A mere glance at the 2024 Empowered Administrators Conference (EAC) shows that the organisers are aware that technology is the way to the future, particularly for the employees that have to do so much within a short time yet be efficient and accurate with their deliveries. This is what defines the scope and the dynamics of the work of the office administrators, the employees that Katy Katapodis, one of the presenters in one of the early EACs said are “the necks that turn the heads”.
The centrality of technology in the present life was highlighted by one of the presenters at the 2024 edition of the annual event. Danielle Venter, from Pro Active Management Consulting Services, made a presentation on ‘unleashing productivity with the help of Microsoft Apps’. At the top of her presentation, Venter said she likes to work smart, not hard. Venter stressed the need for planning properly before you start your day. Venter used five Apps to illustrate her point. Some of these were Microsoft Forms for surveys, registration and questionnaires, evaluations, quizzes, and polls. This tool can enable the user to gather information that used to require a long time within a very short time. There is also Microsoft List to manage context and assets; Microsoft Stream to manage videos and collaborations. Venter also talked about Microsoft To Do to manage personal tasks; and Microsoft Planner to manage team tasks. The latter is for more complex tasks.
Venter said the reason for office administrators to learn to use these applications was that “there is so much to do in a day. We need to manage ourselves and others as well. These applications take away the thinking and collaboration from the human mind into the tools. This way, the natural human stress is lessened. And things do not fall into cracks,” said Venter. Venter added that these applications were a necessity for those that would like to improve their lives. Using these applications will enable users to work smart and be more efficient, she stressed. Venter went on to demonstrate how some of these applications work.
For those that would like to have these applications, they can access them via their employers, if the employers have the license. “Those interested in the applications can also access them on learn.microsoft.com. To learn how to use the applications, please google the relevant tutorial,” said Venter.