This Monday morning our Louisville office woke up to a surprise — the largest snowfall since 2008, leaving the roads treacherous and most of us trapped indoors. Although our measly 10 inches of snow might not seem like much to those in Boston, for us Louisvillians, it was enough to constitute a Snow Emergency. As a result, we all decided to work from home, in what I like to call “An Adult Snow Day.”
Fortunately, staying home for the day doesn’t mean you can’t get any work done. In fact, thanks to a multitude of apps, software and other tech inventions, working from your couch (and in your PJs, no doubt) is now easier than ever. And here are just a few tips that can help you if you ever find yourself in a similar predicament.
Slack
Slack allows for real-time messaging and collaboration. Much quicker than email, our company uses Slack to communicate quickly and efficiently. In addition to direct messaging, you can create private groups and channels so that staff can work on projects together. And of course, it can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection.
Google Drive
Google Drive is great for accessing and managing all of your most important documents anytime, anywhere. It also allows you to collaborate with others in real time, meaning multiple people can be in the same document at once, and everyone can see the changes being made. Our company uses Google Drive for a number of important items such as production schedules, contact lists and so forth.
LastPass
If you’re like most people, you likely have most of your passwords saved on your work computer, and all of those passwords can be hard to remember when being accessed from off-site. LastPass can help as it remembers your individual passwords for you. Say goodbye to hitting the “forgot password?” button.
These are just a few examples, and there are a ton more out there. The key is to do a bit of research and find out what options might be best for your company when working on-site just isn’t an option. In addition, when looking for a club-specific management software, you may want to look for one that allows for off-site access to key info. If you’re on vacation or away for more than just a couple days, it’s great to have the option to check in on sales reports, membership numbers and more.
Now that I’ve written this blog (on Google Drive, from my couch), I’m off to enjoy a bit of this out-of-the ordinary snow. Stay warm!
Rachel Zabonick is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@clubsolutionsmagazine.com. Reach out to her about exciting events or programs your club has implemented, or to share the amazing accomplishments of a member.
