Tips for professional services

Services companies build their valuable reputations by collaborating effectively both internally and with their clients.

These tips share real-world examples of how industry leaders work closely with customers, build loyal teams, solve problems collaboratively, simplify project management, and hire the best people for long-term success.

On this page

• Work closer with your customers
• Make everyone feel part of the team
• Solve problems creatively through engaged collaboration
• Simplify project management and team communication
• Streamline recruiting and onboarding
• Use generative AI at work

               

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Work closer with your customers

To collaborate more effectively with their clients in the cloud, the award-winning ad agency, M&C Saatchi, turned to Google Workspace. The agency uses Google Drive to keep huge design files in one place, allowing team members and client reviewers to edit or add comments without transferring the files. When presentation deadlines are looming, they use Google Slides–a primary author lays out the flow, then everyone else completes their individual slides, at their convenience.

If your organization has Gemini for Google Workspace, you can generate illustrations based on your slide content. You can also generate whole slides with Gemini in Slides using a prompt.

Learn how

Add files to Drive

On your computer, you can upload from drive.google.com or your desktop. You can upload files into private or shared folders.

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. At the top left, click New   File Upload or Folder Upload.
3. Choose the file or folder you want to upload.

Add files to a shared drive

Requires at least Contributor access

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. At the left, click Shared drives and double-click one of your shared drives.
3. At the top left, click New.
4. Click the type of file or folder you want to create or upload from your computer. 

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the shared drive, your files remain.

Create a presentation

1. Open the Slides home screen at Google Slides.
2. In the top left, under "Start a new presentation," click New . This will create and open your new presentation.

You can also create new presentations from the URL https://slides.google.com/create.

Learn more at the Google Drive Help Center

Create images based on slide content with Gemini

You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator.

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. At the top right, click Ask Gemini .
3. On the side panel, you can:
   • Create an image based on a selected slide: Enter “Create an image" or "Suggest images for this slide.”
   • Select a suggested prompt: The Gemini in the Slides side panel might suggest images based on the content on your slides.
   • Create your own prompt: For example, you can ask “Create an image of a dog with glasses.”
4. Press Enter.
5. To insert a specific image, hover over the image and click Insert .
   • Optional: To send feedback about the image, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .
6. You can also:
   • Edit the prompt: Click Edit Prompt .
   • Generate more images: At the bottom, click Generate more .

Generate a new slide with Gemini

You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator.

You can use the Gemini in Slides side panel to generate a new slide.

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
   • Tip: New slides will be generated using your current theme.
2. At the top right, click Ask Gemini .
3. On the side panel, select a prompt or create your own. Reference files with @ to create slides using your documents from Google Drive.
   • Examples:
     • “Create a slide about how to optimally train for a marathon.”
     • “Create a slide about @ Company 2023 Goals deck.”
     • "Create a slide about doc @Core Team sync."
     • "Create a slide proposing ideas for engaging with our customers."
4. From the generated slide, you can:
   • Get a different version: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Retry .
   • Add the slide to your presentation: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Insert .
   • Refine the generated slide: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Close . On the side panel, write a new prompt.
   • Send feedback: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

 

 

Make everyone feel part of the team

Rentokil Initial has six lines of business spread out over more than 60 countries, which left some of its employees feeling detached from their co-workers. Google Workspace helped change the company’s culture by making it easier for everyone to connect. Teams now use Drive and Google Sites to share meaningful information about themselves and their work. With Google Groups, graduate trainees have their own group to share work experiences.

"Online sharing is helping us to become a more personal, sociable organization, which is important for staff retention and working culture."

—Peter Shorney, Global IT Operations Manager, Rentokil Initial

Customer story

Rentokil Initial

Learn how

Share a file

1. On your computer, go to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Vids.
2. Double-click or right-click the file you want to share.
3. Click Share .
4. Enter a recipient.
5. Click Send .

