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Life in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been an easy one. With the circuit breaker period in full swing until June 1, it is not unusual for boredom, cabin fever and stress to set in. Technology has played a vital part in bridging the gap left by the lack of social connection and activity, with popular apps like Zoom, TikTok and YouTube keeping us connected, entertained and informed. Weve rounded up a selection of apps that can help make life more bearable during this limiting and rather distressing time for humanity.

While Netflix has always been the favoured video-streaming platform for serious series-bingers and movie-watchers, its time to take it up a notch. We get ityoure tired of watching your favourite shows alone. WithNetflix Party, you dont have to! The extension allows different users to watch the same shows at the same time and together, synchronising playback and allowing people to talk via the group chat feature as they enjoy the movie. Or check out Quiz Up, a comprehensive trivia app offeringa wide variety of topics ranging from general knowledge, logos, sports, movies, internet, video games and much more. Play online with friends or strangers!

For those longing for a taste of arts and culture, dont despair. Just because youre stuck at home and cannot visit your favourite museum in person doesnt mean that you cannot enjoy the experience of art virtually. Google Arts & Culture presents over 1,200 museum collections from all over the world, all of which you can peruse and enjoy from home. Search by museum name or by location, and get that dose of culture youve been missing.For opera lovers, The Metropolitan Opera offers regular free streaming of well-loved opera classics in different languages.

If you feel like the current global situationthe COVID-19 pandemichas had a negative effect on your mental health, you are definitely not alone. The isolation from family and friends, the lack of physical contact and connection, and the general uncertainty of what is going to happen next can bring about feelings of anxiety and stress. Dont forget to take care of your mind and emotions, too. The Calm app offers guided meditations that are designed to help you get deeper and better sleep, achieve a more peaceful mental state, and deal with negative thoughts more effectively. Or try theHappifyapp, which uses science-based research, activities and games to help you overcome stress and anxieties and reach a healthier place in your mind.

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With all this extra time on your hands, its understandable that you are trying to keep occupied. Its not a bad idea to learn some new skills in the meantime. Why not learn a second, third or fourth language? Language learning apps such as Duolingo or Babbel make it easier and more fun to do so, and you can do it from anywhere. For professional and personal development, head over to Udemy, which offers nearly 100,000 individual coursesranging from photography to finance, health and beauty and web developmentfor very reasonable prices. Why not come out of the circuit breaker period with a new skill?

As easy as it might be to scroll endlessly through social media or fall into a trance-like state in front of the television, there are other things you can do with your time while you are stuck at home. Thanks to the plethora of apps and services available, there are options to help you achieve and maintain a better quality of life, COVID-19 be damned.

/TISG

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Apps that can help you during the COVID-19 pandemic - The Independent

One of Facebook's most important executives has explained how employees can create their own application programming interfaces (APIs) to maximize their career development.

The idea is the brainchild of Andrew "Boz" Bosworth vice president of augmented and virtual reality at Facebook who spelled it out in a post on his personal blog Wednesday.

It's a slightly labored analogy perhaps, but APIs are a bunch of features that developers can use as building blocks for their own apps. Apple, for example, offers an API for the iPhone camera which means anyone building a photo app doesn't need to build the camera software from scratch.

As such, Bosworth reckons that if employees write their own APIs and define how others should best interact with them they'll enable colleagues to get the most out of their abilities. More specifically, he listed four ways people can do this.

"First, engage your manager," he wrote. "Rather than being a passive participant in the relationship you should be actively steering it. Make your manager into your sponsor.

"They should be sharing your narrative in rooms you aren't in. Tell them what kinds of problems you'd like to be working on and check up with them regularly on their progress finding you more opportunities.

Boz continued: "Second, master the art of the humble biography. When you meet a new colleague, introduce yourself and add a sentence about what kinds of things you love to work on and maybe give an example. The goal here is not to impress them but rather to enlist them so they are able funnel interesting work your way if they see it."

Bosworth also described opportunism and the ability to set your own boundaries as key parts of your personal API.

"Third, don't miss the opportunities that do come by. When you are in a meeting and a problem that interests you comes up don't hesitate to speak about your enthusiasm to work on it. Ask teams who are working on interesting things what kinds of problems they have that you might be able to help with.

Bosworth's last piece of advice is to try and avoid anything you think might fail.

"Finally, learn when to say no," he wrote. "Just as important as finding more work you are interested in is avoiding a reputation for doing work you aren't interested in, especially if you don't think you will do it well."

