A virtual world seems like a possibility to many of us these days. We spend so much of our time online and it becomes almost surreal when we have an actual face to face conversation. There are constant complains about how social media is ruining our generation, but I am not sure if that is exactly true. There are many individuals who use social media as a way to improve their businesses, careers and social life.
A writer using a paraphrase website or a student researching hardly seems like a waste of valuable time. If you are someone wasting time on the internet, then it might be time to take a look in the mirror. We have access to so much information and managers are using this information to improve their own skills. The time of micromanaging is dying a slow death and the world is catching on.
Here are 7 ways to use technology and directly link it to becoming a better manager.
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Staff Engagement
Instead of trying to fight against your staff using social media, why not implement something worthwhile? There are many tools you can use to help you communicate in a more efficient way with your employees. It might be a new venture for some management staff, but it is effective. You are able to answer your employees faster on crucial matters and give advice when needed. If you want to send out a quick message to your team, social media is a great way to do so. There are many great tools online, specifically designed for this. It’s as easy as doing a Google search and you will be bombarded by the many ways technology can help you communicate better. One of the benefits to this is that your staff might find this type of communication engaging. Anything that beeps on their mobile devices seems to gain a higher level of attention.
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Brain Storming
Continuing from the first point, you can use the same tactics to do brainstorming with your team. It is a great way to keep ideas flowing from your own space. Instead of trying to get everyone into a meeting room for a face to face brainstorming session, everyone can call in from where ever they are. For example, you can have your paraphraser online open on your desktop while talking to your publisher and editor at the same time. It saves time and yields the same, if not better results.
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Scheduling
Life is busy and we often times get ourselves into quite a pickle. Using an old-fashion diary is not always the most effective way of balancing all you have to do during the day. This is why so many of us double book or simply forget to attend important events. Using technology to remember everything you have to do is a great way of staying on top of your game. With early notifications coming through on your phone, you are less likely to miss that important meeting. We do not carry our diaries with us on a daily basis, but most of us have our mobile phones ready to go. There is no need to frown on technology, but rather use it to your advantage.
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Marketing
The amount of people you can reach through social media is insane. Opportunities to market your business is enormous and works better than any other form of marketing. Think about it this way. Placing an add in the newspaper, will only reach a few people. Placing a post on social media, reaches many more. If you want to reach as many people as possible through a marketing campaign, you might want to go with the latter. Get your staff involved in the process and ask them to share it with all their contacts. Before you know it, you would have increased the amount of people you reached as well as get your team in on it. It might not seem like work to them, but ultimately, you would have achieved your goal and everyone is happy.
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Analysing Data
How often do you have the opportunity to have a good look at how a business is doing? There are tools you can use to analyse and work on tons of data. Instead of trying to figure out how to reword some information, you can simply use a paraphrase tool online. This is just a simple example of what can be done, but it also means that most of what we do, can be done faster with the help of the internet. Using a spreadsheet is still an effective way used by many companies, but what if it can be done simpler? Make sure you use a credible and secure program to help you with this process.
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Industry Information
Knowing what is happening in your industry is crucial if you want to be a better manager. You are able to give clear guidance to your team if you know about any changes or improvements. Join forums, but do participate in the conversation. Follow influencers on social media and read about anything that might make a difference in the way you run your business.
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Training
Your team is the foundation of having a successful business or career. Use technology to help you improve their knowledge and you will see a difference. Training staff regularly is a very important part of business. You can have monthly refresher training sessions, just to make sure everyone is still on track. With busy schedules and travelling, it might seem impossible to do this, but you can train from anywhere in the world.
Conclusion
We should look at social media as a means to improve and assist, instead of the negative side of it. Once you make that switch in your mind, you will realise just how effective it is. There is a wealth of information and tools to help you improve your management skill sooner, rather than later.
