KFH accelerates their digital transformation with Microsoft Teams

“We’re such a human-focused business, our success depends on relationships and communication,” explains Anna MacLeod, Group Technology & Marketing Director at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward. “Microsoft Teams has been absolutely fundamental to continuing that ethos throughout the pandemic.” 

Developing a cloud-first organisation 

With the amount of sensitive and personal information Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward’s ten business divisions hold, the leadership were unsure about cloud adoption in the early days of cloud computing. However, by 2018, when the organisation’s existing on-premises infrastructure was coming to end of life, the company could see numerous advantages.

Anna MacLeod explains, “Microsoft 365 was really attractive to us. It had that combination of the Microsoft environment and cloud hosting and we could see that it would provide a stronger cybersecurity concept for us to wrap ourselves in.”

KFH realised that by migrating to Microsoft 365 it could achieve the seemingly contrary objectives of becoming more mobile and building a more robust security posture. Anna McLeod says, “As well as security concepts like multi-factor authentication, Microsoft 365 delivers business-enhancing tools that aren’t difficult to use. We already understood Microsoft, so that gave us the ease and confidence of ongoing adoption. People were very comfortable because of the trust we have in Microsoft.”

COVID-19 disrupts plans

The KFH team worked with Microsoft partner, Stridon, to develop a cloud migration plan that would start with key office tools within Microsoft 365 and continue through Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft Power BI through to Windows Virtual Desktops and Microsoft Azure.

Anna MacLeod explains, “Of course we want to use and develop best-in-class applications and infrastructure, but our technology choices have to reflect the customer experience of our workforce too. We matched the software rollout to our user requirements and, at the time, that was Microsoft’s office and productivity tools.”

“We already had a clear plan about how we were going to be able to run through a programme for the modern workplace,” explains Tiago da Silva, IT Infrastructure Manager at KFH. “Obviously, that had to be changed slightly because of the pandemic.”

When the lockdown was announced, KFH pivoted quickly. Anna MacLeod explains, “Our business is so much about communications that it bought Microsoft Teams to the front of the pack.”

The KFH team rapidly deployed Microsoft Teams for all staff, fast-tracking the embedding process it would normally have planned outside the pandemic. “We were able to roll out Microsoft Teams so quickly because of how easy Microsoft has made it,” says Tiago da Silva.

Anna McLeod says users onboarded the functionality “super quickly”. Soon Microsoft Teams was playing a crucial role in keeping normal business operations running. Anna McLeod reports, “We use Microsoft Teams for meetings, for collaborative working, for team meetings, for learning and for ensuring people can stay connected from a wellbeing point of view.”

Exponentially more productive

Users have adopted the software to support their own business practices and ways of working. “People came to the technology really quickly and happily,” remembers Anna McLeod, “and we have none of the security concerns that people worry about on other platforms with Microsoft Teams.”

Different areas of the business benefit in different ways. For example, the back-office admin teams use the Microsoft Teams chat functionality prolifically. “It recreates that sense of being sat at desks next to each other. Instead of leaning over and saying, ‘this is ready for you now’, they can communicate instantly by chat, sharing live documents. They can work collaboratively and seamlessly just as fast as if they were in the office,” says Anna McLeod.

The block and portfolio management team have gained different benefits. “They will often convene in meetings with residents and clients in a building in the evening,” explains Anna McLeod. “Now, there isn’t an issue around people who can’t make it. The sessions are held remotely, so we can record the session and people can catch up. There’s a compliance improvement there, because decision making can be ratified and shared in a way that it couldn’t be done before.”

“It has made us exponentially more productive,” emphasises Anna McLeod, “and we can keep projects moving on in ways we couldn’t have done before. We’re doing all the same things, but we’re doing them faster and better and smarter. Microsoft Teams will 100% be a big part of the way we do business moving forwards.”

Driving more efficient operations beyond COVID-19

KFH has 60 locations across London as well as two offices in Wimbledon. Previously, staff spent many hours each week crisscrossing London for internal meetings. 

“We’re very inclusive about decision making and sometimes we need to coordinate sales strategies and marketing across branches. Historically, our teams have been reluctant to meet outside of their branches because they want to prioritise their clients. Now, rather than crossing London for a meeting, our teams can jump on a fifteen-minute Microsoft Teams chat. It helps our teams access support strategically from back office and we can engage with frontline staff,” explains Anna McLeod. “That cross-functional play that Microsoft Teams gives us is a massive gamechanger.”

While the advantages Microsoft Teams delivers are now firmly embedded in the business, KFH is already moving forwards with the next stage of its digital transformation. 

“Cloud has developed a huge amount over the last five to ten years. It’s now a lot more cost-effective and it offers a lot more flexibility,” says Tiago da Silva, “and, most importantly, it supports disaster recovery which is crucial for our business.”

“Microsoft Teams has made a monumental difference. We know for sure it is saving us a tonne of time,” agrees Anna MacLeod, “but we’re just at the start of our journey. We’re now busy migrating file systems, mailboxes, and exploring the additional security enhancements and Power BI reporting dashboards. I think it might be 2022 before we light up the true value. We’ve a huge way to go with Microsoft but we’re very, very excited about it.”