With a Little Help From Our Friends…

Before going on to read the rest of this blog, which I promise will be a thrilling read, I ask you to first come with me on a leap of imagination.

I would like you to think of almost every job description you have ever read (especially applicable if the job is office based). Skip right to the bottom, past all the qualifications and roles and duties, do you recognise this paragraph: ‘Proficient in Microsoft applications e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook etc.’?

I’m going out on a limb here and saying most of us will have seen this at some point in our professional lives. Some of us can even legitimately claim to be proficient using Microsoft applications and have been able to answer this question with complete honesty!

Well I’m here to tell you that we can help all of you answer that question with complete honesty in the future!

Like many organisations across the world we at the British Red Cross make use of a lot of the tools provided by Microsoft. The incredible work done on the frontline by our staff and volunteers is often supported by these products, whether that be connecting with a partner over Outlook email, showing a presentation created in PowerPoint or improving how we work by crunching some numbers in Excel.

In line with our 2030 strategy to improve our digital skills and capabilities I have the privilege to tell you about a really exciting opportunity we are able to present in association with our friends at Microsoft.

Like all of us Microsoft have not been unaffected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Unable to open their flagship retail store in London, Microsoft found themselves in the position of having lots of incredibly knowledgeable staff unable to share this knowledge with their customers in person. Their response was to upskill these staff members to deliver ‘Live Event’ style training to their corporate partners virtually over Microsoft Teams.

And this is where we at the British Red Cross come in. We have been able to secure an initial offering of 9 sessions on the topics of Excel, Word, Outlook and Forms. The full details of this training can be found here and you can book your spot on as many of these sessions as you like now! There are different levels of course to reflect your experience level so whether you are just starting out or whether you are looking for some advanced tips you are catered for.

As a long term strategic partner who are committed to BRC as an organisation getting the most from their products, it is likely Microsoft will be back to help us again in the future. Future sessions could refresh our understanding of old favourites like PowerPoint and Excel or could even expand our repertoire with training on tools like Power BI and Power Automate. Our side of the bargain is to give up 1 hour of a day to spend learning with them.

So all that’s left to do is book on, learn and enjoy putting your new skills to use. My promise to you is you will be left as happy as Microsoft were when launching Windows 95…