01732 759725 18 WORKPLACE Kerry Rush, Product Marketing Manager – Hardware and Facilities at Sharp Business Systems UK, picks the tools she uses every day and couldn’t do her job without I couldn’t do my job without... 2 Mondays This is our chosen product/project management tool. It allows me to keep all my work organised and in one place. Each project is logged with the action along with timelines, so I have a really clear visual plan of all the work I have on. I also have a to do list with things that need to be done but may not constitute a full project plan. Mondays allows others in the team to collaborate on projects and feedback on activity, it sends alerts to notify users if they have outstanding actions and will notify the project owner if any of the project team have provided an update. It also provides a series of dashboards that show me top level information that I choose, along with the product management teams’ collective information – which can be easily shared with stakeholders as and when needed. 3 Notebook and pen Now this may seem a bit strange in our modern super tech environment – especially given I work for a technology and IT service provider, but I love nothing more than having a notebook and pen to hand. I am a serial note taker and love recapping on meetings from the notes I have taken – even if sometimes I struggle to read my scribbles! I am also a serial doodler so having a notebook keeps my hands busy whilst on calls or long virtual meetings. I always worry when I am in a meeting, especially face to face, if I take notes on my laptop that others will wonder if 1) I am listening or 2) am I taking notes or doing something else. So, if you are ever in a meeting with me know I am thinking those things about you, if you are a computer note taker! 1 Mobile phone I could not get through a day without my phone. It’s so important to my role, especially coming out of the pandemic and with the extension of hybrid working, the need for personal interaction and a more human connection is needed. I am extremely personable and love nothing more than picking up the phone and having a chat with Sharp colleagues or clients. It’s allowing me to build brilliant relationships and be approachable. A voice on the end of the phone is so much warmer than an email which can sometimes be misconstrued or taken in the wrong tone. People tend to share more information with me knowing I am only a phone call away. 4 The Sharp team No one person can know everything and be an expert at it – well not without their head exploding, so as a product manager it’s critical to know which people within the company are specialists and in what areas they specialise in. My role means I have developed strong relationships so that I can call on the level of expertise when needed and in return they can call on me if they need help and assistance. Sharp has a wealth of amazingly talented team members including technical specialists, service teams and engineers, business planning, supply-chain, sales order processing, marcomms and finance, to mention a few, all of whom can be called on to help and never fail to do so. 5 PowerPoint Presentation decks are invaluable to me as they allow me to communicate high-level strategies, visions and plans, product training etc. to internal team members and to external audiences such as clients. PowerPoint presentations are a brilliant point of reference that can be added to S.A.M which is Sharp’s Asset Manager, or emailed out, so that they can be referred back to and accessed at a later date. I love that PowerPoint can be adapted to your audience, with relative ease, and include imagery, videos and as much or as little wording as needed. It’s also really useful to be able to use it as a collaborative solution when working from the cloud, as users can create and adapt at the same time. www.sharp.co.uk Kerry Rush
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