Due Diligence – Shop for SaaS in Style

Posted on March 15, 2011 by asuresoftware

Shopping listIt’s come time to buy software for your business. Maybe you need to buy scheduling software as you increase your number of employees or meeting room reservation software to keep track of all the client meetings you’re hosting.

With the array of options you face, how to effectively shop for business software becomes an issue. With the explosion of cloud technologies there are more software as a service (SaaS) options that ever before. Here are three tools to help you buy any kind of software, whether payroll software, scheduling software, reservation software, or anything else in between.

1. Clear expectations
Make a shopping list and stick to it. If you need to find new meeting room reservation software, don’t be distracted by a time tracking tool or other shiny object that screams “I’ll help you get more customers!” If you didn’t think you needed it before, chances are that your company doesn’t need it right now (though making a note for later review is never a bad idea).

Having a clear list of what you need your software to do will help you talk with vendors and better compare various options on the market. Try and have a clear understanding of your company’s vision as well – an expanding small business with under 50 employees doesn’t have the same needs as a multi-national corporation.

2. Vendor track record
How long has the company been in business? How many customers use their product? Do they have many customers similar to you? References are key before purchasing any business software system. Talk to as many companies as you can that are like yours who use the product, suggests Fistful of Talent. Any reputable firm will provide all the references as you care to ask for (if they only offer two or three, this is a negative warning sign).

3. Accessibility & Flexibility
By using a SaaS, you ensure accessibility from anywhere with an Internet connection. This is especially useful for something like buying scheduling software as everyone has access to the same information in real time.

Look for flexibility in the software’s options. Can it be customized for your needs? Is the program simple for everyone to use? Make sure you have technology that works for you, not against you. Simplicity is key.

Photo courtesy of  Justin See

Posted in Cloud, Room Scheduling Software, Saas, Tips and How-Tos, human resources information software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

They’re Using Online Scheduling…Why Not You?

Posted on March 8, 2011 by asuresoftware

Schedule making is all the rage — everyone from families, students, doctors, lawyers to beauty salon owners wants to make the most of their time with the least amount of fuss and hassle. With the increasing use of online scheduling, many individuals have found solutions to the nagging problem of “Wasn’t I supposed to be somewhere right now?” We’ve found some routine and surprising uses of online scheduling by individuals and businesses. Here are the results of our unscientific survey to inspire you:

Personal services
Need a quick cut or style? Many stylists and salons are using online scheduling so that clients can easily see pricing for services and book appointments, whether for later that day or next week. How about a quick oil change or maintenance for your vehicle? Mechanics online let you see what times are less busy so you’ll be in and out in no time. Now you have no excuse for putting off needed appointments of any kind — it only takes a few clicks!

Freelancers and the self-employed
Photographers, designers, writers, lifecoaches, business consultants, etc., benefit from making their schedules online. Clients can easily find a time to make an appointment and freelancers can access their information from anywhere with an internet connection. Now you’ll never miss that last-minute appointment!

Online employee scheduling
As businesses turn to cloud technologies to maximize HR resources, online accessibility lets employees and managers access schedules anywhere. Resource scheduling like conference rooms or equipment becomes simple with increased transparency of who is doing what, and when.

Schools
From elementary schools to universities, online class and activity schedules are becoming the norm. When is Physics 101? Or that basketball game next week? Online schedules minimize wasting paper copies that quickly become outdated and keep students, parents, teachers and staff informed of everything from room numbers to upcoming field trips to sports events.

Traveling
Always forgetting your travel schedule? Online scheduling means you can access it from anywhere at anytime! No more losing confirmation numbers or leaving things behind.

No matter what medium you use, making a schedule and following it ensures not only that you’ll meet your goals, but you’ll never miss an appointment or meeting again!

