A number of HR technology vendors have launched products to help businesses reopen, even as coronavirus cases spike around the world. While that might slow the adoption of these solutions, vendors are jockeying for position in a new area of workforce technology: platforms that support safe practices and safe workplaces.
Among the notable new offerings are a joint effort by Salesforce and Siemens, and a set of five tools from Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Intelligent Workplace.
.@Salesforce, @Siemens, @HPE launch tech platforms to leverage data for returning employees to work. #HR #HRTech Click To TweetSalesforce’s and Siemens’s suite is designed to help reopening businesses address physical issues related to employee experience. The companies will use Salesforce’s Work.com and Siemens’s Smart Infrastructure solutions as the basis for their approach.
Among its features are a “touchless office” capability that allows access to buildings and elevators via mobile app; an occupancy management system that uses Siemens’s Comfy app to reserve conference rooms and desks; and contact-tracing tools that use occupancy data provided by Siemens’ Enlighted product.
By using their combined technology, the companies said, customers will be able to base reopening decisions and ongoing operations on real-time data and create a framework for future workplace management.
Siemens will contribute technology from its Smart Infrastructure portfolio, including tools from IoT company Enlighted and workplace experience solution Comfy. Enlighted collects data from a facility’s cloud-connected smart sensors to provide real-time information on building use. Comfy provides an app that allows employers to keep workers informed, reserve space and request services such as cleaning. At the same time, its analytics helps companies determine how the workforce is using offices and other space.
Launched in May, Salesforce’s Work.com is a technology suite meant to help businesses reopen their facilities and re-skill their workforce. It includes employee-wellness assessments, shift management, contact tracing and emergency response management.
HPE’s Return-to-Work Suite
Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced five return-to-work solutions that will be implemented and managed through HPE Pointnext Technology Services.
The solutions are aimed at companies who plan to bring at least some of their employers back to on-site facilities. HPE said some customers have already begun to implement the tools, which use HPE ProLiant servers, HPE EdgeLine Converged Edge Systems and Aruba network infrastructure to power and process video analytics.
HPE said the solutions will address tasks related to:
- Social Distancing and Tracking by helping employers implement and monitor social distancing guidelines.
- Touchless Entry allows employees to securely enter a location without touching door handles and other points of entry. The solution uses facial recognition and multi-factor access-control and identity verification.
- Fever Detection identifies individuals with elevated body temperatures by using thermal cameras, machine learning and video analytics.
- Augmented Reality & Visual Remote Guidance allows on-site employees to collaborate effectively with remote employees and take on maintenance operations remotely. Using 3D visuals of a system or machine, remote employees can identify problems and request necessary repairs.
- Workplace Alerts & Information Sharing helps employers share information and push location-specific alerts to employees through apps and dashboards.
HPE said the return-to-work solutions are an extension to its Intelligent Workplace offering, which helps customers improve their work environments through increased employee productivity, improved retention and reduced workplace costs.
Equipping employers for reopening is becoming a specialty unto itself as technology firms, consultants and business-service firms offer tools that do everything from track health status to plan for physical distancing. They’re taking advantage of a number of pressures: pressure to resume something like normal business, pressure to keep employees and customers safe and pressure to minimize any liability that might stem from COVID-19 infection.
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