Are You Yammering Yet??

Have you tried out Yammer yet? Once we get a little further down this path to our new technologies, Yammer will become one of our primary ways to communicate with each other. Get a head start and start Yammering now! Watch this 2 minute video for a quick overview. You can also check with the designers -- they're taking Yammer to the max. Way to go, Designers!

Yammer 101

Work Different!

Work Different! That's a new tagline we're using as we continue our move into new technologies. We're not only exploring new computer systems, we're also looking for new ways to work.

It's an exciting time and we hope you all feel that excitement, too. Change is difficult - even good change - but it's also an opportunity to start fresh, to come up with new ideas, to be entrepreneurial, all kinds of possibilities. Let's open our minds to whatever may come!

Quick update

So, we're almost to February, as you know, and the timeline shows that in January we were scheduled to go live with CRM (replacement for Salesforce.com) and start learning AX (replacement for Khameleon). Both of those have occurred.

In CRM, Monique Lowe and Anthony Jenkinson are the leads from the Core Team. They, along with Mavis and Sandy, have been working with our Armanino partners to learn the new system and start talking about ways to make it work best for Pivot. More to come on this, but we're progressing well.

In AX, the Core Team spent several days learning how AX works out of the box, and began some discussion of possible customizations to increase efficiencies for Pivot. Lots more to come on this, too, but it's been a great start!

In February, the design work for our new technologies continues, and we are scheduled to begin putting our own data into AX -- such as customers, vendors, GL accounts, and so on. We will also be working with Herman Miller to figure out our integration with AX and their data -- the upload of products from our Cap specs, purchase order processing, acknowledgments, and invoicing.

That's a quick update. There are many more steps to go, decisions to be made, ideas to explore, and new things to try as we figure out how we at Pivot will Work Different!

Pivot Technology Timeline

Below is a basic timeline for our technology initiatives. Armanino is the name of the consulting firm we are working with. The items above the timeline are brief descriptions of the work Armanino will be doing, and below the line are descriptions of our part. There’s a lot happening and a lot more to go!

Ken wants an update on A/X

Have you gotten into Yammer yet?

If not, it’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. 1.     Go to www.yammer.com
2. 2.     Sign in with your @pivotinteriors.com email address
3. 3.     Use the password you use for Outlook on the web and Lync, usually a word and 4 numbers

That should get you in.

NOTE: If your password doesn’t work, use the “Forgot Password” link and instructions to reset it. Be sure to set it to that same password to match all the other systems.

Don’t miss all the information and updates from your co-workers!!

Getting too many emails already? See instructions for changing your notification settings.

If you have trouble, send an email to help desk (hdesk@pivotinteriors.com) for some help.

Change Notification Settings (the emails from Yammer):

1.     Sign in to Yammer (see above if you have not yet signed in). In the upper-right corner of the screen, click the 3 dots and then click Edit Profile.

2.     In the column on the left side, click Notifications.

3.     In the Send me a digest of message activity drop-down list, select Never, Daily, or Weekly. This sets the frequency at which you'll receive a digest email message that summarizes the recent activity in your network.

4.     Under the Email me when section header, clear the check box next to each update type that you don't want to be notified about.

5.     To configure real-time notification settings, click the Select the Group notifications you would like to receive by email or text link.

6.     In the Email column, select the check box next to each item that you want to receive real-time email updates for. You can clear a selected check box to stop updates for that item.

7.     Click Save at the bottom to put all the changes that you've made into effect. 

Below is a link to some basic getting started instructions and information. Right now we will let all of you get started as you wish. As time goes on, when we roll out more services with our new CRM and financial package systems, including our new home pages in SharePoint, we will provide more training. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything about Yammer right now; we’ll get there!

READY to Try Yammer?

click here to read and download some basic instructions and info.

Microsoft Dynamics @ Pivot - Vision, and What It Means to You!

OUR VISION
Create an integrated, simplified, streamlined system for Pivot and an effortless experience for our clients.

Why?
• Our contracts with Salesforce.com and Khameleon are expiring
• The status quo is not OK
• Many frustrations with current process
• Band-aid technologies not integrated

How Will This Impact YOU?
• Process improvement
• Elimination of redundancies
• Develop new skills
• Find information more easily
• Improve communication

Did you miss the CRM training?

If you missed the training, here is a link to a recording of the session. It’s about a 2 hour session. Please take the time to go through it in order to begin using the new system.

Contact Help Desk (hdesk@pivotinteriors.com) if you need assistance with installing CRM for Outlook.

Another short basic how-to video provided by Microsoft is:

Getting started with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

CRM, AX, SharePoint - What is all this stuff?

You've probably heard several acronyms and names of our new systems being bandied about. In case they're confusing, here's a simple "conversion chart."

CRM  (aka Microsoft Dynamics CRM) is replacing Salesforce.com 

AX (aka Microsoft Dynamics AX) is replacing Khameleon, and some or all of Dexter 

Yammer is replacing Chatter (social network for business) 

SharePoint will be for several functions (some still to be determined):

• Home Pages / Corporate Intranet

• File storage (some or all of our current P drive)

• Workflows (potentially some of our processes currently done within Dexter and Lotus Notes)

Wait! What?!

But I Need to Talk to You!

The new computer systems are going to be very much OF the people, FOR the people, and BY the people. There are two teams called the "Core Team" and the "Steering Committee" that will begin our move. They will be the first to learn the new systems and to start looking for ways to customize them to our needs. Others will be brought in for special expertise and insight as the changes progress.

How will this benefit you? It will mean people who know what we do, why we do it, and how will be determining how the systems work. It won't just be some big software company out there -- it'll be Pivot people--including you and your co-workers.

In the long run, that'll be a great advantage. In the short-term, though, it means some people will be unavailable to you for many hours and even days at a time. The two teams have made some serious time commitments to make this change a good one for all of us. While they are in the training and testing sessions, you won't be able to catch them on the fly the way you might normally. And even if they're in a conference room near you, you won't be able to knock on the door and pull them out. They have to be heads-down, focused and keeping up as everyone progresses, building on each part of the process. They can't miss out!

Below are the two team lists. Please speak to them or your manager about what the coverage plan is for those times when you need an answer or decision from them and they are incommunicado.

Steering Committee
Ken Baugh
Harvey Vander Baan
Kristi Nadeau
Gord Den Ouden
Monique Lowe
Sandra Rudloff

Core Team
Andres Arellano
Anthony Jenkinson
Debbie Paine
Maria Crabtree
Monique Lowe
Sandra Rudloff
Sergio Palomino
Sherri Nuzum

Why Do We Need New Systems Anyway?

Changing to new computer systems is a big deal. It can mean extra work, making what we do take longer at first, feeling uncomfortable with  the new way of doing things, and much more. Why do we do this to ourselves, you ask? Well, here's a "whiteboard" video that talks about the need that drives that change.

Sandy's News