The success of a business depends on many things. And two of the most important factors are – a) Productivity, and b) Cost Efficiency. In this article, we will talk about office automation tips that can help with these two things. We will discuss the office automation tools and productivity hacks for our students that can help you in college as well as the workplace.

1. Understanding Office Automation

When we talk about office automation, we are referring to the software and technology that helps us streamline repetitive tasks so that we can boost overall productivity and cut costs at our workplaces. College graduates, who master office automation tools, are in high demand across various industries and sectors.

Some of the key benefits of office automation are:

• Efficiency: Automating mundane tasks – freeing up human resources for higher-value work.
• Accuracy: Reducing errors and improving data quality.
• Cost Savings: Minimising manual labour and resource wastage.
• Improved Decision-Making: Gaining access to better insights by analysing data and history and spotting patterns.

Mark Cuban rightly observed, “Whatever you are studying right now, if you are not getting up to speed on deep learning, neural networks, etc., you lose. We are going through the process where the software will automate software, automation will automate automation.” 

That’s some food for thought for our BCA and MCA students. 

These office automation skills and productivity hacks are crucial for everyone though, especially those who are starting their careers in this era.

2. Top Office Automation Tips

Here are some most commonly used office automation tips that are used in modernised businesses to streamline work processes and enhance productivity and efficiency:

• Email Management: People regularly use filters and auto-responses to manage their emails and respond to incoming emails efficiently and promptly.
• Scheduling: You might have seen how automated calendar tools streamline appointment settings and reminders.
• Data Entry: Automatic data capture software saves time and makes data entry more accurate and less tedious.
• Invoicing: Digital systems have expedited invoicing to a large extent reducing the chances of human errors considerably.
• Social Media: Automation tools are also used to schedule posts for consistent and timely updates on social media platforms by various businesses and organisations.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Every industry can define hordes of other tasks that can be automated improving its productivity and efficiency and cutting down operational costs significantly.

3. Productivity Hacks for the Modern Workplace

Let’s discuss a few productivity hacks you can use to maximise efficiency and success at your workplace. We will start with the best strategies to use first:

1. You can use task management software like Asana for streamlined project tracking.
2. You can also implement automated email sorting with Gmail filters to prioritise important messages or send them automated responses.
3. To schedule meetings, regular automated reminders using tools like Google Calendar can be incredibly helpful.
4. Slack bots can be used for sending out instant notifications and updates.

Some of the real-life examples of these productivity hacks that you might have come across are:

• Swiggy & Zomato: They send automated reminders for meal orders to help users stay on track with their schedules as well as personalised offers based on their previous orders to increase user engagement.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) often uses automated reporting systems to reduce manual data entry and enhance productivity.
• Infosys also implements robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline repetitive tasks, saving time and costs.
• Some of the large Indian banks have also automated loan application processing for faster approvals and greater customer satisfaction.

By implementing these office automation tips and productivity hacks at your workplace, you can ensure success in any career you choose.

4. Cost-Saving Tips at the Workplace

Cost-saving isn’t just for big businesses. Every workplace needs to keep its costs low and efficiency high to be profitable. 

Here are some office automation tips that can help you reduce your costs now and in future jobs:

• Go digital: Ditch paper to save money and to save the environment.
• Cloud storage: You don’t need to print a document. Just share it on the cloud – and access it from anywhere, anytime.
• Project management tools: Track deadlines and collaborate efficiently using specifically designed office automation tools for project managers – and cut down on wastage of time.
• Digital note-taking apps: College students can use these apps to make notes and organise their thoughts – and access them anytime, anywhere. They do not need to buy or carry the notebooks and stationery everywhere.
• Speech-to-text software: Save time on typing or hiring a secretary by using this software that allows you to dictate documents and emails right away.
• Password managers: Use them to store login details to prevent costly account lockouts and password resets (without compromising on the safety aspect).

Remember, little changes can have a big impact. Be proactive about saving costs – it’s a skill your future employers will value!

5. Must-Have Office Automation Tools

Some popular office automation tools that are popular with Indian businesses are:

• CRM tools like Privyr: Instead of maintaining messy spreadsheets to manage contacts, leads, and sales activities, businesses are increasingly preferring CRM tools like Privyr for greater efficiency.
• Project management tools with automatic reminders: Trello, Asana, and Notion are excellent choices for project management with built-in reminder features. They can help you stay on top of deadlines and collaborate seamlessly with your team – especially for those businesses that work on remote working or hybrid working models or have teams distributed geographically.
• Document automation software: You can also automate repetitive tasks like form filling and data entry to save valuable time. Rossum specializes in AI-powered data extraction from invoices, purchase orders, and other documents, Docsumo extracts data from unstructured documents like bank statements, ID cards, and pay stubs, and Hyperscience automates data entry from handwritten forms and other complex documents.
• Chatbots: We have seen increasing adoption of chatbots to provide instant customer support and handle routine queries without human intervention in banks and other businesses. Some popular examples are Tars, a no-code chatbot builder for creating conversational landing pages and lead generation; Gupshup, a platform for building chatbots for messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram; and Engati which enables the creation of multilingual chatbots for customer support and marketing.

However, choosing the right tools is the key to your future success. You should consider factors like ease of use, scalability, and integration with other software for making informed decisions. 

Consider taking advantage of the free trials that most of these tools offer, compare the features and pricing of different tools, and check their user reviews. Also, make sure that the office automation tools you choose integrate well with your existing software and offer good customer support.

Conclusion

We hope these office automation tips, productivity hacks, and cost-saving tips at the workplace will prepare you well for the workplaces waiting for you once you graduate.

Happy Learning!