9.5. Tools & Technology

Digital Tools You’ll Likely Use

As an administrative professional, you’ll often keep the team on track. That means knowing how to use digital tools for storing, sharing, and organizing files. You may also be responsible for teaching others in the office how to access and save documents using the selected tool. In Chapter 2, we discuss the importance of collaboration tools in project teams. Consistency in the tools used within an organization is key to having everyone be on board to use the system/tool that is chosen.

In the table below, you will find some information about some of the most common file storage and sharing tools used in offices:

These tools help you:

• Access files from anywhere – this is very helpful for employees working remotely
• Work collaboratively without emailing documents back and forth – this means there is no need to wait for someone else to have time to find and share a file with you. Everyone can access the files on their own timeline.
• Control permissions – the owner/creator of a file can determine who has access to view/edit/share so you can eliminate accidental problems.
• Avoid duplication and version confusion – this can also be helped by using the naming conventions mentioned earlier in this chapter.

Best Practices for Using Technology

• Use shared folders instead of email attachments. This helps cut down on folks having to search through their emails to find a document. If they can’t remember who sent it or what folder they might have put it in, they may get quite frustrated and ask to have it sent again. By using shared folders, folks can access the files whenever they wish. A shared folder is a digital storage space on the company network that is accessible by multiple employees who are part of the network. It is the digital equivalent of a drawer in a filing cabinet.
• Set clear editing permissions (view-only vs. edit access). Some of the tools allow you to limit what kind of access each member of your team can have.
• Organize files within each platform—don’t treat the cloud as a digital junk drawer. Remember the systems that we discussed in the previous section – this is why we stress the importance of organization!
• Regularly archive or delete outdated materials. This decluttering process will help you maintain a clean shared file. It will be critical, however, to make sure that only one person is deleting files. Perhaps you could create a “temporary trash” folder for folks to move outdated materials to, and if they haven’t been accessed after a certain period of time, they can be deleted.