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April 29, 2021

4 Ways You Can Boost Office Productivity with Technology

Technology can provide countless opportunities to streamline workflows, eliminate redundant processes, and reduce costs. If you’re looking to stay ahead of the competition, simple technology strategies like the four listed below can dramatically boost your office productivity.

Change office communication

To increase teamwork and productivity, set up instant messaging software such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. These platforms allow employees to communicate in real time instead of communicating through asynchronous methods like email. You can instantly send messages and share files in team chat rooms, saving precious time and allowing you to get more work done. This is especially useful in enabling communications when everyone is working remotely

Install video conferencing

Rather than spending hours getting to and from meetings outside your office, opt for a networked phone solution that offers video calls and conferencing. This way, you can hold a video conference to discuss business matters while in the office, at home, or abroad. You can also record the call so everyone can actively participate in the meeting and review important details for later without having to pause to take notes.

Implement ERP software

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of software that organizations use to manage various business processes like accounting, project management, and supply chain management. ERP software provides employees with up-to-date business information that they can easily access and use. It eliminates redundant data entry and reduces the number of spreadsheets that are used to record critical business data by storing information in a centralized database.

Once information is in one place, managers have complete visibility across departments, allowing them to make smarter decisions and eliminating organizational silos. For example, supply chain managers can quickly detect when store shelves need to be replenished and send purchase orders to accounting teams for approval.

Upgrade workstations

Outdated technologies and workstations limit your business’s progress and are a hindrance to developing clued-up, efficient employees. Aging systems and slow networks can frustrate your team and hamper productivity.

That’s why it’s important to thoroughly assess your current workstations, applications, hardware, and tools. While this doesn’t mean that you have to buy a new set of workstations for your entire company, you should at least replace obsolete equipment with more modern machines In addition, make sure all software and applications are up to date to ensure maximum efficiency and employee satisfaction.

To get the maximum return on your technology investment, it’s also important to partner with a knowledgeable and reliable service provider. Get in touch with our IT experts today to find out how we can implement technology solutions that will help your employees become more efficient and productive.

By admin
April 15, 2021

Study Shows Working From Home Could Be Here To Stay

It goes without saying that the pandemic has changed a great many things about life, as well as the world we live and work in. One significant change on the work front has, of course, been the dramatic rise in the number of people working from home.

We’re reaching a point now where, although we haven’t quite turned a corner where the pandemic is concerned, we’re clearly fast approaching that point.

Many planners and strategic thinkers are looking ahead and wondering what the future of work will be. Will everyone simply pack up their gear and head back into the office, or will we see a permanent shift to working from home for some portion of the workforce?

The short answer is that it’s probably going to wind up being a bit of both. Recently, Verizon conducted an in-depth study in an attempt to gauge the longer-term effects of the pandemic and based on the survey data they collected, fully 7 in 10 Americans prefer working remotely or in some hybrid remote/in-office capacity.

Additionally, 69 percent of survey respondents said that they expect to work remotely at least 1-2 days per week a year from now, and 54 percent said they expect that remote work will be a regular feature of work life going forward. Employers, eager to keep their star performers happy, will no doubt take heed and respond accordingly.

In addition to the points above, the survey revealed a few additional points of interest including:

  • 31 percent of respondents said they spend 3 hours a week or more on mobile devices.
  • 32 percent of respondents have either upgraded or considered upgrading their Internet bandwidth.
  • 42 percent of adults anticipate that a year from now they will be shopping in person and online equally.
  • 47 percent of adults have subscribed to a new streaming service.
  • 67 percent of adults are spending at least 3 hours per week watching live TV with 59 percent watch content through a streaming service.

Intriguing findings. If you haven’t made any specific post-pandemic plans, either way, these statistics certainly bear thinking about.

 

By admin
June 26, 2019

How to keep your laptop from overheating

More employees are opting for laptops because they’re compact and easy to carry around. However, small frames mean less space for computer chips, transistors, RAM, hard drives, and other hardware components. This leads to overheating.

Causes of overheating

Laptops generate heat when in use. That’s why they have internal fans that blow out hot air and suck in cooler air. So when your laptop keeps shutting down or suffers some serious slowdowns, chances are it’s overheating.

Some causes of overheating are:

Damaged or malfunctioning fans are due to dirt and grime clogging up the fan, preventing it from rotating properly.
Blocked air vents prevents air from flowing into the laptop.
Old laptop battery rely on lithium, a chemical that naturally decays over time; as the battery gets older, it becomes less efficient and generates more heat
Running too many software programs in the background can cause your processor and fans to go on overdrive.
Bad habits when using your laptop, such as using uneven or soft surfaces as padding, can block the air vents, leading to overheating.

What to do if your laptop’s overheating

If your laptop starts overheating, the first thing you should do is turn your laptop off and check if the fan is damaged in any way. This can slow down its rotation. Next, inspect the vents and fan for any dirt, grime, or other possible causes of blockage.

