Microsoft Excel, you know the name, but the Excel that solely made bland accounting tables is long gone. In a time when it seems like every company is developing its own niche application, there are very few universal skillsets that will withstand the test of time. Excel is one of the only applications that has come to stretch across almost every industry and department type. With incredible ROI, Excel can be a low-cost way to massively improve office productivity. Consider offering internal training courses or encourage employees to get creative in ways to implement the software. Yes, there are a lot of highly specialized features that Excel offers, but here are some great examples that anybody can use to boost their day-to-day productivity.
Shorten Meeting Times
Depending on your industry, a large chunk of time is often spent preparing information in a scaled-down format before going into a meeting. Different variations and methods of displaying data must be created so coworkers from various departments can understand the outcome. However, knowing some simple tools, like pivot tables, can allow you to manipulate data and answer questions on the fly. Even better, a team knowledgeable with Excel can be sent a pivot table in advance to get hands-on with the information and bring infinitely better insights and questions to the actual meeting. Overall, this allows you to spend less time explaining and more time collaborating.
Automate Time Consuming Tasks
There is a plethora of tedious tasks most of us undergo by hand, forgetting there may be an easier way. Even if it’s just a few seconds to add up an expense report or separate first and last names for a mailing list, all those seconds can save you a lot of time. Think about what you do repetitively and consider programming a template or shortcut using Excel. Taking an hour to design a template now, that saves you 10 minutes every day, is a big return.
Helpful insights through data analysis
Data trends and insights can be found in more aspects of your business than you may think and are not just for data analysts. Having shared access to a firm’s pool of information can be useful across departments. For example, an HR Manager planning a lunch could look at prior attendance by day of the week or presentation topics to ensure maximum turnout. You do not know what information someone else’s department might find useful, so creating a shared database can be extremely beneficial.
Hiring Managers Know Its Value
Hiring managers know the value Excel brings to a workplace. Not only does having it on your resume add to your hard skills, but additionally shows that you are likely an organized and efficient person. In fact, jobs that require Excel pay around 10% more than jobs that do not.
Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ways Excel can boost your workplace’s productivity. Try to encourage the office to get creative when it comes to finding new ways to implement Excel. For help with integration into the full Microsoft Office 365 Suite, contact the experts at INT!