FALL 2020

46 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

46 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Joe Dysart Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Thousand Oaks, California. A journalist for 20 years, his articles have appeared in more than 40 publications, including The New York Times and The Financial Times of London. During the past decade, his work has focused exclusively on ecommerce. Telephone: 631-256-6602; web: www.joedysart.com; email: joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com Increasing numbers of fastener distributors allowing more staff to work remotely are turning to teams software to ensure they can manage those employees efficiently. Indeed, Google – a key player in teams software – has decided that nearly all of its 200,000 employees and contract employees will be working remotely through July 2021. “The virtual work phenomenon is here to stay -- and it’s only going to involve more people over time,” says Jeanne MacDonald, President of Global RPO Solutions for Korn Ferry. Fortunately, fastener distributors of all sizes have a cornucopia to teams software to choose from to guarantee that their remote workers can easily communicate with one another, quickly get together for group audio or video calls – or even collaborate on a long term project that might last months or years. TEAMS SOFTWARE: VALUABLE TOOLS FOR MANAGING REMOTE WORKERS Moreover, the good news is that when leveraged expertly, teams software can actually increase productivity. Specifically, a study of worker productivity at businesses in March and April 2020 – many of which were relying on remote workers – found that productivity increased 47%. (www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519005295/ en/Prodoscore-Research-MarchApril-2020-Productivity- Increased-Led) “THE VIRTUAL WORK PHENOMENON IS HERE TO STAY -- AND IT’S ONLY GOING TO INVOLVE MORE PEOPLE OVER TIME,” SAYS JEANNE MACDONALD, PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL RPO SOLUTIONS FOR KORN FERRY MANY TEAMS SOFTWARE PACKAGES ENABLE WORKERS TO COMMUNICATE WITH LIVE VIDEO “The common assumption is that remote workers are less productive than those who are in a traditional office,” says Crisantos Hajibrahim, chief product officer, Prodoscore – the company that conducted the study. “But our ability to capture, integrate, and analyze workplace data shows otherwise.” Currently, more than 100 teams software platforms in varying configurations are currently competing for your business, according to Capterra, an online software review firm (www.capterra. com/collaboration-software). Most are designed to offer managers and staff a quick-and-easy way to checkin, communicate and collaborate on projects in a shared, virtual space. Many also offer users the ability to share their screens with co-workers and work together online with popular software packages like Google Docs, Microsoft Excel or Salesforce. CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 124