Teams.

 As of August 1st, Vitalyst’s Adaptive Learning Program has successfully trained 50% of target employees (over 12,000 workers) to maximize the power of Microsoft Teams into their daily work routine. Bradford said finally, “As we work to further enable collaboration within our workforce, training and end-user enablement programs will be a significant part of the strategy.”

To learn more about The City and County of San Francisco’s adoption of Teams, read the Microsoft case study, here.

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