Also, check how many software programs or apps run immediately after switching your laptop on. If your laptop is overheating or shutting down after a while, you may have to disable applications on startup.

Keeping it cool

Always make sure that there’s adequate airflow when you’re using your laptop. Avoid using your laptop in bed or on a carpet. And never use pillows as padding as they can block the air vents of your laptop. Better yet, invest in a cooling pad. They lift your laptop and have built-in fans that facilitate better airflow.

Other ways to avoid overheating are limiting the number of programs that run when you start your laptop, changing your settings to power save mode, and shutting down your laptop when you’re not using it.

Users often take their laptops for granted because they’re built as plug-and-play devices. However, with a little extra care and attention, your laptops can last longer. If you want to prolong the lifespan of your hardware, call our experts today.

By Netactivity
June 14, 2019

Managing Your Windows Arrangement

The modern worker (or really, the modern person) spends a lot of their time looking at a computer screen. Considering this, it only makes sense that their screens and the items displayed on them are arranged in a way that they like.  Our tip covers a few shortcuts to help you arrange and manage your windows arrangement so you can view the items on your workstation a little quicker.

Switching Between Monitors
Multi-monitor setups are becoming increasingly popular in many workspaces. While windows and applications can be dragged from one screen to another, there is an easy shortcut that allows you to quickly switch the application’s location back and forth. With the window you want transferred to your other display selected, press Windows Key + Shift + Left/Right (depending on which way the window needs to go).

This shortcut also allows you to quickly dock an active window to either side of its current monitor, with one easy change: Windows Key + Left/Right.

Screen Zoom In/Out
Sometimes, you want your entire screen to zoom in and zoom out to better show what you are looking at. There are a few ways to accomplish this. You can either zoom in and out by pressing CTRL + (+) and CTRL + (-) respectively, or simply CTRL + Scroll Wheel to zoom in and out freely. When you want to return to the default screen view, you can do so quickly by pressing CTRL + 0. This will reset the screen magnification.

Quick Settings
Have you ever found that one setting is driving you nuts, and you want, no, need to change it? A quick way to pull up Windows settings is to press Windows Key + I.

Switching Applications
There are times when a person can hit a real groove as they work, and their productivity really hits a high point. The next time you feel this is happening to you, you can try out a shortcut for switching active applications without even needing to take your hands off the keyboard. Holding Alt + Tab will bring up miniaturized versions of all of your open windows, from where the directional keys can be used to select the window you want to work in next.

Becoming a Windows power user is easier than it sounds, all it takes is practicing the use of these kinds of shortcuts until they’re second nature. Do you have a shortcut that you use all the time? Share it in the comments!

By Netactivity
June 10, 2019

Office 365 simplifies calendar sharing

Office 365 receives updates so often that they’re hard to track. But the software suite’s basic calendar functions will always be among the most popular. If you’d like to let people outside of your organization see your calendar, all it takes is a few clicks.

Share an Office 365 calendar with specific people

Click the Share button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. This will open an email window where you can enter the addresses of people you want to see your calendar.

From that window, you can limit how much of your calendar they see by choosing from Availability Only, Limited Details, or Full Details. The latter two will show recipients the meeting names and participants of events on your calendar, whereas Availability Only will simply display scheduled events as Busy. After you’ve sent the invitation, recipients receive an email with a link to view your calendar in a web browser.

Make an Office 365 calendar public

If you’d prefer to have a link that you can share in a variety of channels whenever you’d like, click the Publish Online button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. From the dropdown menu, first click Publish This Calendar, then Configure This Published Calendar. This will create a link that you can give to collaborators outside your organization. As long as you don’t change your calendar’s visibility, they’ll be able to open that URL and view your availability.

Share your calendar so others can manage it

Users who have administrative control over their Office 365 calendar can set up special sharing settings that allow someone else to send and respond to invitations. From the Account Settings window, click on the Delegate Access button. This window lets you add or remove delegators and configure how much control they have over your calendar.

Even something as simple as sharing your calendar outside your organization has the potential to increase office productivity and efficiency. If you have questions or concerns about managing various aspects of Office 365, get in touch with Net Activity today.

By Netactivity
June 7, 2019

4 Ways you might find yourself using Alexa in the Office

Amazon’s Alexa can do more than just receive calls and messages, provide weather forecasts, play music, and control your smart devices at home. Her developers are setting her up to be a next-generation AI technology that has many features for home and office users. Here is how Alexa can become more relevant in an office setting.

1. Create and manage to-do and shopping lists

You have meetings to attend and deadlines to meet. Alexa has a straightforward To-do List feature that helps you stay on top of all your tasks. It’s ideal for busy professionals who prefer a no-frills checklist that allows them to simply view completed items, or to edit or delete items on the list.