Photo courtesy of Ed Yourdon

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Quick Tips for Conference Resource Management

Posted on March 2, 2011 by asuresoftware

Plone Conference 2009 Group Photo

Resource management is already a daily concern for most people — we only have so many hours in the day, so how can we effectively manage to get everything done? But when you are preparing for a conference, suddenly scheduling resources becomes a lot more important. No matter what conference you’re attending, here are some tips to help maximize your time we got from Data Masons as they prepare for Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2011 coming this April in Atlanta.

Attend to logistics first
Whatever “to do” items you may have, complete those now even though your conference may be months away. If you’re an exhibitor, prep your booth for shipping and finalize marketing material. All attendees should book travel accommodations as soon as possible for best rates and peace of mind. Don’t forget to stock up on business cards or other resources you’ll need to refer to about your company. Managing the resources you’ll need now means they won’t weigh you down later.

Compile an onsite schedule before you go
Logistics completed, you can focus on creating your onsite schedule and preparing for any business you’d like to conduct at the conference. “[Take] the time to find other attendees that you may have interest in meeting with while at the conference,” recommends Jon Rivers, Channel Partner Manager with Data Masons Software. Some conferences like Convergence offer networking and scheduling resources online so that you can connect before the conference begins.

Don’t forget scheduling sessions either! Figuring out what’s in your best interest to attend before the conference starts means you’ll not waste time while onsite. If going with others from your company you can discuss and divide up topics of particular use or interest. You’ll cover the most sessions possible and have a backup list of what to do in case one fills up.

Plug into social media
Never been to a particular conference? Find tips and checklists from bloggers for the newbie and experienced conference attendee alike, scheduling your resources to make the most of your experience. Need recommendations of where to eat or go while in a new city? Use social media sites and blogs to quickly get advice from locals before you go or in real time when you get there.

Photo courtesy of Christian Scholz

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Patient Patients Wait Less with Medical Scheduling Software

Posted on February 28, 2011 by asuresoftware

Doctor's Office, Waiting Room

The scenario is all too familiar. The waiting room full of people, the overworked staff behind a small glass window, the harried professionals behind the door that everyone is waiting to cross (while not really wanting to). While this might conjure images of prisoners waiting for sentencing, we are in fact in a doctor’s office doing what most people do: spending time wishing we were somewhere else.

Why is medical scheduling such a nightmare, especially now in our age of increased technology and efficiency? A now antiquated system of phone calls, messages and reminders takes medical provider staff hours out of their already busy days. Patients hurry up and wait; seeing the doctor takes less time than filling out paperwork, verifying documents, having vitals taken by a nurse and simply sitting there. Because getting an appointment is already difficult enough, patients often feel worse by the time they actually see a doctor.

Thankfully, medical scheduling software use has increased dramatically over the last few years. With software, medical appointments become considerably simpler. Patients can browse for a doctor or see their current provider’s available times. Finding a specialist for that referral no longer requires an afternoon’s worth of calls; you can view specialization, location and availability easily. The appointment is made online at any time, phone lines are freed up and a time-wasting chain of messages left to actually sync schedules is prevented.

For providers, medical scheduling software saves time by clearly giving a patient’s reason for the visit and allowing staff to quickly pull the relevant medical records. As more doctors move towards digitized medical records, this process can take just a few clicks of a mouse. A confirmation call or email is sent, perhaps with the paperwork patients can then complete before they come to the office. No more trying to remember dates or details while you sit in the waiting room.

Suddenly doctor and hospital visits no longer require lingering for what seems like hours. Verification is expedited and patients can have the time they need to see their doctor. As medical scheduling software becomes more prevalent, everyone from doctors to medical staff to patients will have a better beginning of an office visit.

Photo courtesy of The Consumerist

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Outlook + Meeting Room Scheduler = A Powerful Combination

Posted on February 23, 2011 by asuresoftware

Pipsqueak Star Unleashes Monster Flare

Scheduling meetings can be a daunting task. Luckily, programs like Microsoft Outlook can make adding your meeting to someone’s schedule simple. Scheduling a meeting, notes Lost in Technology, becomes painless when you take advantage of Outlook’s scheduling features. Just a few clicks and you’ve sent an invitation to all your attendees with details like time and place included.

