Spring 2020 was a season like no other. Heading into the fall, we still face a high degree of uncertainty about many things. But one thing is clear. Going forward, a bigger percentage of the population will permanently work from home.

This new reality has prompted many debates. Does working virtually make people more productive – or less? Can video meetings replicate the benefits that come from face-to-face collaboration? How do you keep remote employees engaged? And, does working virtually make it harder to find the information and resources you need to do your job?  

Finding information and having easy access to resources turned out to be an unexpected challenge for some virtual workers. One example is the frustration that comes from trying to hunt down marketing assets when you can no longer pop into a colleague’s office and ask, “I’m looking for a case study we did about a year ago. Do you remember it?”  

Another issue for virtual workforces can be lack of access to printed collateral or promo items. Many companies had informal systems. Marketing collateral was stored in a closet. When the salesforce needed materials, they knew where to go to grab them.

Many of these “old school” solutions do not work well for virtual teams, prompting companies to ask:

• How can we make it easy for our virtual team to find the marketing assets and resources they need?
• Is there a way to ensure everyone only has access to the most recent versions of brochures?
• How can we do more with less, and let team members run mini marketing campaigns, or print materials on-demand and mail them?

Do you remember when no one could buy an airline ticket without a travel agent? To fly, you phoned the agent, waited while they researched available flights, discussed what was available, chose an option, got a price, and finally purchased.

Technology turned airline ticket buying into a self-serve operation that time-starved travelers loved. An online ordering solution from Standard Press supports virtual workforces in the same convenient, self-serve way. People go online, find what they need in their company storefront, and order. And today’s online storefront can do amazing things, such as:

• Letting you add customized elements to videos
• Making it easy to upload mail lists, scrub them, and approve a proof in minutes
• Providing options to order promotional products or apparel on-demand
• Creating ads in seconds for social media campaigns
• Create a customized kit for employee and customer on-boarding

According to the Harvard Business Review, almost a quarter of the US workforce already worked from home to some extent before Covid-19. In the future, more of us will work virtually, and companies will need solutions to provide their teams with easy and secure access to the information, resources, and technology that allow them to do great work in all environments.

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For more information, contact your Standard Press account executive.

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