News & Blog

Time is money! How much? Top tip revealed.

By Francis West on 9th January 2016

The story started 25 years ago when I touched a computer for the first time. 

 

We all have 24 hours in a day, but why is it that some people get more done in the same 24 hours you? My mum always said "if you want something done ask a busy person". 

 

We believe the answers are easy:

 

  • 1. They are 100% motivated to complete a task 
  • 2. They have learnt how to say "No"
  • 3. They are using the latest technology Tips, Tricks and Apps effectively

 

As IT business Support specialists, we often see people doing the same thing over and over again, not knowing there is a better way, resulting in so much time lost and therefore profit.  We will cover the last point to help you gain valuable minutes for you and your staff each day and also share with you an easy way to calculate the cost of time. 

 

Evernote

 

This program has changed my life over the last 5 years. I am using it right now to write this article on the train to Cardiff with my son, to watch Ireland play Canada in the Rugby World Cup. 

 

Why use it?

 

The software/app can be installed on any pc, Mac, iPad, Android and it replicates all your notes real time into the cloud and then to all the devices connected to that account, Which means I can pick up any device or sit at any internet connected machine and see all my notes from every meeting I have had in the last 5 years instantly. You can also share that note with other people in your organization and work on the same note from different locations.

 

Example:

 

Imagine you have an iPad with Evernote installed and you are taking notes in a meeting at a clients office. Your PA is at her desk in your office logged in the same Evernote account on her office pc.  As you walk out of the meeting your PA can action all the points in your notes and can immediately start working on a quote if needed. I hear you say, "why not send your PA an email with the info". Good question, but email should not be used for storage and it is only one way. Email will not keep track of all the changes in that note for years to come.

The best ever business card scanner build it

Example:

  • - I went to a networking event in Manchester a few weeks ago with 30 other business people for a joint London/Manchester Business networking lunch. You can imagine 30 people at each meeting, speaking to 5 people and taking their business cards.  On the way back to London, we were all in the same Virgin train 1st class carriage sharing stories of the day.  I took my iPhone 6 plus out, opened Evernote and started taking photos of all my business cards. The people at my table thought I was just taking photos. 

 

  • - With Evernote you can link your LinkedIn account and your contacts, which mean from that one photo of the card, Linkedin will automatically recognise the card, pull all their info for their LinkedIn profile, send them a linked request to link up, save the picture of the card in an Evernote note (remember to always write on the business card where you met the person and the date) and then save the contact details in your Outlook contacts. All that from just one photo. This saves me so much time at each networking event and people are impressed you are following up within hours after meeting them.  

 

How much does lost time cost my business? Do NOT continue reading if you hate losing money!

 

This is a very easy calculation, here are some examples:

Example 1

  • - You have 10 staff and they are paid a national UK average of £23,500
  • - If they lose just 1 hour per week due to IT systems not working properly, the nett loss to the business is £750 per person per year.  A total of £7,500 loss per year. 
  • - If you include lack of training on the products they work on such as Outlook, Word or Excel the loss doubles to £15,000 per year

 

Example 2

  • - Owner/manager decides to do low paying jobs such as IT support and fixing/installing PC's himself to 'save money'. 
  • - If the business is doing well, he/she may be on £100k plus a year so that means 4 hours spend on non earning tasks a week, which will cost the business £6000 a year. Did you know that in 2014 the U.S. Loss $586 billion as a result of interruptions in the workplace. 

 

As an owner, check your self constantly by asking the following question to yourself or your fellow directors - is what I am doing now making the boat go fast? If not, either delegate or say NO.

 

Over the next few weeks/months we will be sharing many more tips, tricks and Apps on how to be more effective in the 24 hours we are given each day. 

 

Please feel free to sign up to our YouTube channel to see videos we are making on time saving tips in the work place. 

 

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