However, there are some places where Outlook isn’t enough. How will attendees know your room’s location, particularly if they are outside visitors? What about last-minute changes or cancellations? Or the lack of consistent naming or processes? Even worse, what if you double book a room? How will you ensure having the equipment on hand that you need?

Luckily you can make scheduling meetings with Outlook more powerful by combining it with Netsimplicity’s Meeting Room Manager. Suddenly meeting scheduling becomes even easier for everyone from attendees to support staff.

Save time with consistency
What room is it? Fully-qualified location and room names are automatically noted in the Outlook Meeting Request Location field sent to all attendees. Because everyone is using the same system, there is no longer confusion as to which room is which. “The big room at the end of the hall” didn’t sound very elegant anyway.

Businesses can also create their own norms for meeting scheduling. “Consistency makes employees more comfortable with the scheduling software, and there will be fewer mixups and miscommunication,” is just one of the 8 Reasons to Maximize Outlook with Meeting Room Manager.

Where am I? Where am I going?
Visibility also becomes important when things change, particularly at the last minute. All changes are instantly available from any computer with web access, including digital signage outside conference rooms or in reception areas. No more needing to post paper signs and worrying if people will receive the message in time.

The right tools every time
Don’t delay your meeting because of technical difficulties. While Outlook can schedule people, it can’t schedule teleconferencing equipment or projectors. Instead of having to submit requests for particular pieces of equipment manually, repeating details of your meeting, Meeting Room Manager lets you request what you need with a few clicks of a mouse. View room types easily from the start and pick the right space for your needs.

Keep Outlook scheduling for its strength — communicating with people — and let a meeting room scheduler take care of the rest.

Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Posted in About Meeting Room Manager, Customer experience, Efficiency and Productivity, Saas, Scheduling Professional | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Make Classroom Schedule Woes a Thing of the Past

Posted on February 17, 2011 by asuresoftware

With budgets tight, colleges and universities must be even more creative with what resources they do have. School administrations address the needs of not just teachers and students but also buildings, staff, dormitories, athletics, libraries and so forth. Maximizing these resources benefits the community as a whole, no matter what part of campus. By finding places to increase efficiency, schools are able to do more with less.

One initiative schools can take is classroom scheduling. Let’s look at how the process usually works: Departments have certain classrooms. These classrooms are assigned to individual teachers. If rooms are scarce, classroom scheduling will rotate rooms between teachers. Often lists are posted with room assignments for various classes at the beginning of the semester. But when students are looking for their classroom, these have inevitability changed — and might even change again.

This is not a very efficient use of time or space, particularly as technology advances to make classrooms more flexible. Just as textbooks have embraced the digital age, so too will the space we use them in. This flexibility means that there can be more overlap as to where subjects are taught. Class scheduling becomes easier with these increased options. Cross-discipline courses can find the room best for their needs; large lecture halls are filled and smaller seminar rooms have enough seats instead of students squeezing into a cramped space.

But how can we make the classrooms more accessible to students? Eliminating paper lists is an obvious step. Instead, use a school-wide class scheduling software that is an online, real-time program. Students can check classrooms online or perhaps using a touchscreen LCD display outside of the classroom to see where they need to be. Professors no longer have to leave notes on doors or wait to direct traffic; everyone gets updated and knows where to go.

Class scheduling software means that fewer people need to devote time to classroom scheduling. “With a better implementation of campus scheduling, an incredible amount of wasted man hours and unnecessary work would be eliminated. […] Less people with less paperwork means things are done more quickly and still more accurately than before,” says Netsimplicity. School administrators can focus on other, more pressing issues than where everyone needs to be.

Say goodbye to first-week-of-the-semester confusion and hello to streamlined, comprehensive scheduling. Everyone on campus will be glad you did.

Photo courtesy of velkr0.

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5 Surefire Ways to ‘Fall in Love’ with Time Management

Posted on February 14, 2011 by asuresoftware

It’s February and love is in the air. But it’s not all roses, chocolates and romance: there is still work to be done. Now it’s just a matter of finding the scheduling tools to do it!

