9 Easy-To-Use Tools That Will Help Any Facilities Team Collaborate

As a facilities manager, you work with many different people, all of whom have a need to use your facilities. Your staff may be spread out across many different venues, and it can be hard to communicate and track the needs of your facilities and their users. How can you ensure that facilities needs are met, even when you’re all working in your own separate areas? Use these tools to make collaboration easier.

1. Evernote

Tired of taking notes? Use Evernote to create copies of flip charts, white boards, items, or documents that need to be recorded for future reference. This tool allows you to collect information on your mobile device and transfer it into other venues when required.

2. GroupMe

Sometimes you need to communicate with an entire group of your staff, and you need to do so quickly. There’s no time to phone everyone, and you’re not sure when they’re going to check their email. Try GroupMe instead. This app allows you to group together your contacts and send text messages so that you can communicate with your team quickly and easily.

3. Creately

Whether you’re artistic or not, sometimes you need to create a graphic that shows people the flow of a project, a system, or a facility. With Creately, you don’t need to spend hours fiddling with Photoshop. Instead, focus on the content and allow Creately to develop the graphic for you. You’ll be able to communicate much more easily with your facilities team.

4. Trello

If you like to do lists to help you manage your complex facilities projects, you’ll love this colorful, modern, and digital version of the paper list. On Trello, you can create lists of what’s being done right now, what still needs to be done, and what’s been completed. Use this tool to keep you on track when you’re managing detailed, multi-dimensional projects.

5. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a spreadsheet that you share with your co-workers, but its features go far beyond Excel. This tool combines the traditional spreadsheet with project management tools, templates, and forms and allows you and your colleagues to access spreadsheets on mobile devices and work on them collaboratively.

6. iOFFICE

You not only need to work with rapidly shifting space allotments, you also need to manage the ever-changing inventory and needs of your staff. You must also keep track of your other assets, from copiers to entire buildings. How are those assets being maintained? How do you move inventory and assets when required? Even a small facility has its complexities, and these complexities are best tracked with an IWMS tool. Using cloud-based management software like iOffice Facilities management software, you can not only manage your reservable room spaces, you can also manage all of your facilities, track their needs, and ensure that employees have access to this information regardless of their work location.

7. Skype, Hipchat, and Google Hangout

Want to sit with your colleagues in London and Singapore at the same time? Use online chat tools to do just that. With tools such as Skype and Google Hangouts, you can have video chats with multiple colleagues. Google Hangouts also allows you to hold online videoconferences if you need to update many of your staff on the same issues. HipChat comes with added functionality such as file sharing as well and is built for business meetings. When you’re managing a mobile workforce, having face to face time will help you communicate well about your facilities management concerns, and you’ll be able to talk to your staff with a personal feel without having to fly or drive into another location.

8. Google Docs

When you’re working from many different locations, some from home and some from different offices, there are more chances to miss an important email or file change. If you’re looking for a cloud-based solution, you can use Google Docs to edit or store files online, and you and a colleague can even edit at the same time.

9. Dropbox

Do you need extra room on your computer? Want to share files with your colleagues or work remotely? If you’re looking for a cloud-based file system that automatically updates from your computer, get Dropbox. You’ll be able to work on documents from multiple locations, and you can use this tool to collaborate with other staff as well.

When you’re trying to communicate with your mobile workforce, you need flexible tools. iOffice can help you manage your space and your inventory so that your employees and those who work for your company can communicate quickly and easily. Please share what tools you use to help your team with collaboration.