Technology is such an important part of the modern workplace that any business that does not integrate will likely fail. It can seem an intimidating minefield of hardware, software and applications, so much so that many companies avoid embracing these developments and stick to the practices of old. Here are some ways to simplify the technology around you, to allow you to choose what is right for your business and to allow you improve productivity in the workplace.
Communication
Communication is becoming ever more complicated. So many communication tools like whatsapp, messenger, sms, email, phone are giving so many streams of information that it very difficult to track and understand communication between your team and clients. IT-Serve recommend tackling the biggest issue of all first, email.
Forbes suggest that a staggering $1.5 Trillion is lost in productivity each year from email alone. It is a communication tool that has become over complicated and the continual receipt of such emails stops people from focusing on the task ahead.
A great way to eliminate disturbances is to use a collaborative communication tool internally. Tools like Microsoft Teams (available as part of the Office 365 business package), Slack and, the newly launched Facebook Workplace, allow your team to communicate internally without ever having to email each other. The first benefit of this is that now you know your email is for external communication only. This communication channel can now be used in timed schedules allowing you to focus on you’re the tasks ahead for portions of the day and email for other pre-planned segments. Tim Ferriss (author of the Four Hour Work Week, New York Times Best Seller) recommends setting an out of office on your email for times that you are focused on work that explains to mail senders that you are working on a task and will get back to them at a given time. This may seem extreme, but it gives absolute focus on the task in hand.
Secondly, these above tools allow you to create groups based on the requirement of the group. This allows you to choose only who is relevant within this channel. This means, people that don’t need to be part of the communication are not part of the group. Also with all of the people involved in the task group as part of the channels, there is no need to hide behind CC and BCC emails to get actions complete. Everyone is part of the channel and openly accountable for their actions.
Collaboration
Team collaboration can be a tricky task, especially if your team is spread over geographies. Planning and strategizing can seem near impossible. By utilizing tools that you may not be aware are available to you, your business can collaborate with relative ease.
Microsoft Office and Google Docs have a function called shared documents. Whether it is Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Sheets or others, you and your team can all work on one document simultaneously. These functions also allow you to chat to each other on the said document. Working in this way can dramatically increase your team’s productivity, as you are not having to go back and forth with documentation. It can be all addressed, by all roles, at the same time.
Another great tool to consider is Hoylu. This is a collaboration tool that allows multi user interaction on multiple tools simultaneously, no matter what location. This is a fantastic tool for collaboration for numerous industries. Hoylu is to be considered if you have multi functions needing to input, strategise or create together and is a solution that can increase workplace productivity incredibly.
Data management
How many times do you or your peers ask, “do you know where that email/password/document is?” Data access and management can be one of the largest culprits towards poor workplace productivity. Simply, time lost locating information is time wasted.
A data management system like Microsoft’s Sharepoint or Microsoft’s One Drive can provide a platform that can ensure your data is stored in a way that is always accessible, from all devices and locations. This solution also allows your information to be stored securely.
However, the accessibility to this data is only as good as its initial (and developing) structure. It is highly recommended to speak to experts with respect to this setup. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when experts have already experienced many best practice solutions that they can replicate or restructure for you.
Productivity in the workplace can be significantly improved by addressing the three aforementioned practices. These represent a large majority of productivity breakdown and simple changes can transform your business.
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