*Sponsored Guest Post: I’m sharing this because I think it sounds like a great product that would be of benefit to many, especially if you have your own business or can suggest this to your work*
New #guestpost on the blog about Planning Around the Holidays at Work! Click To Tweet
Twinkling lights and carolers dressed in old-fashioned, woolen mittens, can only mean one thing: the holidays are upon us, and so is the influx of vacation requests. How do you plan to manage them all this year and still keep the business operating as usual?
When most people think of holiday planning, they probably have in mind gift lists, menus, festive gatherings to give thanks for a year’s worth of blessings, and an event centered around Times Square and new resolutions. The time between Halloween and New Years means personal calendars are bogged down with a liternity of parties and gatherings where sequins and gift-giving are at the epicenter of the experience. Keeping track of the evolving events can be time-consuming and requires careful attention, so an individual does not overschedule or double book themselves.
When you take into consideration a workplace is composed of a collection of people all orchestrating the same type of schedule manipulation; maintaining a level of service and client satisfaction during the holidays can be surprisingly tricky. If a department head receives requests from 60 percent of the employees, all asking to have off during the same three day period, how are they to ensure business continues per usual during that time? How do they maintain the status quo while finishing off the year with a stellar performance if the social lives of the workforce are impeding on work time? The answer is simple. It requires a calendar and schedule as robust as each of the individual’s calendars. The details of projects and tasks need to be explained intricately and tracked so one employee can pick up where the other left off. This level of explanation ensures there is no drop off in the changeover process. Impeccable project management is imperative during the holiday season.
Equip Project Managers with everything they need this holiday season for uber organization. Implementing the use of Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (Microsoft PPM) in conjunction with the Steelray Microsoft Project Viewer, will take your project management skills to another level, benefiting the entire workflow not just during the holidays but far beyond them. Microsoft PPM is the most trusted Project Management software on the market. Paired with the Microsoft Project Viewer, it creates an integrated suite of products proven to help ease the oversight of large, compounding calendars, fluctuating schedules, and complex and ever-changing budgets.
The Microsoft Project Viewer is a not a clone of Microsoft PPM, but a software enhancement which improves and enhances its parent software. Microsoft Project Viewer gives users the ability to send electronic status updates to the Project Managers. It also has additional printing capabilities, giving users the option to preview all pages, on page, or the actual page size before they print. All team members maintain access to review schedules and employees can drill down and examine very specific task details, which on a physical, calendar would otherwise be hidden or unviewable.
One of the most coveted benefits of Microsoft Project Viewer is that by incorporating it into a new software assimilation strategy, you will reduce overhead costs. When companies rely solely on Microsoft PPM, each user needs their own license for the product, and the expense can add up quickly. However, when you opt to amplify the effectiveness of Microsoft PPM with the Microsoft Project Viewer, only the Project Manager needs Microsoft PPM. All other members of the team can use just the Microsoft Project Viewer software, which is significantly less expensive. Therefore, the result is more functionality and ease of use, at a fraction of the cost.
Large, reputable companies across the nation already depend on Microsoft Project Viewer to help them properly manage their timelines, budgets, schedules, and task management. Nike, Lockheed Martin, The Proteus Leadership Centre, GE Healthcare, and IBM are just a few of the upstanding corporations who are benefiting from the simplicity of Microsoft Project Viewer. Other such companies who might gain from introducing Microsoft Project Viewer to their Project Managers include government agencies working in aerospace and national defense and construction companies. These are industries which operate their business by relying on sophisticated tasks completed by a multitude of team members. It is pivotal that all parties involved know and understand the progression of the job and the ever-changing status of each task.
Ring in the season with new software which will help your business keep every job on task, on time, and on budget.
Start exploring your options with Microsoft PPM and Microsoft Project Viewer and give employees the gift of organization this year and allow them to head into their holidays worry free knowing their tasks and jobs are being managed efficiently.
I’m going to have to show my mom this post. She always gets so stressed about planning everything around the holidays. Maybe I’ll be nice and do all the decorating.
Because I’m so nice. Not because it’s fun.
Snort.
Omg I’ve never heard of this before! I actually work as a project manager and have been looking for a new management software to implement for the team. Have been considering Basecamp because I had it at my last job but will have to check this one out, too! Thanks, Lauren!
Oh this is very interesting! I will have to show my husband who manages our tree business. Thanks for sharing!
These are really great tips.
http://sugarcoatedbears.blogspot.com/
I haven’t heard of this program before! Microsoft has so many useful tools though!
I always have the hardest time managing my schedule during this season
Never heard of this program before. Sounds like a great tool for managing time. Everyone in my office always fights about time off during the holidays and it sort of ruins it for everyone else. The office bully always win. But they call it seniority.
Interesting! I haven’t heard of this before. I remember working in corporate world and every summer and holiday season we had to make sure who would have the bases covered. Sometimes it worked out great and other times it didn’t!!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Anything to organize the holidays lol. Seriously though it does sound like a good program.
humm this is interesting, I’ll have to check it out, wonder how it works for small personal businesses
I love this. My husband is a huge fan of this
Oh this does sound like a good program, but I don’t do windows. 🙂 Still, I know those that do and I think this would help them a lot.
Great post about planning! I am willing to try everything that works to be more competitive!
As someone who loves to be organized, I’m always looking for new ways to make that happen. This looks like a great tool!
Sounds like a great way to get everyone organized
This sounds like such a great idea…
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Wow, what a great resource this is! I need to look into this. Thanks for sharing, friend!
We need something like this at work. We’re always so haphazard in our planning around the holidays. Great post!
I know a few people who need to hear about this! Thanks for sharing!
What a nifty idea, something that can probably be incorporated into blogs with multiple bloggers as well, reading groups that need to organise members even. I’m always looking for new tools to make life that little bit easier. Thanks for sharing Lauren <3
I have never heard of this from Microsoft before! This is awesome! I think there are quite a few organizational uses I can think of where it would work.
I’ve only ever worked for myself and with volunteer base so holidays can be something. lol But thankfully lots of people like to volunteer during the holidays, too 🙂
I can certainly think of several companies I know of that could benefit from this kind of planning software. It does knock the edge off the stress that comes with the holidays.