You can also seamlessly sync third-party applications like Any.do and Todoist. Those apps offer more features for organizing tasks, adding subtasks and folders, creating reminders, setting due dates, attaching files, and prioritizing items.

To connect to a third-party app:

  • Go to alexa.amazon.com or access the Alexa app
  • Go to Settings > List, click Get Skill
  • Click Enable
  • Log in to authorize the app

Alexa also has a default Shopping List that works exactly like the To-do List. It lets you add or delete items that can be browsed in the Amazon store or searched for in Bing.

2. Reorder office supplies

Ordering supplies on an Amazon smart home device is especially convenient because you would already have an Amazon account. When voice shopping with Alexa, you can either add items to your Amazon cart (“Alexa, add toner to my cart”) or directly order a single item (“Alexa, reorder toner”) without having to lift a finger.

When you place an order, Alexa checks product availability, walks you through Amazon search results, and asks you to confirm or cancel the order. Voice shopping is enabled by default, but it can be disabled in Settings > Voice Purchasing in the Alexa app.

3. Sync your calendars

One of the best ways to maximize Alexa in the office is to sync it with your calendars. You can view scheduled appointments, set meetings, or have Alexa read the day’s entries with simple commands like “Alexa, what time is my next meeting?” or “Alexa, when is the company barbecue?”.

To add a calendar:

  • Go to alexa.amazon.com or access the Alexa app
  • Click Settings > Calendar
  • Select a calendar from the available platforms: Google (Gmail and G Suite), Apple (iCloud), or Microsoft (Office 365 or Outlook)
  • Log in to your account

4. Set a timer

A Pomodoro timer is a productivity enhancement tool that works by prescribing ideal work intervals and breaks. For example, you can set a timer that reminds you to take a 15-minute break for every hour worked, and setting this up in Alexa is easy.

To set a single timer:

  • Say “Alexa, set a work timer for 60 minutes.”
  • After the timer goes off, say “Alexa, set a break time for 15 minutes.”

To set several timers at once, say:

  • “Alexa, create a work timer for 60 minutes.”
  • “Alexa, create a break timer for 15 minutes.”

The commands we’ve included here work for simple instructions, but you can modify them and use tons of other Alexa commands to suit your purposes. If you need recommendations on how you can work smarter with AI and other productivity tools, get in touch with Net Activity today.

By Netactivity
May 6, 2019

Keeping Productivity Up When the Internet Goes Down

Modern businesses rely pretty heavily on the Internet–so much so that, should the Internet go down, many employees will find themselves at a loss as what to do. However, there’s no need to sacrifice productivity just because your Internet isn’t cooperating. There are plenty of ways to get something done on a day that the Internet calls in sick, which we’ll go over for today’s tip.

Tidy Up
Regardless of the season, an Internet outage is an excellent opportunity to do some spring cleaning. Whether your workspace itself is getting a little cluttered, or the files on your local network need to be organized, what better time is there to make sure things are spic-and-span?

Making sure that your workspace is tidy, and that your employees do the same, can also have benefits that will impact each employee and your organizational collaboration. An organized desk features fewer distractions than a cluttered one, and makes resources easier for someone else to find, should the desk’s tenant be out that day.

This benefit extends to storage space around the office. A cluttered cabinet is one that’s hard to find things in. Taking the time to tidy it up will help you save time later, and doing it during an Internet outage means that you aren’t taking up time that could be spent doing something else.

If you still have access to your data storage, take the opportunity to organize them. Folders are your friend in this case, as you can develop a hierarchy that permits you to arrange those ‘loose’ files scattered around your desktop into a concise and logical system, making them much easier to find.

Teamwork!
If there’s one weakness to a workplace being so technology-intensive, it’s the boundaries that it can put up between team members. Communicating through a screen all day doesn’t allow for the camaraderie that some old-fashioned facetime can develop, which can lead to improved synergy and productivity when working collaboratively. If your Internet fails you, you may want to take advantage of that time to encourage some face-to-face interactions.

Whether they take the opportunity to hold meetings or fraternize with other departments, your employees can engage in some team building as they wait for Internet access to return. Alternatively, they can also meet up and discuss ideas they may have and never had the opportunity to share before.

It isn’t just your employees who can benefit from this, either. Letting your employees get to know you a little better, and vice versa, can help keep them engaged and allow you to understand who they are a little better as you manage them. This allows you to better sculpt your management style to suit each employee, maximizing your impact.

Go Mobile
Many employers may find that mobile devices can be distracting in the office, they can be a real blessing as well. Should your Internet fail you, your team may be able to continue working on some of their tasks by utilizing their mobile data, either as a part of a BYOD strategy with data reimbursement, or on a company-provided device. For assistance in setting up these solutions, reach out to us.

What are some of the things you do to combat the loss of productivity due to an Internet outage? Share your strategies in the comments!

By Netactivity

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