Udalenka: how in X5 they planned to switch to a remote format of work

And then really crossed

X5 did not think today about transferring employees to a remote format of work – back in 2019, we conducted a pilot that showed excellent results and planned for a “rollout”, because the remote is one of the important options and opportunities for working in a digital company. We prepared the infrastructure, bought licenses, tested work efficiency. But in mid-March, everything changed: in just a few days, we had to make sure that thousands of our colleagues were able to work from home with virtually no infrastructure restrictions.
Spoiler: we did it. So we realized that we are a true digital company, capable of any technological achievements.

Retail employee: from analog to digital

We closely monitor global trends: even in a difficult epidemiological situation, the leading digital companies of the world, techno-giants did not panic, but launched the transfer of the maximum possible number of their employees to a remote mode of operation. They quickly realized that the situation was not simple, it would not last a day or two. It is necessary to rebuild in the current conditions with increased speed – the one who becomes the fastest will be successful. Of course, many of these companies have already been sharpened for this, have long been adapted to remote work technically and culturally.

But in Russia, everything is not so rosy: not everyone has the infrastructure ready for full-fledged remote work, and the question of efficiency remains. We, in X5, also weighed all the risks and opportunities and decided, “remote” – to be! The events of recent weeks have accelerated the implementation of the steps taken at times: we had to massively purchase capacities and licenses and “change shoes” on the go, make the process of preparing a remote workstation fully automatic and “without a handbrake”.

As quickly as possible, we drew up a new plan and assessed the needs. The primary task was to transfer to remote work the maximum possible number of X5 employees in Moscow, where the situation with coronavirus developed most rapidly. In just a few days, we created a map of critical positions throughout the X5 corporate center, identifying employees who can switch to remote work, as well as those whose presence in offices depends on the continuous operation of the business. The same work was carried out by the Moscow offices of retail chains. This helped us to understand how many licenses or laptops were needed, how many employees, and in what time frame should switch to the remote format, although many of the points had to be adapted several times a day to the situation.
The organization of this process was handled by several units of X5 at once – information technology, information security, personnel and organizational development, administrative matters.

Over the previous 2 weeks, the number of users at remote work has been increased by almost 19 times – today 94% of the staff of Moscow offices work on “remote”. The transfer to a remote format of work for employees of regional offices has begun. This colossal work has no analogues in the Russian retail market.

To organize remote work in such a volume, X5 in just a few days solved a whole set of tasks of various sizes and complexity, including:

• Providing the necessary licenses and access.
• Extension and configuration of communication channels and centralized infrastructure.
• Development of new remote access schemes.
• Adaptation of information security rules.
• Procurement of equipment for users.
• Updating and adapting instructions.

The information security officers of X5 were also at the forefront, because ensuring the protection of user data is now the most important issue. Thus, the number of requests for access coordination has significantly increased, as well as the development of new and modernization of used IT solutions as part of providing remote access.

Thanks to the joint work of information security specialists and IT teams, it was possible to significantly accelerate the adoption and approval of decisions on the basis of information security, which in turn affects the speed of providing a new service to company employees.

In just a few days, the needs of all X5 divisions and retail chains in the necessary IT infrastructure were clearly identified: about 16,000 VPN licenses have been issued to date, corporate laptops have been brought in line with the increased security requirements for remote work.

IT support works in a mobilization mode: user requests are processed as part of a special hotline by phone and in WhatsApp, the necessary instructions are being finalized and sent out, the bandwidth of communication channels and VPN has been expanded. All systems cope with increased load.

The most important thing in udalenka is culture

One of the tasks of retail digitalization is remote workstations: as automated as possible, with the necessary set of programs. And when we translated people, we were faced, for example, with an insufficiently high level of digitalization culture – both its understanding, and its capabilities, and tools.

The role of IT in the company is changing: from the service department with admins who come with some kind of task, IT has become the initiator of many processes. For example, through monitoring in Splunk, you can look at existing work processes, identify weaknesses and proactively propose solutions.

That’s why, in addition to pumping “technology”, we realized that for IT, communication is becoming an important task and here’s what you need to do:

1. Establish communication between departments. Meaning: in a critical situation, familiar communications through directors work very slowly. Solution: create live chats. In chat rooms, people usually get emotional, so it’s important to maintain a positive working mood and remove the negative.
2. Create a hotline for remote connectivity. Special convenient page on remote connection issues.
3. Operational monitoring of indicators issued by remote licenses and those who actually connected. Mandatory monitoring of failed connections.
4. Adaptation of those who have already reached a remote location (rules of conduct during conferences and calls, personal stories about the difficulties of overcoming them).
5. Business adaptation. It is more difficult for them to work on a remote site than IT-employees. IT should be proactive and be the first to ask their colleagues from the business if everything is fine with them and offer help.

3 weeks ago in X5 there was a whole set of miscellaneous instructions for all occasions and a different level of technology. We decided to draw up one clear instruction-wizard, which is understandable to most users and applies to all devices.

Now, all employees of X5 and retail chain offices on the corporate portal can access not only a single simple and understandable instruction on connecting a remote workstation to the necessary official services, but also information on free courses and lectures, educational online broadcasts, and even participation in virtual museum tours .

At the forum on remote work, you can share life hacks and the difficulties of the new reality, discuss technical updates, contact IT specialists or ask any question about working outside the office.

HomeVSWork Home = Work

Working from home is not always easy. We are used to changing the situation, not everyone has a room that can be closed. From the point of view of culture and the ability to work independently, the “udalenka” is very difficult.

That is why, already in the early days, faced with a new serious challenge, we initiated a flash mob on instagram # X5in remote. Here we share our new jobs, technological advances and life hacks – like, for example, converting a computer gaming zone into an efficient workplace.

Now this square meter is mine

The main thing is to be comfortable

There is only one way out: we need to learn how to work from home. Together.

Here are the first tips for your colleagues on switching to a remote site from Yuri Pchelin, # ITX5:

• Depress the workplace in the apartment. / First put the mask on yourself, then on the child /
  I know this is not easy. Please do not work in the kitchen while your spouse cooks borsch and puts pans on your sheets and notebooks.
• Try to make your place in the room.
  I never had my place in the apartment (Jura, you’re at work all the time). By the way, the toilet is not a workplace. In general, I put 2 children at one table, and took a vacant children’s table.
• Set up video calls on skype for business and use video in calls.
  The importance of personal contacts and the quality of interaction on a remote site increase significantly. It is too easy to misunderstand a person when correspondence in WhatsApp or on Skype, not to catch the emotion or not to recognize the intonation, which can lead to conflict.

Therefore, please, put on a t-shirt, turn on the video and cut the udalenka to the fullest!

So that our colleagues do not get bored without each other, we have introduced the practice of joint coffee breaks – they are held regularly via Skype. At such short meetings (from 11.00 to 11.20) any X5 employee can speak – discuss a hot topic and strengthen his oratory skills (and just talk “about painful” with colleagues).

And to maintain physical fitness – they launched on the Instagram channel the practice of joint morning exercises conducted by professional trainers. Useful habits even on a remote site – no one has canceled!

Despite all the difficulties, a quick switch to remote work has already brought many advantages. We realized that our technological equipment is ready for almost any load, and teams are able to quickly retrain and work in the new mode – even more efficiently than before. And even when this difficult epidemiological situation is over, we are ready to continue working in the new “digital” format – we have already pumped this “skill”.