Inclusion is essential: Elbe-Werkstätten optimizes its processes based on low-code with Microsoft Power Apps

The challenge: Paper-based processes, protracted workflows, and indirect collaboration

For a long time, Elbe-Werkstätten ran on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Word documents, and phone calls. The company offers people with disabilities educational and vocational opportunities, tailored support, and care assistance. The range of administrative tasks is wide, and the operational area even wider: the network of sites stretches all across the greater Hamburg area. Up to now, information was exchanged as part of paper-based processes. “That cost us too much time and effort,” says Karsten Koschewski, Head of IT and Logistics at Elbe-Werkstätten GmbH. “We had to phone people to check the status of certain documents because things like application forms had to literally be handled by a lot of people.” Koschewski cites the example of dealing with PK99 applications, one of the most important processes performed at Elbe-Werkstätten. This is how the company organizes employee transfers and adjustments to the hours people work. In the past, managers would fill out personal data on the PK99 by hand—the application would then be forwarded to the works council, executive management, and HR. Several days would go by before the application was approved. Koschewski recognized this had to change: “We wanted to implement a cloud strategy that would meet the needs of the hybrid work structures used at Elbe-Werkstätten.”

The more digital tools were introduced, the clearer the need became for an alternative solution. For example, when Microsoft Teams was rolled out, each department or working group needed to request its own Team and have it verified by the IT department. Managing this Teams infrastructure would have been a challenge for the IT department, not least because of a lack of previous experience with this tool. “We knew that we needed help from an external expert to prevent a potential explosion in the number of Teams in Microsoft Teams,” Koschewski says.

The company also recognized the need to optimize recurring tasks such as meeting preparation: putting together the agenda and the list of participants was typically done in a Word document. In addition to eating up valuable time, this left room for error. “We wanted to streamline and speed up our processes, but without placing any digital obstacles in our employees’ way,” says Koschewski, whose team also includes members with disabilities.

The solution: automation and acceleration with central administration

To get the job done, Elbe-Werkstätten enlisted the help of partner CGI. “Elbe-Werkstätten and CGI work together on equal footing as innovation partners. By constantly exchanging experience-based data, we’re driving digitization forward,” says Marcel Broschk, Director Consulting Expert at CGI.

“Power Apps provided precisely the technological basis we required. It was really easy to get everyone in IT up and running, even if they didn’t have extensive IT knowledge—that’s essential for us as an inclusive employer,” Koschewski says. Just one example of this is the GetMyTeam app for central administration, which was implemented on the basis of Azure Logic Apps, Power Apps, and Power Platform: “Now, when we add a new Team in Microsoft Teams, we use intuitive templates and a consistent process. And as this process is automated, we’ve cut the time it takes to a minimum: a new Team can be approved and set up in just five minutes, which means employees can get going right away,” Koschewski says. In addition to making it easier to request, manage, and archive new and existing Teams, the comprehensive administration via GetMyTeam facilitates the seamless integration and digitization of internal processes such as the PK99 application and the agenda app. The apps initiate automated workflows, make it possible for all participants to collaborate in real time, and massively speed up the approvals process. Broschk adds: “For reasons of data protection, the solution is hosted on the Elbe-Werkstätten tenant. Moreover, GetMyTeam displays any potential compliance breaches so that we can respond much faster to suspected cases.”

“Elbe-Werkstätten stands for inclusion: the Power Apps low-code approach makes it possible for everyone to work effectively with the solution,” Koschewski says. “Onboarding people within the IT team and bringing in new people from another department is really easy, whether or not they have prior programming knowledge.” Accessibility and inclusion are the order of the day for the intranet, too, which is based on SharePoint Online: this employee portal is available both in the offices and on large touch screens in the workshops. Information, such as job offers or the cafeteria menu, is also integrated and displayed via Power Apps. “It took our IT department no time at all to acquire the necessary expertise to develop these apps,” Koschewski says.

Elbe-Werkstätten continues to steadily digitize its processes with assistance from CGI. At the moment, the partners are working on implementing the MemberCentral app. In the future, this will be used to manage onboarding, offboarding, and other staffing changes centrally within the company. That will allow existing workflows in HR to be automated and linked, making processes faster and leaner.