Making The Most of Google Workspace With DK

Having started out in 1974 as a book packaging business, DK made the move to publishing in 1982. DK is a global company specialising in illustrated reference books, well known for its use of graphics and illustrations to explore topics spanning many genres, for all ages in over 60 languages. They are now a part of Penguin Random House, which is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

The Challenge

DK was already using Google Workspace as its internal collaboration tool and wanted to drive better collaboration throughout the business. This was a great opportunity to optimise licences, improve security and support employees with ongoing training to get the most out of Workspace. DK’s move to hybrid working meant higher numbers of people working remotely which brought challenges in how best to support these employees in terms of file sharing and access, onboarding, and training. With regular updates from Google, DK needed to keep employees up to date with the latest information.

The Solutions

Content Management

DK made a significant move to Google Drive at the start of the pandemic and was able to quickly move over 100TB of creative content, utilising its unlimited storage in Google Drive. CTS helped develop tools to support workflows in Google Drive, including automating the creation of shared drives, containing variable folder structures. Previously this was a very manual job but DK have now automated the creation of over 1500 Shared Drives.

Licence Optimisation

The process of reviewing Shared Mailboxes can often be manual and time consuming so DK was looking at ways to innovate and improve this. The goal of reviewing Shared Mailboxes was to drive efficiencies around the distribution of licences, however the review process itself was proving to be inefficient. CTS’s Licence Optimisation Workshop identified areas where licences could be reduced. For example, from users who haven’t signed into Google Workspace in the last 12 months and likely no longer need a licence. Following the workshop, CTS helped to significantly reduce the number of licences, down from 1200 to 959.

As part of the workshop, CTS’s Shared Mailbox Analyser was discussed, which was given to DK. This Shared Mailbox Analyser helped DK reduce their shared mailboxes by 96. Deploying this App Script helps any organisation free up staff to concentrate on the bigger picture items as it manages the review of shared mailboxes more autonomously, as opposed to lots of manual effort.

Virtual Escape Room

Google Workspace is by nature an incredibly collaborative tool. To make better use of this across departments, CTS ran an interactive virtual escape room with DK that uses Google Workspace applications to solve cryptic clues and break out of the virtual room. The first session was held with IT and their Google Champion network, and received great encouragement and support. There is now a view to roll this out internally in the future on a regular basis to help teams interact with the platform, and one another, more effectively.

Training and Support

DK also wanted to keep employees updated with new Google Workspace features that Google released regularly. CTS delivered ‘Tip of the Week’ to the IT team and Google Champions, which was then distributed to the wider business. DK had already identified people in the business to take part in a Google Champions project but CTS supported this by building a 6-month calendar of activities to keep them engaged and active. This included providing planning documents, checklists, and sharing tips for getting the most out of Workspace.

Another way CTS increased user adoption of Google Workspace and empowered employees at DK was through free microtraining sessions, providing training in shorter, more targeted sessions to fit around busy schedules. A CTS trainer delivers these sessions publicly, and since rolling out, has had over 150 DK registrations and great feedback from attendees. This has resulted in exclusive, tailored microtraining being planned for the next 12 months.

Security

As part of helping to support DK with security, CTS conducted a Security and Governance Workshop and from this, provided a list of recommendations for DK to enhance their security in line with best practices. Moving to more digital ways of working through adopting Google technology has led to a real culture change throughout the business and CTS are thrilled to have helped DK drive this.