The confident, outspoken nature of Bosworth's post is typically in character, too, as he's far from averse to sharing his views on a range of topics.

In a 2016 internal company memo leaked to BuzzFeed News, Bosworth famously described Facebook's "ugly truth" as a "de facto" faith in connecting people even where such connections could be used to facilitate bullying or terrorism.

More recently, he warned his fellow Facebook employees against using their power to stop Donald Trump's possible re-election for a second term as president.

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Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth on writing a 'personal API' for your career - Business Insider - Business Insider

Waymo, the autonomous driving unit of Alphabet, announced Tuesday that it has raised a further $750 million in external investment. This investment is right behind the $2.25 billion financing the company raised in March its first-ever non-Alphabet investment.

Waymos idea of raising $3 billion in external investment when its parent company is cash-rich Alphabet might raise some eyebrows. However, companies like Waymo and Cruise, the autonomous vehicle (AV) unit of General Motors, going for external funding only highlights the financial strain that autonomous driving technology development can place on companies.

The massive investment that Waymo has raised also signifies the trust investors have in Waymo, as it continues to be a market leader in the AV market. With investors consistently rewarding more prominent companies than smaller startups in the AV segment, market consolidation can be an expected outcome in the future.

That said, the AV segment has only found new wings amid the economic slowdown, as the concept of social distancing plays to its advantage cue the driverless taxis that will become conceivable with the introduction of truly autonomous cars.

Surveys of urban residents have shown that people who use public transport for short trips would look to shift to driverless taxis if given an option considering the new normal of social distancing. Waymos self-driving minivans that have operated across Arizona and California would likely find more takers once operations resume post-pandemic.

In its statement, Waymo mentioned that the financing was an extension of the previous $2.25 billion investment. This round, like the previous one, was advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Perry Creek Capital and Fidelity Management & Research Co. while including participation from external investors.

Well use this injection of capital to deepen our investment in our people, our technology, and our Waymo One and Waymo Via operations, said John Krafcik, the CEO of Waymo, in his statement. COVID-19 has underscored how fully self-driving technology can provide safe and hygienic personal mobility and delivery services. Were grateful these partners share our mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where theyre going.

Krafcik mentioned that Waymos recent interest in external investment was not rooted in concerns about a pandemic slowdown. Waymos sentiment is in line with the current market scenario in which Cruise has raised over $7 billion from external investors, including Honda Motor Co., while Ford-backed Argo AI committed Volkswagen to an investment of $2.6 billion.

Over the past decade, Waymo and Cruise have steadily widened their lead in the AV segment, with the companies needing the fewest human interventions for every 1,000 miles driven. Waymo vehicles currently clock 13,219 miles on average before they require human intervention, while Cruise vehicles clock 12,221 miles on average before taking assistance.

The financial enormity and the technologys complexity would mean that several smaller firms will either fold or will consolidate with bigger rivals. Recently, Starsky Robotics, an autonomous trucking startup, had to shut its doors after the company was overwhelmed by the unmet promise of artificial intelligence to focus on a practical solution. This, combined with investment drying up, proved to be too much for Starsky.

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Another fundraise, as self-driving startup Waymos investment hits $3 billion in 2020 - FreightWaves

May 14, 2020 08:03 ET | Source: Neocase Software

Neocase Software, a global HR service management platform vendor, announces a new 6 million fundraising round led by Entrepreneur Venture, alongside Sofiouest, the management team and historical shareholder Iris Capital.

This fundraising will allow Neocase Software to boost its R&D and sales programs, to expand beyond large enterprise clients to now also serve mid-market companies and to accelerate its international development, including in Germany and the Nordics.

The SaaS company now had a growth of 22% in 2019 and targets more than 20% in 2020 despite the Covid19 crisis.

Neocase Software opens its HR digitalization service to medium size companies in new regions

A leading provider of HR service management for nearly two decades, Neocase Software has spread its offer and team in key regions to address large companies needs. With offices and teams in Paris (where the company is headquartered), London, Amsterdam and Boston, Neocase Software is now reinforcing its offer and footprint in the DACH region, the UK as well as the Nordics, where the company already serves clients in the automotive, security and financial services industries.

Neocase Software will also foster its R&D and sales teams, to develop and attract midsize companies, as the HR digitalization offer was originally developed to increase efficiency for companies employing over 10,000 employees with remote HR needs.

