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Ways to do business remotely
Bob Patience | VP, Strategic Partnerships
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we do business. With many brick-and-mortar locations moving to fully remote, companies today need to find new ways to do business remotely - either online or with mobile devices.
Supervising work-from-home employees may be the most obvious need for new solutions, but other challenges may also exist in appointment scheduling, team collaboration, customer service, human resources, and many other activities.
There's no shortage of solutions. The challenge is to identify a company's needs and choose the best solutions to use.
Getting things done remotely
Email and phone calls work well for many purposes but may prove inadequate to meet the full range of challenges in a remote, or "distributed," workplace.1
Technology can help. Indeed, it's tech that makes virtual work possible. But not all tech is right for every company or every team.2
Dividing popular solutions into four categories may help to clarify their functionality
(Some services are competitive in more than one category)
Group chat/messaging
Group messaging services, such as Slack and Twist, offer an alternative to email for teams or groups whose members need to interact frequently and informally. Rather than generating dozens of "Reply All" email messages to the same recipients, a group chat or messaging service functions more like a shared social media communication post that everyone can see.
Online conferencing
Online conferencing services, like Google Meet, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Skype, facilitate remote face-to-face conversations for two or more people. Setting up and joining conferences may take more time and effort than sending email or making phone calls, but email does not offer immediacy, nor do emails or phone calls enable people to see one another's facial expressions.
Project management
Project management services, such as Trello, Jira and Asana, are designed to help teams list, organize, prioritize, and track projects with multiple steps. Unlike documents, spreadsheets, calendars or white boards, project management systems have built-in functions that allow users to set up and share tasks in categories like "To Do," "Doing," "In Progress," or "Done."
Appointment scheduling
Scheduling services, like Calendly and Doodle, facilitate scheduling appointments and meetings. Rather than exchange multiple back-and-forth email or voicemail messages to find mutually agreeable times, these services enable users to set and show (or hide) their availability and request or book appointments on one another's schedules.
All these services generally can be used online or with mobile devices. Many offer a free trial period so prospective users can do a test drive before they commit to an enterprise-level plan.
Beyond the work-from-home world.
As companies begin to return to in-person work environments, many companies have chosen to remain fully remote or offer a hybrid work schedule - meaning the demand for virtual resources is still strong in the changing work environment.
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About the author
Bob Patience
Bob Patience is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at New York Life. Bob previously served as Head of Business Solutions, where he oversaw our employee benefits business, including our payroll deducted individual life products and our group life and disability offerings. In Bob’s four years with Business Solutions, we launched our group offerings, re-priced and redesigned our individual products, and re-positioned the business to support our agents by focusing on the financial needs of small businesses, their owners and their employees. Bob also led a number of work streams related to NYL’s acquisition of Cigna Group Insurance. Before coming to New York Life, Bob spent 30 years with Prudential, where he held a variety of product, underwriting, segment head, and technology leadership positions. Immediately before coming to NY Life, he was the P&L owner of Prudential’s $3 billion block of group life and voluntary benefits business. Bob has a BA from Colby College in Maine and a Masters in Business Administration from New Jersey’s Montclair State University.
This article is provided only for general informational purposes and is not directed toward any particular business or location. Business owners should consult with legal counsel or other knowledgeable advisors on governmental requirements and best practices before taking any action regarding this material.
1Barbara Z. Larson, "Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers," Harvard Business Review, March 18, 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/03/a-guide-to-managing-your- newly-remote-workers
2"Challenges to Managing Virtual Teams and How to Overcome Them," Harvard Extension School, (undated), https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional- development/blog/challenges-managing-virtual-teams-and-how-overcome-them
This material is provided for informational purposes only. New York Life Insurance Company, its agents and employees may not provide legal, tax or accounting advice. Individuals should consult their own professional advisors before implementing any planning strategies. © 2020 New York Life Insurance Company.