5 Tips to Super Boost your Productivity as an Equipment Manager

As we all know: time is a very precious thing. But sometimes, even though you try hard to stay organized, a few extra hours a day could help you finish those tasks you wanted to cross off your checklist.

That’s why we’ve come up with a few tips that might help you stay on top of things when working as an equipment manager:

1. Scheduling is key

Start your day off right with a clear overview of upcoming bookings and equipment that should be brought back that day. You can use a calendar or have it on a dashboard: as long as it’s clear and visible, you can set your daily tasks in order and save yourself a lot of stress and worry!

💡Cheqroom tip: set extra reminders for yourself and/or the team using our automated email or SMS reminders. Fewer follow-up emails or phone calls means more time for doing things you had wanted to do!

2. Agree on a workflow that works for everyone

Having a clear workflow on how you’d like your team to book equipment seems like an obvious step. But we’ve been around the block for a while, and believe it or not, this is still one of the main reasons equipment managers waste precious time.

Invite your team and decide together what workflow will work best for everyone. Remember to communicate these steps to those who couldn’t make the meeting in a way they’ll remember. Hang a fun poster in the equipment room and find some time to give a quick training session.

It might take an effort to get their busy schedules aligned, but if you walk them through the steps once, it will save you a lot of time in the long run.

Did you know: that we can also help you design your own training session? You can always count on us! Send us a message at [email protected], and we’ll get started right away.🏂

One of our awesome customers from Iowa State University Athletics sent us this great example of a ‘don’t forget to check out’ poster with the main steps below. 😎

For the less tech-savvy people, sometimes having a manual can help a lot. You could send one out to your team members after the training session in which the basic steps are explained, so they can always look at it first before sending unnecessary emails.

3. Learn to delegate and share the workload

There might come a time when you realize that there are just too many bookings and people borrowing equipment to handle all by yourself. Why not invite other admins and/or student workers to help out? You can organize a quick demo for them and start delegating tasks as soon as they have picked up on the checkout process.

Cheqroom tip: invite the whole team to the account and allow them to make reservations and check items’ availability. No more unnecessary phone calls or emails back and forth to see if the right gear will be available. If you work in a smaller team and the level of trust is high, you can also decide to give them more access to the account. Increasing their responsibility and diminishing your workload at the same time. 💪

Is your team forgetful, or you can’t help but feel the checkout process could be shorter? You can use our reservation feature only and just close them when the equipment has been brought back. Read more here!

4. Make sure your equipment room is functional and well-organized

You are probably thinking: ‘I don’t have time for this right now!’ Or: ‘Where to start?’. But we can assure you, once it’s done, you’ll feel so much better! An organized room is an organized mind, right? 😉

Luckily for you, we have bundled some of the best tips to get your equipment room organized after visiting some of our biggest customers. And after going over them, you’ll agree with this: these equipment managers know what they are doing. 😻

5. Implement a time management plan and goals

Dig deeper and find out where your team is wasting time. Do they struggle with booking equipment or finding where items are located? Or perhaps the checking in and out process isn’t as clear for everyone… It will take a little more study to get to the root of the problem, but once you find it, you can prevent any future issues of the same kind.

In Cheqroom: use the insights from our reports to identify who is always late with their equipment and set goals for your team members to prevent time waste. You can also use the availability calendar for both Items and Kits to plan resource management.

The other part of implementing a time management plan is efficient maintenance planning. Avoid weekend or late-night calls by ensuring all equipment is in top-notch condition. Plan downtime and maintenance, and follow-up on warranty dates.

In Cheqroom: our Flagging feature allows you and your team members to stay on top of the condition of the equipment.

Allowing users to flag items when they need repair or cleaning will give you time to plan maintenance. Note that flagged items are still available for checkout. If you want to take them out of circulation until they are up and running again, you’ll want to take them into your custody or assign them to the technician in charge of keeping your inventory top-notch.

Inspired? Try out our features on a free trial or request a demo!