VirtuOffice Analytics `dash`board

Microsoft x BrainStation Stay at Home Hackathon

This repository is a collaboration between Data Scientists Angel Phanthanourak and Tom Keith as part of a Microsoft-led hackathon that took place on April 27-29, 2020.

Comprised of three UX/UI designers (Joseph Baroud, Scott Sobere-Yu, Marc Tessier), three web developers (Rajat Bansal, Laith Harb, Balkirat Singh) and two data scientists, our team created:

VirtuOffice - A digital office environment to make it easier for remote workers to socialize with their colleagues and leaders so that they can feel more strongly integrated within their employer's culture.

The Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic is a terrible agent of change and we have an opportunity to leverage this event to create new tools and processes that will help people thrive both during, and after the self isolation time. We have a chance to reset and fundamentally change the way we work.

Statistics Canada found that 4.7 million Canadians who don't normally work from home (WFH) started to in response to the pandemic, based on a survey conducted the week of March 22.

According to a survey conducted by Vancouver-based polling firm Research Co., 73% of Canadians surveyed think the WFH trend will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.

Can we use this moment to create better WFH experiences? Our team had three days to create a digital prototype and/or solution to support a better WFH experience.

Our Solution

We expect some level of working from home to continue after the COVID-19 pandemic. A challenge that many employees face while working remotely is feeling disengaged, excluded and disconnected from the workplace culture. Our solution is a digital office environment, VirtuOffice, to bridge the distance between employees working remotely and their colleagues.

Implementing gamification in VirtuOffice, remote employees navigate their virtual office environment with an avatar, engaging with their work colleagues by inviting them for coffee chats or other opportunities to build a connection. Employees can earn 'points' through these actions and others, such as completing an Employee Satisfaction survey. Inspired by the popular games Animal Crossing and Habbo Hotel, these points could be spent on decorating their VirtuOffice with cosmetic decorative elements such as flowers, paintings, or avatar outfits.