The company will use the funds to fuel its expansion and help smaller structures by making its offer available for organisations of 1,500 employees and more, allowing HR services in these businesses to digitalise and soften their workload with an HR Ready platform.

This new development will be supported by a strong network of partners composed of Software Companies.Neocase Software serves today more than 150 clients worldwide operating in 180 countries, directly and through integrators.

Digitalizing HR services to allow professionals to focus their attention on key roles rather than ticket management.

Companies of all sizes have been faced with serious HR challenges recently: high-speed remote work normalisation, paperwork digitalisation, employees with personal situations, part-time management, etc. Their daily jobs have been shaken and their workload, especially towards remote employees, has increased and diverted in unprecedented ways.

HR service management is now in high need of efficiency and improvement for the HR professionals who are eager to focus their attention at work on career development, recruitment, projects managements rather than ticket processes. Neocase Software allows them to digitalize many day-to-day tasks with a digital platform accessible anywhere and everywhere to all employees at distance, relying on a solid AI-based Talents and Employees management platform, leveraged by Big Data to ensure a personalized experience and answer to every request.

Neocase Software CEO Didier Moscatelli said: "Neocase Software is a global expert for HR services helping global structure digitalise their employees-HR communications across large organisations HR digitalization is now a must have and our 15 year of experience in HR systems is key to enable the companies to strengthen their Employees experience. This new fundraising will allow us to address a high demand of midsize companies for our SaaS solution as well as growing our R&D and sales efforts toward new markets such as the DACH region, the UK and the Nordics. Were looking forward to this new chapter alongside solid investors such as Entrepreneur Venture, Iris Capital and Sofiouest."

Pierre-Alexis de Vauplane, Entrepreneur Venture Investment Director added: We are delighted to give Neocase the means to continue its growth. We had been talking with the company for several months and the dynamic provided by Didier Moscatelli convinced us; the past few weeks have also confirmed the value of Neocase for companies and employees in this time of crisis.

Curt Gunsenheimer, Managing Partner at Iris Capital, commented: "We have been supporting Neocase Software for years now, standing at their side at every stage of their history. We are proud to fuel this new chapter towards international growth, especially in the DACH region where we will be strong promoters of their new mid-size companies offer alongside their first class integrators network.

Patrice Hutin, COO of Sofiouest said: Sofiouest has long been a supporter of augmented digital HR platform for companies. Neocase solutions allow HR services and managers to spend more time on career development projects and less resource on light requests. We are happy to contribute and support the distribution of these solutions in France and beyond and the Neocase team clearly deserves our trust to grow the company.

Key figures to date:

Founded in 2001

6 million round

150+ top class clients worldwide

80% clients have 10,000+ employees

Global offices: France, UK, Netherlands and USA

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Neocase Software, HR digitalization SaaS platform, raises 6 million round to foster its international growth during the Covid19 crisis - GlobeNewswire

Tributes have been pouring in for a man who collapsed and died on a Croydon street at the weekend.

Morugan Swami collapsed on London Road, near the junction with Hathaway Road, at about 11.35am on Saturday (May 9).

The 54-year-old was declared dead at the scene, and the cause of death is being treated as unexplained.

Morugan was a father who sadly leaves behind a son and two daughters - Akira, Greta and Estella, who he "loved dearly" and "spoke of with great pride".

A close friend said: "For those who know him, Morugan was a unique man with a strong, formidable character but he was also unsparingly kind and generous, to not only those who he knew but also to complete strangers.

"As an eminent karate instructor and martial artist, Morugan touched many lives in our community.

"For 30 years, he has been the instructor, or 'sensei' as his students know him, at the Mushidokai Karate School on London Road, Croydon.

"Before moving to the UK in the late 1980s, he also ran the karate school at the YMCA in New Delhi, India. For several decades he has been sharing his knowledge and helping others in their own personal development.

"He will be remembered fondly by his family, friends and students."

A JustGiving page has been set up to help support the family and has currently raised 1,840, with notes left alongside donations showing just how beloved he was in the community.

Ashok and Ruby donated a huge 200, commenting: "My friend and a teacher, one of a kind. Thank you for everything, you will always be in my heart and never forgotten.

"I can't begin to tell you how much you have done for me. RIP dear friend."

Another family wrote: "You were a kind, simple and highly principled man. You set high standards for yourself in everything you did and it showed.

"Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to get to know and learn from you."

To keep up-to-date with all the latest breaking news, stories and events happening across South London, give the My South London Facebook page a like.

