Come Together

Similarly, Greenberg says Capespan uses WhatsApp’s instant messaging service to communicate quickly with a group of people.

Mike Dodson, president of Fresno-based software development firm Lotpath, Inc. says that although Lotpath has used online tools for as long as he can remember, “the quality and usefulness of (collaborative technology) tools has gotten much better in the last five years.” He says the company’s primary tools, other than email and telephone, are Google Hangouts and Citrix Systems’ GoToMeeting for virtual meetings, and Slack for internal social networking.

Dodson says employees use virtual meeting software for “screen sharing, talking about software features with customers, product requests, and software projects.” Slack messaging is used for group communication to talk about products and customers, and for internal support conversations.

“Remote screen sharing,” explains Dodson, “allows us to support customers all over the world. We can look at their screens if they’re reporting issues.” Products like Google Hangouts and Slack also allow Lotpath users to keep better records. “We keep a history of all communications; there’s a searchable history if there’s a topic we were dealing with, with written records if there was ever a dispute or disagreement.” If so, they can then look up the conversation record and see what decisions were made.

Rather than purchasing a ready-made system, RPE chose to develop a custom intranet which Shell says provided “an internal resource for our employees to learn more about the company and the people who make up RPE.” He calls it “an excellent tool for new and veteran employees alike, to direct themselves to employee contacts, internal resources and communication, as well as company procedures.”

A 2015 Computer Weekly article goes a step further, noting how collaborative technology can prevent experts from taking critical knowledge with them if they leave a company, since the information has already been shared. Virtual meetings can also be used to conduct training sessions and online courses.

With a sales force spanning nine states, Shell finds using GoToMeeting allows RPE to use one password-protected meeting link for all of their offices. Looking back to the days before virtual meetings, Dodson recalls, “I got on a lot of airplanes and had a lot of car rides. (Virtual meeting software) expands the geographic footprint of customers we can support.”

Greenberg agrees, but concedes face-to-face meetings are still preferable. The company spends a great deal of money on visiting vendors and suppliers, but using Skype can be the next best thing. “When we can get together on a Skype call, there’s something more immediate about it—more depth, more texture to the conversation, more nuance. It’s like having them there, really—I think that’s almost always a better way of doing business.”

Skype or similar services can serve another function over email or faxes as well. “There are verbal cues that add to conversations that don’t always show up in written communication,” Dodson notes.

Another tool in use at RPE, Produce Pro, allows its sales force to access orders and get real-time status updates, while Microsoft’s SharePoint, an information storage and sharing tool has also proven exceptionally useful. Although programs like SharePoint are best known for allowing document editing by multiple people at the same time, Shell says the company is “continually finding new uses” for the software.

While the consensus on these tools is mostly positive, one drawback according to Greenberg is some conversations on Skype tend to go longer than a phone call. “You don’t feel that sociability on the phone that you do with Skype,” he says. In addition, there can be problems with clarity. “Sometimes we turn the video off to be sure the audio line is going through. Most of the time it works brilliantly.”