Anyone who has ever had the task of managing an office will tell you that it is a tiresome and exhaustive job. Keeping an office running is no simple task. You may find yourself saddled with jobs consisting of anything from organising and chairing crucial office meetings, to recording office expenses, to implementing administrative practices.
As an office manager, you are one of the most crucial members of your company. Without someone like you, it’s quite possible that the company would fall apart, and that’s not an exaggeration.
But with such a load of tasks, sometimes being the office manager can be tough, and the variance of tasks you are expected to do often requires you to stretch yourself thin. Thankfully, every task comes with a tool that will help carry the load and make it easier to manage. To help you out with your everyday tasks, we’ve come up with a list of 9 office management tools that you can employ to make your life easier.
If you’ve been tasked with finding a new home for your team, we can help!
1. Hootsuite
If you’re the person that manages your companies social media, do yourself a favour and take advantage of Hootsuite. You’ll thank yourself later.
Hootsuite is a tool that brings together all your social media accounts into one single place. Through Hootsuite, you can access your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms all at once. For companies that need to make many social media posts across all its platforms, Hootsuite allows you to simultaneously post to all of them at the same time. You can also schedule posts ahead of time, backdate posts, as well as edit and delete your posts.
2. Dropbox
Companies who need to to share lots of files with each other likely have already heard of Dropbox. This service is an excellent office administration tool, allowing you to share important files and documents with each other. The way it works is that a person with access to a company’s Dropbox can put files into it, which is then synced with Dropbox’s servers. Once it’s there, anyone with access to that Dropbox can then access the files placed inside.
It’s an easy and convenient tool that allows members of the company to easily transfer files so long as they have an internet connection. This means that, for instance, if a member of your team works remotely, they can simply upload all their files that need to be shared to their Dropbox, and suddenly everyone at the office also has access to it. It’s a quick and efficient method of file transferring, and as an office manager, an invaluable tool for keeping everything in order.
For more office manager productivity hacks, check out our blog.
3. Google Docs
The next few project management tools are all within the same group, but all are important for an office manager such as yourself. It comes at absolutely no surprise that Google is one of the most useful tools a company can have. Their internet-based synchronised file storage system is a godsend for information sharing and collaborative work through an office. Google Docs acts as a word processor that syncs up to anyone that has access to it. With a company Google Drive, you can easily share information and work amongst all your employees, and you can even control how they are able to access a document. You can grant collaborators editing access so that they can directly work on the document.
4. Google Sheets
It’s likely that you already know of the power of Excel spreadsheets as a method for easily storing, tracking, and reading information. With Google Sheets, you can access all the good stuff Microsoft Excel offers, but within Google’s synchronised storage space. Like Google Docs, you can easily share your spreadsheets with the other members of your team so they can benefit from your beautiful spreadsheets.
5. Google Calendar
Knowing you, calendar apps are probably a stable by now and it’s likely that you’ve seen dozens of different calendar apps. Yet when it comes to industry standard office administration tools, Google Calendar is a staple. It’s most useful if your company already takes advantage of Google’s office suite, but it can be useful even without it. You can use this tool to keep track of who’s coming in and out of your office and schedule important events such as team meetings or client meetings, with the handy ability to set reminders so that even the most forgetful of people (you know who they are) are given ample time. Like everything else in Google, you can set calendars to be shared and edited by others in your team.
6. Google Hangouts
We’re at the last of the Google tools (finally!) and Google Hangouts is key to making sure your team is well-connected. It acts as a messenger, allowing you to communicate with other people in your team via text, video, or voice message.
Nowadays, with how prevalent the internet is, we’re seeing more and more people opt to working long distance or out of office. Google Hangouts gives your team all the benefits of face-to-face contact while effectively saving time and money on travel. You can also set up giant group calls, with video meetings for up to 25 people.
If you need the Google equivalent for finding office space, we have you covered.
7. Evernote
As an office manager, you probably have an endless list of tasks, and we truly admire your ability to keep everything under control. To make your life easier, we’re going to let you in on a secret: Evernote. Evernote is an office manager tool that helps you take notes, write lists, and collect articles. This tool lets you transform all the documents you’ve made into a single, professional, and screen-friendly layout so that everything you need is within reach.
8. SnackNation
Yeah. We know. An office administration tool that consists of having snacks sent to your office looks a bit out of place in this list, but we haven’t gone crazy.
Providing snacks is a great way to improve motivation within office spaces. The human body needs fuel, especially when we’re working — food helps us improve our productivity and connect with the people around us. SnackNation helps you keep your office’s snack bar stocked with an array of affordable, healthy snacks that can be sent straight to your office. Not to mention, if you’re the person that’s getting tasty snacks delivered to your office, we’re pretty sure it’ll make you look good. Really good.
9. Slack
Nowadays, it seems that every single company comes equipped with Slack, and it’s easy to see why. But in case you’re the one company that doesn’t have it, Slack is an instant messenger that allows your entire team to communicate with each other. You can talk with one person or many all at once, and form channels for each specific branch of your team. You can also send files over to each other, letting you share work or just that funny cat pic you’ve found in your spare time. Communication keeps a team together, and Slack helps you achieve that connection.
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