We will provide you with the latest traffic and travel updates, including updates on train and London Underground services, in areas including Southwark, Croydon, Greenwich, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Merton, Lambeth and Brixton.

The latest breaking news will be brought straight to your news feed including updates from the police, ambulance and fire brigade. We will also bring you updates from our courts and councils, as well as more lighthearted long reads.

We also publish your pictures and videos, so do message us with your stories.

Like the My South London Facebook page here.

You can also follow us on Twitter here.

One theme that hugely stands out in the condolence messages is that he was a good teacher and friend, contributing towards many people's lives in a very significant way.

His smile is also mentioned a number of times, with one simple message reading "even Mum remembers your smile".

You can donate to the JustGiving page here.

You can read our coverage of the incident here.

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Moving tributes paid to 'kind' dad who collapsed and died on Croydon street - MyLondon

Chris Fox And Chris Herhalt, CP24.com Published Thursday, May 14, 2020 6:00AM EDT Last Updated Thursday, May 14, 2020 5:16PM EDT

Ontarios first phase of its reopening plan involves a full resumption of retail outside of malls, and all construction projects, starting on May 19.

And on Saturday, May 16, golf courses and marinas will be allowed to open to the public.

Physical distancing measures will still be required in all sectors, and retail shops will have to limit the number of customers they allow in at one time, or conduct business by appointment.

The plan also calls for the resumption of some individual, non-team sports such as cycling, golf driving ranges, horse riding, sport shooting clubs, rowing, gymnastics and figure skating.

All public pools in the province will remain closed until further notice.

"Businesses should reopen only if they are ready, and the truth is that this is all dependent on the numbers," Premier Ford said Thursday.

"As we get more and more people back to work, the risk of flare-ups is real so we need to be vigilant."

This Phase of reopening does not involve reopening restaurants under any circumstances, nor does it raise the number of people who can gather in any place beyond five.

We always go by the advice of the (Chief Medical Officer) and the health team keep in mind the vast majority of the economy is still shut down, Ford said.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said hospital admissions to intensive care and intubations are falling, and case growth is on a long-term drop.

A growing number of public health units are contacting 90 per cent of cases within 24 hours as we deploy more resources to support these efforts, Elliott said.

Also, all vehicle dealerships and scientific research laboratories will be allowed to resume operations, provided they respect sector-specific rules about physical distancing.

All scheduled medical diagnostic tests and scheduled medical procedures will also be allowed to resume, provided the facilities meet specific conditions regarding screening for COVID-19.

The media sector, including newspapers, book publishing, interactive digital media, film and television post-production and video game development will also be allowed to get underway.

For municipalities, all libraries will be allowed to conduct business via curbside pickup on May 19.

A whole variety of indoor and outdoor household services can also resume on May 19, including nanny and babysitter services, maids, cooks, cleaners, house painters and maintenance and repair works.

After Stage 1, Stage 2 of the reopening will involve resumption of certain service industries, offices and opening more community spaces.

Ford wouldn't say how long the province would stay on Phase 1 before moving to Phase 2, saying everything would depend on daily COVID-19 test results, which showed the lowest number of new infections in two and a half months on Thursday.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said Thursday that this phase may last two, or three or even four weeks, where they will be watching closely for new cases.

"When we go to Stage One of Phase 2 its for three week period, maybe four weeks we dont know, we want to say have we seen any changes that are concerning in that time period, has there been an uptick or rise in cases identified, have there been localized outbreaks?

When asked about personal care services such as barber shops and hair or nail salons, Ford said they could not reopen yet.

Look at my hair I look like a sheepdog right now, he said, adding everything was contingent on low testing numbers.

Elliott said the province is also asking the public to wear masks or face coverings while out in any circumstance where physically distancing is not possible.

Ford wouldnt say how long Ontario would stay in Phase 1 before moving on to Phase 2.

Theres no timeframe on Stage 2 well take as long as it takes to get the numbers down.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath said she doubted whether Ontario's testing and contact tracing capacity was adequate to begin reopening.

No one wants to see Ontario take one step forward and two steps back. We dont want to see more people getting sick, and freshly re-opened businesses having to close again, because of outbreaks and the solution to that is to test, test, test, and have the capacity to trace every positive case.

She said Ontario has averaged 12,600 tests per day over the past 30 days, lower than the earlier minumum benchmark promised in April.

