4 Apps to Manage Your Office on the Go
Managing an office is a full-time job. It involves keeping an eye on employees and physical property, all in an effort to meet deadlines and productivity goals. But we live in an increasingly mobile society and it’s not always feasible to be an office manager while remaining physically on site.
Fortunately, there are many apps that allow you to keep tabs on what’s happening at the workplace even if you’re thousands of miles away. Below, you can read about four of the standout solutions.
Postmates
A crucial element of office management is ensuring the company has everything it needs to carry on with normal operations.If something essential is unexpectedly depleted, things at the workplace can come to a stand still. A company called Postmates hopes to eliminate such unforeseen emergencies by providing lightning-quick delivery of the things clients need most.
Postmates is a San Francisco startup that has partnered with merchants in nearly 20 states. By taking advantage of its service, you can order items from community retailers that are delivered by human couriers in minutes.
This service is particularly useful if you need to acquire something for your office that is very expensive or that you would not ordinarily want being sent through the mail. In addition to getting you an item on the day you order it, the service offers you peace of mind that comes with knowing a dedicated courier is working hard to safely deliver the item you requested.
The Apple Store is one example of a high-profile store that has linked with Postmates, and it’s handy if your office needs tech gadgets. However, Starbucks and Chipotle use the service too, so you could become everyone’s favorite boss by deciding to order coffee or lunch for your office in the Eastern United States, even while you’re attending a meeting in Shanghai.
[Tweet “4 #Apps to Help You Manage Your #Business and Office On-the-Go”]The Alarm.com App From Titan Alarm
Some thieves monitor businesses for months before actually deciding to go in and swipe the goods they’ve been eyeing. That means your place of work might be seen as an easy target if robbers figure out you’re the office manager and happen to be taking a hiatus from on-site responsibilities. They’ll assume if you’re away that the office isn’t being monitored, but a Titan Alarm app lets you watch the premises from afar.
It provides live and recorded video footage broadcast to your tablet or smartphone, and gives alerts if anything seems amiss. Furthermore, you can control connected devices such as the office thermostat from wherever you are through the app.
Appear.in Video Conferencing App
Appear.in is a handy app for Android and iOS platforms that allows up to eight people to chat through videoconferencing from anywhere. It even works for people who don’t want to install an app. Appear.in got its start as a web-based service that’s compatible with standard browsers.
All chats and video transmissions are protected with SSL encryption, and you can lock a chat room so only authorized participants may enter. Simply send a specially generated link to your employees, and then as soon as they click on it, they’ll show up on your screen and be able to chat.
This app is great if you’re often away from the office, but still want to be able to hold meetings. It also works well if you have several employees who telecommute.
Basecamp Project Management App
One perk of the Basecamp app is you can use most of the features built into the service’s desktop platform on your handheld device. That includes creating new tasks, marking them complete or making new milestones. You’ll also be able to see at a glance how close projects are to completion by looking at a streamlined dashboard.
Depend on this app during those hectic but inevitable occasions when you’re called away to a work-related gathering on the other side of the country during a week when deadlines loom.
Although you may find it preferable to manage necessities in person, purpose-built apps for today’s business leaders make it so you can swiftly keep the company moving forward from miles away. And, since many of the apps discussed here have components that help employees, workers don’t have to feel left in the lurch during your absence.