By using some tips we got from Job Genius, it’s easy for your employer fall in love with you all over again, without being locked to your desk. Time to impress with your resource management acumen…

1. Stay focused
Regardless of the many distractions an office might bring, keeping to your schedule can make the difference between a late night at work or maybe even leaving early. Do you need to use headphones to block out office conversations? Wear them. Leave your Internet surfing for breaks, not work time.

2. Keep a to-do list
Listing out your tasks for the day, week and month makes keeping goals in sight even easier. Put everything on your calendar, no matter how small. Break down big tasks into smaller chunks; then feel accomplished as you check things off. You’ll be motivated to accomplish more in less time. And there’s nothing an employer loves more than efficient workers.

3. Set realistic expectations
Even the most advanced scheduling tools become useless if you don’t have realistic time expectations. Estimate and be honest. Add at least fifteen minutes to however long a task will take, recommends the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  And don’t forget to schedule breaks: you’ll be more efficient in the long term.

4. Embrace technology
An online scheduler helps integrate your calendar between mobile device and computer, so you don’t leave lists laying around to only get lost. You can also share your calendar with coworkers, making tasks like scheduling meetings even easier instead of sending countless emails.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate
Talking with team members and supervisors is key. Growth and development of any business depends on employee investment; make sure you’re being part of that process. No matter where you are on the command chain, being open and communicating both needs and expectations means that everyone has a clear, shared vision.

As you become a scheduling tool master, you’ll find you have more time for your own projects, both personal and professional. Who knows? Maybe that date you made for 6 p.m. will motivate you to get out of the office earlier, completed checklist in hand.

Photo courtesy of Allen Skyy.

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Save Time in 2011: Online Calendars

Posted on February 7, 2011 by asuresoftware

With an ever-increasing list of “things to do,” it often seems like there is less time to get done what needs doing. Not many of us can keep on a personal secretary to map out our appointments, meetings, and tasks for the day. Instead, you are in control of your time. And your calendar.

Daunting? Perhaps. Yet with the growing use of web calendars and online scheduling, managing your time can be more straightforward than ever. By staying on track and mapping out the time you really need for tasks big and small, you can control your time for both business and pleasure.

Here is some advice we found on GCF LearnFree.org about mastering the world of online calendars. Why not make 2011 the year your learned how to master your time?

Flexibility
Unlike a paper planner, you can move events around with a web calendar with the click of a mouse. Deletion or addition? No worries. It’s neater and you’ll never have an issue about trying to decipher messy handwriting. You can also look at your schedule by the day, week or month.

Make scheduling with others a breeze
Web calendars allow you to have a public calendar or share with select others. You can see when colleagues are free for that meeting you’ve been trying to schedule… without the typical multiple-email exchange of when is a good time. Just use online scheduling. Color-coding features let you easily separate tasks and get a clear picture of where you’re spending your time.

More than just time and date
Online scheduling also means adding useful features like contact information, maps, directions and meeting agendas to events. Syncing to your PDA or phone means that you have everything you need to get where you need to be, no sweat. No matter where you update, the information will follow you. No more losing your physical planner and thus all your appointments for the next year; your calendar now has everything online and accessible.

Task lists & reminders
Often seeing what needs done lets you break down tasks that are achievable. Checklist features with online calendars help prioritize, group and complete what tasks are important, no matter the time period (today, this week or this month). Online scheduling also can send you reminders, from days to minutes in advance, so you never miss that meeting or upcoming conference.