Todays announcement comes as some Greater Toronto Area mayors express concern about whether the province is ready to reopen.

On Wednesday Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown pleaded with politicians not to pick a date out of thin air for the reopening of the economy and to continue to follow the advice of public health officials.

There may be calls in smaller communities and rural areas to reopen right away; I certainly dont feel that in Brampton or in the GTA, Brown said. Ive been on regular calls with fellow GTA mayors and we all believe that its essential we listen to public health.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also cautioned against a rush to open things back up on Wednesday, noting that in doing so we would be running the risk of a second wave.

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Phase 1 of Ontario's reopening to allow all construction, most retail, individual sports - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

Rajesh Rengasamy is learning farming from his father-in-law. They grow paddy, coconut and gram on their farm, a four-hour drive from Chennai. He is also a student of folk music. But that's not what his 'profession' is. He is Director of Technology at digital business transformation company Publicis Sapient.

For most, passion and career never meet. That was the case for Rengasamy also until he moved from Bangalore to his hometown in Chennai in 2014. "The two-three hours I save every day on commute is a gift. I can do a lot more work and still have time for things I love." It's evident. Rengasamy has got two promotions in the last five years and has delivered multi-million-dollar projects, all working from home.

Such cases have been far and few in corporate India. While new-age firms always had the option of work from home, most employees did not opt for it. It didn't seem 'normal' unless one had a personal situation to take care of. Often, there were things like being invisible to the boss and being left out.

But, Covid-19 changed all that.

The lockdown forced companies, big and small, old and new, to get their employees to work from home. After a month of experimenting, companies are now using this crisis to see if it can be a long-term operating model. Indias largest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has been a bellwether for the trend. In a Q&A after fourth quarter earnings call, TCS announced it is working towards a model called 25/25 where only 25 per cent employees will work from office by 2025. "We don't believe we need more than 25 per cent of our workforce at our facilities to be 100 per cent productive," said N.G. Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer, TCS. Each employee should spend only 25 per cent of his/her time in office, he added.

Many others are in the wait-and-watch mode. According to Kameshwari Rao, Group Vice-President, People Strategy at Publicis Sapient, many employees are realising it is working for them and asking if they can continue working from home. Mahalakshmi R., Director, Human Resources, Mondelez India, says it is for the first time that the frontline sales team is working from home. The company is now thinking if some order-taking can continue to happen over phones.

A lot of research has been done on where work from home works and where it doesn't. Studies have shown that fewer distractions and reduced commute time lead to more productivity. It is also known to improve employee retention and reduce stress.

But not everyone agrees. According to a recent study by American researcher Judith Olson, remote work is good for solo performances but not where work requires collaboration. Here is what India Inc. is finding out.

No Office Office Anymore?

So, will companies continue the same remote work culture post-Covid? TCS has a clear answer. "We are not going to go back to where we were," said Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan during the earnings call.

As firms develop their own frameworks, Mondelez India's Mahalakshmi says one has to keep some ground realities in mind: specifically availability of safe public transport and in the long term the colleagues' personal situation at home, as for some people it could put pressure on their personal life or their socio-economic situation might not be conducive for work from home. Similarly, there are roles that are suited for the work-from-home model, and there are those that aren't. Analytics, core research, data mining and drawing insights lend themselves more to the work-from-home model for a longer period as opposed to roles that require significant coordination, says Amitav Mukherji, Head of Corporate Human Resources, ITC Ltd. "Managerial roles that require influencing opinion, coordination among stakeholders, resolving conflict and inspiring teams require personal interaction, and can be done from home only for a limited time. Even for roles that require frequent meetings with customers or managing a production line or a warehouse, work from home is not an option," he adds.

At the organisational level, remote work is effective for IT services, data analytics, digital marketing, design, transaction processing, auditing and document reviewing. But it may not work for firms in manufacturing, commodities, agriculture, warehousing, facilities and hospitality.

A Cultural Shift

The culture of work from home is in its nascent stage and managers and employees are still learning the ropes. A manager of a due-diligence firm told his team not to leave the room they work in during office hours. One of the team members took it literally and told the CEO how he has been following the instructions. Of course, the manager was reprimanded and the CEO took to task seniors on the remote team management.

No wonder many employees are complaining of longer working hours. Says a senior manager of a stainless steel firm: "Work from home is as much about working as it is about proving that you are working. The latter is an added burden. I would rather work from office."