Add files to a shared drive

Requires at least Contributor access

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. At the left, click Shared drives and double-click one of your shared drives.
3. At the top left, click New.
4. Click the type of file or folder you want to create or upload from your computer. 

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the shared drive, your files remain.

Note: To store and access files on your desktop, use Google Drive for desktop. See Install Drive for desktop.

Create a site

1. Choose an option:

   • From the Sites homepage, at the top, click Blank, or to choose a template, click Template gallery and select a template.
   • From Google Drive, click New MoreGoogle Sites.
2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Share a Google file with a group

1. Create a file in Google Drive, or open an existing file.
2. In the file, click Share.
3. In the Invite people field, enter the group's address.
4. Select the level of access you want to provide the group: Editor, Commenter, or Viewer.
5. Click Send.

 

 

Solve problems creatively through engaged collaboration

As one of the world’s largest consulting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) is all about solving business problems—but even they had a difficult time implementing efficient collaboration processes, until they started using Google Workspace. Now, PwC’s teams are more collaborative, creative, and inspired than before. For example, employees have been able to cancel 2–5 hours of status meetings per week, by collaboratively solving problems ahead of time using Docs.

The strength of a business is built on the cumulative knowledge of its people, so use Google Workspace to transform your workplace from siloed to open, from task-oriented to engaged, and from a focus on individual productivity to a focus on teamwork. Use Sites to share insights with your employees, and Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to work together in real time from anywhere in the world.

"By giving our teams the right tools to collaborate, we’re helping them to create and compete in new ways. With Google Workspace tools, our teams are more engaged, productive and mobile. And we’re adding more value for our clients, at a faster pace, as a result."

—Deborah Bothun, US Entertainment, Media and Communications Leader, PwC

Customer story

PwC

Learn how

Create a document

To create a new document:

1. On your computer, open the Docs home screen at docs.google.com.
2. In the top left, under "Start a new document," click Blank .

You can also create new documents from the URL docs.google.com/create.

Create a team site

1. Choose an option:

   • From the Sites homepage, at the top, click Blank, or to choose a template, click Template gallery and select a template.
   • From Google Drive, click New MoreGoogle Sites.
2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Add comments in Docs, Sheets, and Slides

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or video.
2. Highlight the text, images, cells, slides, or scenes you want to comment on.
3. To add a comment, in the toolbar, click Add comment .
4. Type your comment.
5. Click Comment.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

 

 

Simplify project management and team communication

Grass Roots is a performance improvement company that relies on outstanding collaboration and communication to win the trust of its clients. When legacy systems couldn’t keep up, Google Workspace revolutionized the way their teams work together. Now, employees share and update project reports, timelines, calendars, budgets, and work documents online in real time. They can easily stay in touch via email, instant messaging, or video conferencing using their laptops and mobile devices.

Want to simplify project management and increase productivity? Use Docs, Sheets, and Slides to collaborate on your work—and Calendar to keep everybody on the same schedule. You can also enhance Google Workspace with hundreds of integrated, third-party apps available in the Google Workspace Marketplace.

"For many of our employees, Google Workspace is revolutionizing their team and project work. Teams are more organized because everything—including timelines, budgets, and progress reports—are stored transparently with the latest updates available for all to see online."

—Danny Attias, CIO, Grass Roots

Customer story

Grass Roots

Learn how

Create a team calendar

You can only create new calendars from a browser and not from the Google Calendar app. Once the calendar is created, you can find it on your browser and in the app.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left, next to "Other calendars," click Add other calendars  Create new calendar.
3. Add a name and description for your calendar.
4. Click Create calendar.
5. If you want to share your calendar, click on it in the left bar, then select Share with specific people.

