From meetings that go on and on with no end in sight, to meetings where participants are playing with their smartphones and wondering why they are even there, meetings take up a good chunk of your workday but they often feel like a waste of time. Most organizations depend on meetings to accomplish tasks and achieve team success. But are meetings at your organization the most effective and efficient that they can be? Chances are, they aren’t. Managers and senior leaders typically spend over half their time at work in meetings, but studies have shown that 25-50% of meeting time is wasted.  The biggest problems in an organization, including the issue of pointless and ineffective meetings, seem to arise when there is a lack of shared understanding.

Looking for a true hub for digital collaboration? Microsoft Teams is a game-changing collaboration platform in Office 365 combines workplace chats, meetings, notes, and attachments. It even includes extensions that integrate with non-Microsoft products, so you can customize your workspace in accordance with the way you work. Microsoft Teams enables you to build a more engaged and effective team. You can get everybody on the same page with online meetings, group chats, and calls, and easily share and collaborate on files with built-in Office 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint. Both Resource Central and Digital Sign Service integrate with Microsoft Teams.   Book Microsoft Teams Meetings in Outlook^® If you want to book Microsoft Teams meetings from your Outlook^® calendar, click the

Good office workers are hard to find, according to one-third of hiring managers. Contrary to what the media might lead you to believe, the talent shortage doesn’t just happen in technical disciplines. There is a talent shortage across all fields because workplaces are changing rapidly. Oftentimes, organizations focus on recruiting employees with hard skills. The problem is that those people may not be capable of communicating complex thoughts or work well with others. To be a #smartofficeworker, you need to have a good mix of hard and soft skills. Some skills are desirable in more than one industry. These hybrid skills allow workers to be useful in a number of different areas of a business. The following are some of the most important and coveted skills for

Have your assistant organize catering for your meetings with Assistant Organizer.

In recent years, companies have been under pressure to cut overhead costs and lower head counts. As a result, the number of executive assistants has decreased at many corporations. This is an unfortunate trend, considering that executive assistants make significant contributions to the productivity of an organization.   The return on investment for executive assistants is substantial, especially at senior levels. From ensuring that meetings start on time, to prepping for meetings, to keeping projects on track, executive assistants help to filter distractions and save executives time. The best executive assistants save executives several hours each week by freeing them up from answering emails and handling other tasks that take away from their ability to guide the organization’s agenda.   How Technology Can Help

An effective facility management strategy consists of more than just registering buildings and asset data. It also aims to increase efficiency in facility processes. An integral yet frequently overlooked aspect of facilities management is meeting room and resource management. Meeting rooms and conference rooms are essential in every office. Though the way meetings are carried out and their purposes may differ from one company to another, most organizations share similar frustrations about double bookings, the lack of meeting rooms, and poor management of meeting rooms and resources.   Meeting room management is vital to the success of your facility because it can make or break the impression visitors and clients get. Effective meeting room and resource management processes also help to enhance productivity, collaboration, and efficiency among staff.