To make the new model a success, the culture of the organisation has to facilitate remote work. "Mostly its about trust, respect and empathy," says Sohini Dutt, Regional HR Director, South Asia, RB Health. Organisations need to trust that employees will work and employees need to respect the same. Doing household chores does not make employees unprofessional as their personal situation might demand it. "Organisations will need to have these as part of their culture since the line between work hours and personal time at home is very thin," adds Dutt.

To bust the myth around work from home being unproductive, all CXOs, including the CEO, at Mondelez India worked from home once every week even before Covid-19 stuck. "We wanted to bust the taboo around remote work and had to put out a message that people may have different needs, and they should leverage it," says Mahalakshmi.

According to Rao of Publicis Sapient, one of the reasons for the seamless transition to 100 per cent work from home was that the company always hired people who were organised and would not need a big brother to watch over them. "The orientation of the firm is to keep the focus on the impact that is created rather than the effort, and even performance assessment is oriented to growth and learning. It helps build accountability and ownership in people." So, despite working from multiple locations instead of the usual four, there has been a 10-20 per cent increase in productivity at the organisational level, says Rao. One of the reasons is that 90 per cent of employees are software engineers and IT work is location-agnostic.

Also, organisations will need to change the way they look at work. "Work will move away from planning around workforce to planning around outcomes and making it more structured, with scope for more specialists than generalists," says Rajkamal Vempati, HR head, Axis Bank. With more colleagues working remotely, leadership too will have to change, adds Vempati. They will have to learn to inspire and enable people in the new environment. Social interactions foster creativity, sharing of ideas and emotions, so "organisations will have to figure out ways to curate physical and digital human interactions in getting the team to foster team spirit and social capital," she says.

"Firms will also need to do deep thinking around developing frameworks, policy, protocols and reporting guidelines to ensure work is done seamlessly without interruptions," says Saundarya Rajesh, Founder of talent strategy firm Avtar.

The Coming of Age of Technology

A strong technology backbone is needed to enable high-impact work from home. So, when Rengasamy started working from home in 2014, internet connectivity was an issue. But over time, better networks, use of tech platforms, including Skype, for messages and calls, and latest gizmos have improved the situation. Rengasamy now has a high-quality speaker phone, a drawing tablet and a web camera. "The amount I saved on commute was invested in high-end gadgets," he says. But many still believe that technology can never replace the advantages of human interactions. So, what could have been solved in a minute by talking to someone face-to-face in office, often requires a lot more time and effort when everyone is working remotely. But, todays tools such as whiteboard and document sharing allow almost real-life experience of collaboration.

In fact, as TCS moved 90 per cent of its 4,48,000 employees post-lockdown to work remotely, its CEO Gopinathan says they are already "seeing increased levels of productivity in certain instances and an increased level of engagement." This has been possible because of their investments in the past years inSecure Borderless Work Spaces (SBWS)- an operating model that allows TCS associates working from home ensure business continuity with support from minimal associates in offices. Working in a distributed model is not about moving the person out of office and connecting a laptop or a desktop from home. It is much more than that, says Gopinathan. "It is about taking the entire elements of the operating model and being able to deploy that into this kind of an extended environment."

Employees' Experience Key

P.C. Mustafa, Co-Founder of packaged food company iD Fresh Foods, started using Zoom post-lockdown. "I don't feel I am missing out on anything. If I am able to manage idli operations from home, then anybody can do it," he says. Around 20 per cent of his time used to be spent on travel to the four regions the firm operates in. Mustafa now plans to leverage more video-conferencing tools and reduce his travel.

When Shailja Dutt, founder of Delhi-based executive search firm Stellar Search, decided to operate out of Singapore, there were initial hesitations. "I had never left my firm in the care of anyone else and didn't know how much I should depend on whom and for what," says Dutt. But, over the next few months, she saw her colleagues stepping up. "One mistake entrepreneurs make is that they think they are indispensable to the firm. But when I saw the team was working better even when I was not there, I realised the only one who thinks I am indispensable is me."

Working remotely, she says, has helped her become a better leader and mentor. It has allowed her to choose how she wants to invest her time - whether she wants to get new business, or focus on long-term strategy. "A lot of my self-development as a leader has happened in this period because I have a lot more time to read, coach and mentor." It also helped the organisation set up strong systems and processes in place which are automated and do not depend only on her for clearances.

