By Jill NAgy
\nThe COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of how offices run and how business meetings are held as companies work to meet health and safety standards.
\n\u201cEveryone\u2019s jumping on the Zoom,\u201d said Rose Miller, head of Pinnacle Human Resources, an Albany company with an office in Saratoga Springs. Miller is quick to praise Zoom and other remote communication methods, but added, \u201cWe\u2019re all looking forward to meeting face-to-face again.\u201d
\nSaratoga attorney Debra Verni of Herzog Law has been presenting \u201cwebinars\u201d on a regular basis covering such topics as \u201cWhat To Do When A Loved One Dies,\u201d \u201cHow Not To Pay For Services,\u201d wills versus trusts, and \u201cAging in Place.\u201d She has also mastered the complicated new rules for witnessing and notarizing documents remotely. Now she no longer has to meet with clients in a parking lot or back porch to have them execute documents.
\n\u201cThere were a few glitches in the beginning,\u201d she said, but things are going smoothly now.
\nPatti Gray Whann, owner of Glens Falls Area Realty, said the real estate industry \u201cwas way ahead\u201d using online resources for at least 10 years. In fact, one online source, Zillow, has revolutionized the industry.
\n\u201cIn the old days,\u201d she said, \u201cRealtors had the book,\u201d which contained all the information on real estate listings. Clients had to come into the office to look at listings. Now, \u201cZillow took all the information we had and put it on the internet.\u201d
\nCOVID restrictions prevent real estate agents from attending closings, inspections, and other steps in the purchase and sale process. But transactions can now take place remotely. Also, mandatory continuing education courses are all online this year.
\nTim Halliday, a Malta businessman and president of the Malta Business Association, said the current situation \u201cput us three to five years ahead of where we would be anyway.\u201d
\nHe said the trend toward remote communication will continue in the future. He participates in meetings a couple of times a week and routinely sends documents electronically. Fewer people attend online networking meetings and seminars than previously attended face-to-face meetings, but the meetings are often lively and Halliday finds that people send business to one another, often people who never met in person.
\n\u201cFrankly, I hate it,\u201d he said, \u201cI like people and for a sales person not to be able to shake hands is awful.\u201d
\nCompared to other types of remote communication like telephone or email, media like Zoom retain some facial expressions, but it is hard to collaborate or do anything creative, Halliday said. While he finds it \u201cincredibly useful,\u201d he feels that it is a \u201chuge disservice to the consumer\u201d when they can\u2019t go through documents in person.
\nHe is more positive about working from home. He and many of his colleagues like working at home for several reasons, not the least of which is avoiding commuting time.
\n\u201cThere are a boatload of roles that worked perfectly\u201d for working from home, Miller said. It places more emphasis on what gets accomplished and less on the number of hours worked.
\nAmanda Blanton, a spokesperson for the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, said as people are allowed to meet in person safely, the organization will go back to that. In the meantime, the Chamber is using the Zoom platform for educational events and meetings
\n\u201cIt\u2019s working out pretty well,\u201d she said, but most people would rather meet in person. The chamber\u2019s staff returned to the office in mid-June.
\nWhann has a daughter in Seattle and has been guiding her, via technology, through the process of purchasing her first home. She began her search, as so many people do, with Zillow. Then, at her mother\u2019s urging, the daughter drove by properties she thought might interest her. \u201c
\nBut pictures did not tell the full story, he daughter discovered in one case. The picture did not show the noisy nearby bus stop or the city park that has become a campground. The online research \u201cis just the start of the journey,\u201d Whann.
\nFor one client of Whann\u2019s, everything was done remotely.
\nMiller said she misses visual social cues. In addition, \u201clooking at a screen has its own limitations\u201d and can cause eye strain and back strain, among other problems.
\nAlso, she said employers can catch a glimpse on Zoom of how people work from home. \u201cThere are lots of things going on in the background\u201d like dogs and children wandering by. Overall, though, she said \u201cWe\u2019re rolling with it.\u201d
\nMany online events she has seen were carried out poorly, Miller said.
\n\u201cYou have to rethink the entire thing,\u201d she said. Events should be more interactive and include some \u201cfun\u201d things. There should be colorful and engaging visuals. In other words, things to draw in the participants.
\n\u201cThink of the audience,\u201d she said, and what it is a meeting needs to deliver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Jill NAgy The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of how offices run and how business meetings are held as companies work to meet health and safety standards. \u201cEveryone\u2019s jumping on the Zoom,\u201d said Rose Miller, head of Pinnacle Human Resources, an Albany company with an office in Saratoga Springs. Miller is quick to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n