Photo courtesy of poolie

Posted in Efficiency and Productivity, Scheduling Professional, Tips and How-Tos, time and attendance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayor Bloomberg Installs Count-up Clocks in City Hall Conference Rooms

Posted on February 3, 2011 by asuresoftware

For many office workers, there are no shortages of distractions during a conference room meeting. After all, most conference rooms are rather dull, the material of the meeting can be boring or repetitive, and the conference room meeting being held might be their third of the day. That combination of factors leads to daydreaming, to browsing the Internet on a laptop, or to sneaking in a quick nap during the audio visual presentation.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, a fiercely business-oriented individual, just took a big step to cut down on wasted time in conference rooms. He had count-up clocks installed in conference rooms in New York’s City Hall to ensure “people keep track of how much time is passing. The hope is that meetings will become more efficient,” he was cited as saying in the Wall Street Journal. It’s a step to ensure that conference rooms are places of work and collaboration, rather than a busy-time frustration for employees.

Conference room software might be a more suitable — and elegant — way to manage conference room scheduling. The scenario wherein punching in and out of a meeting leads directly to more productivity is hard to imagine. In fact, it sounds more like a way for management to quantify time spent than a method of increasing efficiency. Meetings are their best when the clock isn’t the primary focus, but rather true collaboration and discussions are at the center of attention.

With that in mind, conference room software allows administrators to log time and make meeting reports. That in turns leads to a better and more relevant data set, which in turn helps the administrators learn and modify the organization’s plans accordingly. For example, during a month when meetings are all running long, it might not hurt to keep the conference rooms empty for a few days to get individual responsibilities accounted for.

It will be interesting to see the results of the count-up clocks installed by Mayor Bloomberg. In a city of so many millions, every second is important. Conference rooms are valuable space and the business of City Hall is very important. However, there might be better ways to go about increasing efficiency among state employees than making them micro-log their time.

Photo Courtesy Momos

Posted in Efficiency and Productivity, Meeting culture, News, Scheduling Professional, Tips and How-Tos, time and attendance | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Industry Spotlight: Sports

Posted on February 1, 2011 by asuresoftware

The existence of baseball stadiums is solely to house fans during games. Well, that was true in the late 1800s, when baseball was just beginning, and the stadiums were a few bleachers in the grass. But for the last century, baseball stadiums are businesses in and of themselves. The newest generation of stadiums, such as San Francisco’s AT&T Park (home of the 2010 World Series-winning Giants) also house a number of activities and events throughout the year during the baseball off season.

Among the many activities available at the park are: concerts, trade shows, meetings, convention events, luncheons, and of course various sporting events. The various amenities include entertainment, decorations, and audio visual. That’s a lot of services to offer in one facility, even if it is a stadium.

Interactive scheduling is a necessary component of the management of the stadium. With so many offices and rooms to arrange it would be impossible to run the stadium with any level of efficiency without interactive scheduling to allow for dual-end room modifications. There are an abundance of resources, and scheduling tools must be implemented to manage them. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, as the saying goes, and resource management software enables the maximum distribution of resources to ensure the necessary materials will be available, and at the right time.

There are no shortages of ways for a stadium to utilize resource management software. For instance, luxury suite use often varies from person to person. What better way to identify those rooms than with customizable LCD panels that can let staff as well as visitors see relevant, instantly updated information? Interactive scheduling is certainly enhanced when the scheduling can be reflected right outside of a room’s entrance.

Maybe the best way to use resource scheduling tools with a baseball stadium is the most obvious: baseballs. There are a number of batting cage areas for hitting in the various recesses of stadiums, they are usually booked and reserved for individual coaching and practicing. The scheduling of which would be most efficiently accomplished with good resource management software. That way, along with interactive scheduling, the cages can be scheduled without error, and if there’s a need for a specific coaching aid — like miniature bats for hand eye coordination, or a video camera to record a swing for analysis — it can be taken care of in the same interface.

Interactive scheduling is a vital facet for a baseball stadium, even now in the winter, months away from the start of the season. The multitude of events, variety of accommodations, expanse of resources, and scope of operation all make the baseball stadium a wholly unique business that needs a custom solution.

Picture of AT&T Park (by way of McCovey Cove) courtesy of Bryce Edwards

Posted in Efficiency and Productivity, Industry Spotlight, Room Scheduling Software, Scheduling Professional, payroll | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment