Tech to improve life at the office

With public restrictions now part of history, the return to the office is here. To make life easier, we review some of the best tools to improve life at the office and home.

 

 

Tools to optimise your office space

 

Get your colleagues organised both in the office and at home. The first bit of tech charities should consider is a booking system. Software platforms let users reserve meeting rooms, desk space, and equipment in advance.

 

Computer World magazine offers advice when selecting platforms. They suggest looking for a modular system first and adding on functionality later. In terms of work space, the magazine also says to consider whether you are hot-desking or hoteling. Hot-desking means allocating desk space on a first-come basis, whereas hoteling means booking space in advance.

 

At Charity Digital we also recognise that the office space is due for a change. With the right tech, charities can save on rent. To manage the office, check out software like Envoy, Yarooms, and Kadence. All offer out-of-the-box software for hybrid working.

 

But, charity digital leaders beware.

 

When speaking with Computer World, Juliana Beauvais, a Research Manager at IDC software says: “If you are going to have fewer workspaces than you have employees, you have to have a system that can manage this. Because the first time that a vice president comes in and doesn’t have a place to sit, you’re going to be in trouble.”

 

 

Use apps to program shortcuts into your day

 

The best apps and widgets for the office automate tasks and increase productivity. IFTTT lets staff take reliable shortcuts. The app, short for If This Then That, integrates other apps, services, and devices.

 

The platform goes beyond setting an alarm or notifications. Subscribers are able to automate more complex tasks. As an example, IFTTT can automatically save down liked photos on social media into a Dropbox folder. Or, for those working across systems, the app can create an iPhone compatible event from a Google Home entry.

 

The combinations are nearly endless, with unlimited applets.

 

For Apple users, a similar app is available. Shortcuts creates bespoke automated tasks without any knowledge of programming.

 

Our top tip for shortcut apps is to think about what needs to be done at home, versus in the office. As an example, automatically start backing up work when connected to a stable Wi-Fi network or select certain files to back-up when convenient.

 

 

Time is always of the essence

 

When working in the office or at home, time is always of the essence. To complete tasks, it makes sense to optimise how staff are spending their workday.

 

RescueTime runs in the background and analyses when the best time is to focus. The app also alerts users to when there are too many tasks at hand. To facilitate deep working, RescueTime can also block-out distractions.

 

Charity staff may come across the odd distraction that’s worth a second look. Rather than spend time during the work day to read an article or blog, Pocket saves down content so staff don’t need to send themselves links.

 

There might be other situations where superhuman reading speed is a strength. Instaread summarises books and other material into snappy text or audio pieces. For charity staff, the app could be used to do research quickly or, to read up on a topic from verified sources.

 

Save time by not transcribing long meetings into notes. Apps like Otter.ai do the grunt work first and let charity staff edit the output.

 

The Otter assistant joins meetings, takes notes, and sends to participants once concluded. The app is also compatible with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet. An added bonus is that subscribes can insert media and other content, giving meeting notes another dimension.

 

 

Keep up to date wherever you are

 

The demands of remote working aren’t disappearing anytime soon. With most offices operating a hybrid environment, virtual infrastructure is a must. Citrix, the software provider, offers virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), that allows staff to log in from any computer.

 

With VDI, staff benefit from being able to access data from anywhere and in a standard format the operating system that is the same no matter what computer is used to.

 

Using digital communication tools, staff can keep in touch regardless of where they are. In our extensive review of Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Skype, we’ve seen just how important these tools are to operations.

 

Not only do they facilitate team work, but charities are using them to enhance service delivery. Remember, the best tech works not only for the office and home, but also on mobile phones.