- Calendar Tools Your digital calendar can do more than just corral all of your appointments. It can actually help you schedule appointments. Take advantage of digital tools such as “FindTime” in Outlook, which is an improved scheduling tool that targets available meeting times. Quickly selecting meeting times can greatly improve office efficiency.
- Doodle Beyond the fun name, Doodle is a fantastic time saver when it comes to coordinating and corralling the troops. Since not everyone uses the same calendar software, Doodle is compatible with Outlook, Google, and iCloud. Simply create an event and send out various time and date options. Recipients then select what works best for them in a simple check-list-style poll. Talk about efficient! Free with paid upgrades available.
- Document Management Electric document management makes nearly every list concerning office efficiency for several reasons. First, it keeps your business organized and streamlined Secondly; it increases productivity and security. And finally, it saves you money. No wonder Digitalist Magazine called DM when used with the cloud, “the single most influential technological advancement over the past few years.”
- Virtual Conferencing Virtual meetings and video conferencing were once considered cutting-edge science fiction in the office environment. Now, they are part of everyday life. There are hundreds of reliable platforms available for virtual, web-based meetings. While some collaborations are best done in person, many daily and weekly check-ins can be managed virtually, saving a significant amount of time and money.
- Talk to Text Talk-to-text is not just the thing you use to text your spouse while you are grocery shopping. Talk-to-text or talk-to-type software has been around since before the proliferation of smartphones, and it continues to improve. Not everyone is a quick, competent typist, but that is irrelevant with this tool. If you work better by talking things out rather than writing them down, then this is the perfect solution for you.
So, there you have it. Just five of the many amazing technological advancements available to help you improve office efficiency. How many are you currently using?