How Companies Benefit

The obvious one is reduced cost on office space and infrastructure. Firms that allow employees in certain functions to work from home can save 15-20 per cent of staff cost (including salary, employee benefits etc), says Sasmita Mohanty, CHRO (South Asia), Bollore International Logistics, a French conglomerate. "It will not be the case that, for the same job role, we will be paying the same salary to those who are working from home and those who are coming to office. There will be a difference because we are giving a comfort level to the person who is not coming to office."

It also helps firms manage risks. "It helps organisations become more resilient, because the fully distributed nature of this model is inherently less risky and better suited for business continuity and agility," says TCS' Gopinathan.

Working from home also allows organisations access a diverse pool of talent, which has a positive impact on revenue and innovation. "As companies get used to the idea of working from home, they will become open to employing gig workers who can contribute from anywhere. Working from home could also help include more women into the workforce," says Anupam Trehan, Director, People & Communities, Cisco India and SAARC.

The geographically spread workplaces can also aid economic growth. For example, if the Indian IT sector, which employs over 4.5 million, was dispersed rather than concentrated in certain hubs, it would not just reduce pressure on city infrastructure, but also lead to more balanced growth in the country. A distributed workforce will make cities more liveable and sustainable, feels Trehan.

One thing is clear though. Work from home is here to stay, in a bigger and longer form.

@sonalkhetarpal7

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How Productive is Work From Home? - Business Today

BURLINGTON, Mass., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Qstream, microlearning software leader for engaging sales teams in mobile sales learning programs for maximizing knowledge retention, proficiency, and performance readiness, has been named a 2020 Top Training Company for the sales training sector of the learning and development market. Training Industry distributes its Top 20 report to inform learning professionals on innovative training services and technology providers and help them identify the right solutions for their organizations.

Qstream has a track record of supporting the world's largest sales teams across many industries including pharmaceutical, medical device, technology, and financial services companies with scalable learning technology. Qstream enables sales reps with scenario-based microlearning challenges that are highly customized and relevant to their role through their mobile device. In a few minutes a day, sales reps respond to these challenges to educate and reinforce the necessary knowledge that they need to help them in any customer interaction and have valuable conversations that lead them to closing more business. Data collected from sales reps responses to microlearning challenges gives frontline sales managers an immediate understanding of each rep's proficiency levels and an exact view of where knowledge gaps exist. Qstream's real-time dashboards allow managers to communicate and take action with highly targeted coaching for improving sales reps performance.

"It's an honor to be recognized as a top sales training company for 2020 alongside many of our sales training partners," said Qstream's VP of Sales, Gary Greenberger. "Qstream's innovative microlearning technology provides continuous reinforcement for our customers and partners sales training programs so that sales reps are well equipped to meet customers' needs and for helping them achieve their revenue goals." Qstream's partners who were also selected as Training Industries Top 2020 Sales Training Companies include ASLAN Training & Development, Custom Learning Designs (CLD), GP Strategies, Ignite Selling, Janek Performance Group, Mercuri International Group, RAIN Group, Richardson, Sandler Training, The Brooks Group, VantagePoint Performance.

You can find the full list of2020 Top Sales Training Companies here!

About Qstream:

Qstreamis a microlearning solution proven by science and in practice to boost learner performance through knowledge reinforcement, engagement, and analytics. 600+ organizations rely on Qstream to build high-performance teams by delivering a microlearning experience that reinforces job-critical knowledge in minutes a day, exposing a real-time view of performance readiness.

Media Contact:

David Resendes [emailprotected] +1 (781) 960-5411

SOURCE Qstream

Microlearning that Transforms Business | Engage. Reinforce. Analyze.

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Qstream Awarded as a Training Industry 2020 Top Sales Training Company - PRNewswire

The ad experts at HONE Digital Marketing have released a new done-for-you service that helps residential real estate agents grow their business hands-free.

HONE Digital Marketing, a digital marketing agency specializing in digital advertisement and sales solutions for B2B and B2C clients in a variety of verticals, has announced that they have released a new done-for-you service that helps real estate agents grow their business hands-free.

HONE has worked with small to mid-size brokerages as well as individual agents since 2015 and has noticed a lot of problems in the residential real estate business development space. When it comes to taking advantage of the digital and social spaces online, there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation, attention given to non-important activities, and not to mention poor sales training. All of this leads to barriers on agent production, feast and famine cycles, and agents who think they run their own business when really they are just doing the job for a commission check.

