PPB January 2018

TECH TALK Silver Linings Improve workplace efficiency and exceed client expectations with cloud-based operations. Let’s face it: small-business owners and employees would much rather spend time helping clients than performing repetitive tasks. One way to improve efficiency is to work in the cloud—a network of internet-hosted servers that store, manage and process data. This efficiency is established through cloud-based operations that result in task automation, focus, standardization and timeliness. Cloud-based customer relationship management, accounting and payroll solutions help businesses automate tasks, including project collaboration. Cloud programs for managing projects offer notification features that keep the process moving along smoothly, notifying all parties when a step or two has been missed or needs to be reevaluated. The efficiencies brought about by automation and process management are focus (only concentrating on tasks that need their attention or approval) and standardization of procedures. Once the steps are put in place, subsequent projects follow the same path and all parties enjoy a more seamless experience. Businesses whose employees travel can continue to work on cloud-based projects wherever they find access to the internet, so they aren’t tied down and at risk of putting a project behind schedule. Flexibility and timeliness, then, reinforce the efficiency of working within the cloud. Whether you have implemented one or more of these cloud-based tools, or you are looking to make the move, rest assured that even the slightest increase in automation and standardization will help increase the efficiency of your operations. WATER COOLER InThe Swing OfThings Coming back from a vacation? These steps help ensure a smooth restart. Whether they’re pre-planned, guided tours of Europe or a spontaneous road trip to the yarn capital of America, vacations are about breaking out of the routine. But what if you could bring some of that ‘different’ back to the sameness of your everyday life? Try out these tips from confidence coach Steve Errey, to keep a little of that vacation mentality when you come home. Prep for your return. Clean your office space. Imagine in your mind how you’d like it to look when you come back, and make it happen. File or recycle old papers, give your desk and equipment a once-over with a safe cleaning product, and organize any files or data in order of importance to attend to once you’re back in business. Keep your sense of adventure. All that fun you had on vacation doesn’t have to stop when you come home. Try to incorporate those spur-of-the-moment adventures you had into your regular schedule. Take a class, see a live theater production or visit a part of town you rarely see. Alter your everyday routine. You came back to work and to your life, but you don’t have to come back to it in the same way. Take a new route to work or, if you work from home, reorganize your morning routine. Even just swapping tasks on the chore chart can help shake the dust off the daily grind. 72 | JANUARY 2018 | THINK

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