Share the calendar with your team

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar. You can’t share calendars from the Google Calendar app.
2. On the left, find the “My calendars” section. To expand it, click the Down arrow .
3. Hover over the calendar you want to share, and click More Settings and sharing.
4. Under “Share with specific people or groups,” click Add people and groups.
5. Add a person’s or Google group’s email address. Use the drop-down menu to adjust their permission settings. Learn more about access permissions.
6. Click Send.
7. The recipient will need to click the emailed link to add the calendar to their list. Learn how to add someone else’s calendar.

Tip: To share a calendar that you don’t own, you need to ask the owner to give you “Make changes and manage sharing” permission.

Chat with collaborators in a Google file

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.
2. At the top right, click Show chat . This feature won't be available if you're the only one in the file.
   1. Tip: If there are many collaborators in the file, at the top right, to the right of the avatars, there will be a blue circle showing the number of additional collaborators. Click the blue circle  Join chat .
3. Enter your message in the chat box.
4. When you’re finished, at the top right of the chat window, click Close .

Note: All chats in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides include anyone viewing the file. The chats aren't saved.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center

 

 

Streamline recruiting and onboarding

When the multinational staffing agency, Randstad, wanted to modernize its email and collaboration solutions, they chose Google Workspace. Google’s integrated tools allow employees at 4,500 branches to collaborate on placing over 500,000 people every day. The transition to using Google Workspace was easy because many of Randstad’s employees already use Google tools, such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Google Meet.

Your company can use Google Workspace to attract the best people and onboard them quickly, even when choosing from a huge pool of candidates in diverse locations. Use shared Docs to work together on the perfect job description or to test a candidate’s writing or coding skills in real time. Track your interviewing pipeline status in Sheets and use Meet to conduct remote group interviews or to extend an enthusiastic offer to your top candidate.

"We have a workforce of younger, web-savvy employees, and we heard the feedback that they’re quite familiar with Google tools … and that they'd like to use them at work, too."

—Martijn Nykerk, Senior Consultant Group IT, Randstad

Customer story

Randstad

Learn how

Comment on a document

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or video.
2. Highlight the text, images, cells, slides, or scenes you want to comment on.
3. To add a comment, in the toolbar, click Add comment .
4. Type your comment.
5. Click Comment.

Make suggestions in a document

1. On your computer, open a document at Google Docs.
   • Select the text you want to change. A button appears on the right margin. Click Suggest edits .
   • If you don't find Suggesting  on the toolbar, choose an option:
     • At the top right, click Editing .
     • From the drop-down, select Suggesting .
     • Click Request edit access.
     • Ask the file owner to share the document with you as a Commenter or Editor.
2. Edit the document.
   • You’ll see your change in a new color. Anything you delete will be crossed out.
   • To add more detail, click your suggestion and type a comment. Then click Reply.
3. The owner of the file will get an email about your suggestions and can decide whether to keep them.

Create a project plan in Sheets

1. In Google Drive, click NewGoogle SheetsBlank spreadsheet.
2. Click Untitled spreadsheet and enter a title for your project plan.
3. Add columns. For example, you might add columns for tasks, task owners, due dates, status, and comments.
4. Add content to track the tasks in your project.

Start a video meeting

1. ​Go to Google Meet.
2. Click New Meeting.
3. Select an option:
   • Create a meeting for later:
     • To share the meeting details for a future meeting, copy the meeting link and share with participants.
     • To directly start the meeting with this link, paste the link into a browser; or enter the link into the “Enter a code or link” field click Join.
   • Start an instant meeting: Create a new meeting and join the meeting directly. 
   • Schedule in Google Calendar: To schedule a meeting, you’re directed to Google Calendar.

Tip: Google Workspace Essentials users can't schedule a meeting in Google Calendar.

Use generative AI at work

If your organization supports it, you can use the artificial intelligence add-on, Gemini for Google Workspace. Use Gemini directly in Google Workspace apps like Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Vids, and Gmail, to help you write, visualize, organize, and connect. You can also use Gemini as a standalone experience at gemini.google.com. 

Learn how

• Get started with Gemini
• Get tips for writing prompts

 

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