MBC Conversations: Leading in Extraordinary Times
By Alice Llamas
Last December 9, 2020, I attended one of the webinar events of the Makati Business Club (MBC) entitled Leading in Extraordinary Times. The keynote speaker for this session was Mr. Andres Ortola, General Manager of Microsoft Philippines.
He shared insights on how Microsoft is dealing with the pandemic situation this year. Here are the salient points that he presented to enable teams to work anywhere:
1. Microsoft ensured their employees’ overall health & well-being and engagement.
2. The company adapted collaborative workflows for working remotely and thought of ways on how to reach and engage customers and constituents.
The speaker also shared input on how to effectively work remotely by doing the following:
1. Manage a hybrid remote workforce in rapidly-changing environments
2. Adopt digital selling and customer service experiences for end customers
3. Optimize costs and streamline operations
4. Increase business reliance and predict demand
During the discussion, Mr. Ortola also presented four trends that will shape the new normal:
1. Protracted Disruption
2. More Data, Faster Decisions
3. De-Globalizations
4. Contact-Free Economy
He emphasized the mission of Microsoft, which is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. He said that the company believes in this and is doing its best to deliver this promise. Currently, Microsoft is helping the government in addressing its technical difficulties during the pandemic.
A highly engaging Q&A followed after.
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About the author:
Alice possesses a solid decade of experience in business development, human resources, recruitment and talent acquisition. She graduated from Far Eastern University with a degree in Political Science.
