At my workplace, we mainly use Microsoft Teams and Excel for communication, calls, meetings, and planning work schedules. These tools are helpful and used in many ways but I think we could do more. We have a very basic table on Excel where we plan out work, we write meeting notes in a Word document, and we sometimes use the poll tools and similar features in Teams. I have noticed that there is definitely potential to make better use of other digital tools and social media as well. Our organization does have an official social media presence however, the department I work in does not use social media platforms.
We don’t really use much different tools. During out long meetings we discuss things and just write down the topics discussed, and decisions made in a Word document. I wanted to reflect on the things that I think are lacking and could be the most useful tools.
Social media tools and websites
First our organization’s internal web search system is not very user-friendly in my opinion. Important documents or information are often hard to find, even when we know they exist. So I have tried to think of another solution so awhile now and I know many others agree. Like if we had a tool like ChatGPT or other AI-based assistant that could quickly help us locate policies, forms, or instructions just by asking a simple question. It could save a lot of time and help in every day work. And especially in a busy work environment and too much work to do we need something more efficient.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I’ve actually heard that a tool like this is going to be tested in our organization soon which is really exciting. If it works well, it could make it much easier to find important internal information, documents, and guidelines just by asking a question, instead of searching manually. Looking forward to see how it works out and I hope it stays for good.
Like I mentioned we just rely a lot on a simple word document. We could use something like Miro to help us stay more organized and make group meetings more efficient. In our team we’ve often talked about how we want everyone to participate actively in planning and discussions. But the reality is that there’s always so much to learn and keep track of, and it can become overwhelming. So I think having a tool to help us visualize ideas, create digital mind maps, or plan timelines together in real time could really improve our often chaotic group meetings.
Doodle would also be helpful for us when scheduling meetings. We often need to organize meetings with 10 to 15 participants from different teams or departments. Now we usually just pick a date and hope that as many people as possible can join. Besides scheduling, I think we could also use Doodle’s simple polls to gather team opinions on different topics. I know that Teams also has similar features but I like how Doodle works. And I like its simple and clean visual design.
I could also see myself using social media platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn more actively in my work. I could use them to learn more about private organizations, community services, or support groups that might be relevant for our elderly clients. I think especially for those looking for new activities, companionship, or practical help outside the services offered by our own organization. There is so much useful information available, and I definitely feel that I could make better use of these platforms.
Also I believe professionals like myself and my colleagues could use social media to spread awareness about the services already available. Even though elderly care of my city is sometimes featured in social media, like in Facebook, I feel that it’s not visible enough. I have heard many times that elderly individuals or more often, their families may not even realize what kinds of support or programs are out there. Now more than ever I feel like we should use social media like this so we could help more people find the help they need. LinkedIn could be a tool to connect with other professionals and spread awareness in the healthcare field.
Challenges of new digital tools
Of course, there are downsides too when using social media tools in a professional setting. First of all, there are strict regulations in our organization regarding what kind of information can be shared externally. So they limit how freely we can use many digital tools.
Also the negative side is time and effort required to learn new tools. I fully understand that not everyone is eager to spend even more time on the computer when would rather focus on direct customer work. Learning new platforms takes time and energy. It’s something that should be given time. Because now there is too much work and too little time to find out ways to improve out ways to work…
Final reflections
While writing this post, I reflected on how there’s definitely a lot of potential to use technology more in our workplace. It was very interesting and I wish we could actually use some of these. I was able to think of many ways it could be useful, like making things more organized. It was also interesting to go through all of these tools, especially since I hadn’t heard of some of them before. I reflected on how social media can be useful for spreading awareness about our services, but also for finding useful pages and resources for myself. The only thing is, I usually don’t use social media with my real name, so I’d probably have to make a separate account or use a nickname for that kind of professional browsing. But I think maybe now I will!
I think it’s good to stay open-minded about using new technology, and I want to keep an eye on different websites and tools that could be useful in the future.