Working with friends and family is a great way to stay broke. What is the story you tell yourself about the people who sell 75+ homes a year? That they just know a lot of people? You dont make money from your friends and family. They often want you to work for free or feel like they are doing you a favor. You need to break into the market and find people you dont know and turn them into sales opportunities, saysAttilio Di Nunno, Owner & President of HONE Digital Marketing.

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Ourreal estate business development solutionprovides a way for real estate agents to build up their pipeline with exclusive residential real estate leads in their area. We follow up, survey, and provide consistent custom content to the pipeline to stay top of mind and book appointments for our agent clients, among other cutting edge techniques, statesAttilio. Over the past 5 years, we have experimented, tested, and honed this solution to achieve quality leads for real estate agents at very low costs per lead, around$2.16per lead on average. I believe this solution is an extremely valuable extension to any residential real estate agents pipeline and referral building efforts.

The agencys real estate solution is fully managed by advertising experts following a proven proprietary system set up to acquire more residential real estate leads. Clients enrolled in the solution receive a dedicated client success partner, a custom CRM (customer relationship management software) to hold contact info, conversions and appointments, and easy access to support.

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The digital marketing agency provides a no-obligation demo of their new real estate business development solution for real estate agents interested in generating residential real estate deals and referrals online.

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PR Newswire, a Cision company, is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms and distribution that marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers leverage to engage key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry over 60 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to- end solutions to produce, optimize and target content -- and then distribute and measure results. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire powers the stories of organizations around the world. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.

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Ad Experts Release New Service That Helps Real Estate Agents Grow Their Business Hands-Free - MarTech Series

A report added to the rich database of Magnifier Research, titled Global Product-based Sales Training Market Size, Status and Forecast 2020-2026 provides a detailed analysis of the current and future market trends, segmentation, industrial opportunities, and future market scenario considering 2020 to 2026 as forecast years. The report extensively studies a number of growth drivers and restraining factors. Global Product-based Sales Training market is separated by product, manufacturers, regions, as well as applications. It also comprises the complete study about the investment details in the target market. The important forecasting information by regions, type, and application, with sales and revenue from 2020 to 2026 are provided in this research report.

Market Overview:

The report consists of a competitive study of the global Product-based Sales Training market and market players performing in a market along with their information such as company detailing, product summary and specification, key financials description such as (every year revenue, production, and sales figure), SWOT and PESTEL study of the companies, business strategic outlook, and their advance development. The research encompasses all details about the market trends, risk factors, revenue-generating opportunities, and other aspects of this market. Major ways implemented by leading players, recent activities, and developments in business, share, as well as chain statistics analysis, has been demonstrated in the report.

DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE REPORT: https://www.magnifierresearch.com/report-detail/29749/request-sample

The study includes the profiles of key players in the market with a significant global and/or regional presence: ASLAN Training and Development, DoubleDigit Sales, GP Strategies, Miller Heiman Group, Altify, CommLab India, Cohen Brown Management Group, Carew International, Janek Performance Group, Kurlan & Associates, Mercuri International, Richardson, RAIN Group, Sandler Training,

Furthermore, various regions related to the growth of the global Product-based Sales Training market are analyzed in the report. These regions include the North America (United States, Canada, Mexico), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Rest of Europe), Central & South America (Brazil, Rest of South America), Middle East & Africa (GCC Countries, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa). Besides this, the research demonstrates the growth trends and upcoming opportunities in every region.

Market analysis by product type:

Market analysi9s by application: Consumer Goods, Automotive, BFSI,

This report covers extensive research of market aiming over the opportunities, strengths as well as challenges across the global market. The research predicts competitive analysis of the global Product-based Sales Training market on the product specification and product image, corporate profile, material suppliers, market and sales share, downstream consumers, pricing structure, and production base. Apart from the mentioned information, the growth rate of the market in 2026 is also explained. Market share analysis and key trend analysis are the major success factors in the market report.

ACCESS FULL REPORT: https://www.magnifierresearch.com/report/global-product-based-sales-training-market-size-status-and-29749.html

Key Characteristics of the Report:

Customization of the Report: This report can be customized to meet the clients requirements. Please connect with our sales team ([emailprotected]), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +1-201-465-4211 to share your research requirements.

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Magnifier Research is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry. Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Magnifier Research also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise. We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover. Magnifier Research provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.

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Global Product-based Sales Training Market 2020: Analysis By Latest Trends, Size, Share, Growth Rate And Forecast To 2026 - Cole of Duty