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Tips for retail

Google Workspace productivity guide

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Securely create and manage company assets

The amount of digital content created and managed by retailers continues to grow exponentially. Publish lookbooks for the latest product line. Manage rich-media assets like images, logos, and videos across every retail channel and with your agencies. Create and distribute catalogs. Google Drive syncs to the cloud so everyone’s always accessing the most up-to-date content, and its sharing features and access controls make working with external ad agencies and vendors simple and secure.

Customer story

Astley Clark
Learn how

Add files to Drive

If you're using the latest Chrome Browser or Firefox, you can drag files or folders from your computer into a Drive folder. Or, you can click New and thenFile upload or Folder upload and 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.

Learn more at the Google Drive Help Center

 

 

Manage store tasks and schedules online

Tracking tasks and schedules across multiple stores and hundreds of employees can be time consuming. Use Google Sheets and Google Calendar together to create a dynamic schedule—plan and distribute tasks, track their completion, manage exceptions, and more—all in one place. Store employees can access these schedules remotely from their mobile devices or through any web browser. Need feedback or updates on a task? Employees can directly add comments and change their statuses in Sheets.

Customer story

Specsavers
Learn how

Create a project plan in Sheets

  1. In Google Drive, click Newand thenGoogle Sheetsand thenBlank 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.

Share your calendar with someone

  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 Down arrow.
  3. Hover over the calendar you want to share, and click More and then 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.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center

 

 

Train your store employees anytime, anywhere

Training store employees across many locations, shifts, and products? It’s easy to create a self-service training portal. Just store all your product launch videos, marketing campaigns, promotions, store return policies, and safety procedures in Drive or a shared drive, then embed these stored files in Google Sites. If you need live training, conduct a virtual class across the globe with Google Meet to save time and travel costs. You can even record the training to make it available later.

Customer story

Commune Hotels
Learn how

Share a file in Drive

  1. Select the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share or Share Share.
  3. Enter the email address or Google group you want to share with.
  4. To decide what role people will have on your file, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
  5. If your account is eligible, you can add an expiration date for access.
  6. Choose to notify people.
    • If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
    • If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.
  7. Click Send or Share.

Create a shared drive and add members

Shared drives are only available for work or school accounts, and you’re not currently signed in. 

Sign in to your work or school account

Note: You can create shared drives only if your edition supports them and your administrator allows you to create them.
  1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
  2. On the left, click Shared drives.
  3. At the top left, click New.
  4. Enter a name for the shared drive.
  5. Click Create.

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 and thenMoreand thenGoogle Sites.
  2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Add Google files to a site

  1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
  2. At the right, click Insert.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, select the type of file you want to add, e.g. Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts.
  4. Choose a file and then Insert.
  5. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

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 and then 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.

Record a video meeting

  1. On your computer, in Google Meet, click Start or Join.
  2. At the bottom right, click Activities and then Recording.
    • To record the meeting captions, select a language.
    • In some cases, if the recording is played on Google Drive, the recording file might be ready a few hours before the captions are available.
  3. Click Start recording.
  4. In the pop-up screen, click Start.
  5. Wait for the recording to start. Participants get a notification when the recording starts or stops.
    • Meetings can only be recorded for a total of 8 hours, then the recording stops automatically.
  6. To stop a recording, click Activities and then Recording and then Stop recording.
  7. In the pop-up screen, click Stop recording.
    • Tip: The recording stops automatically when everyone leaves the meeting.

An email with the recording link is sent to the meeting organizer and the person who started the recording.

The recording is saved to the meeting organizer’s My Drive > Meet Recordings folder.

For meetings created through:

  • Google Calendar: The meeting organizer is the person who creates the meeting event on Google Calendar.
  • The Google Meet homepage or another product such as Gmail or Jamboard: The meeting organizer is the person who launches the meeting or generates the code.

Learn more at the Google Meet Help Center

 

 

Improve customer service

Provide store associates with the tools they need to best serve customers from the store floor. Whether answering customer questions or providing recommendations, store associates can use their phones or tablets to access product specifications, promotions, videos, and FAQs stored in Drive. If store associates need other expert opinions, they can reach out to their peers by posting a question in a Google Chat space.

Customer story

Design Within Reach
Learn how

Add files to Drive

If you're using the latest Chrome Browser or Firefox, you can drag files or folders from your computer into a Drive folder. Or, you can click New and thenFile upload or Folder upload and 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.

  1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
  2. In the top right, choose a view: Day, Week, MonthYearSchedule, or 4 days.

Join a space from Chat

  1. Open Google Chat.
  2. At the top left, click Start a chat .
  3. Click Browse spaces. The spaces that you're directly invited to appear at the top of the list. To find a space, enter its name.
    • To preview a space, point to the space name and click Preview. When you preview a space, you can read messages, but you can't participate in the conversation or get notifications.
  4. To join the space, in the preview, click Add or Join.
  5. To open the space, click Open.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

 

 

Train your plant workers anytime, anywhere

Training workers across many locations, shifts, and products? It’s easy to create a self-service training portal. Just store all your product launch videos, marketing campaigns, promotions, plant return policies, and safety procedures in Drive, then embed these stored files in Sites. If you need live training, conduct a virtual class across the globe with Meet to save time and travel costs. You can even record the training to make it available later.

Customer story

Roche Group
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 and then 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 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 and thenMoreand thenGoogle Sites.
  2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Add Google files to a site

  1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
  2. At the right, click Insert.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, select the type of file you want to add, e.g. Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts.
  4. Choose a file and then Insert.
  5. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

Record a video meeting

  1. On your computer, in Google Meet, click Start or Join.
  2. At the bottom right, click Activities and then Recording.
    • To record the meeting captions, select a language.
    • In some cases, if the recording is played on Google Drive, the recording file might be ready a few hours before the captions are available.
  3. Click Start recording.
  4. In the pop-up screen, click Start.
  5. Wait for the recording to start. Participants get a notification when the recording starts or stops.
    • Meetings can only be recorded for a total of 8 hours, then the recording stops automatically.
  6. To stop a recording, click Activities and then Recording and then Stop recording.
  7. In the pop-up screen, click Stop recording.
    • Tip: The recording stops automatically when everyone leaves the meeting.

An email with the recording link is sent to the meeting organizer and the person who started the recording.

The recording is saved to the meeting organizer’s My Drive > Meet Recordings folder.

For meetings created through:

  • Google Calendar: The meeting organizer is the person who creates the meeting event on Google Calendar.
  • The Google Meet homepage or another product such as Gmail or Jamboard: The meeting organizer is the person who launches the meeting or generates the code.

Learn more at the Google Meet Help Center

 

 

Manage store operation processes online

Streamline your business processes by moving all your operations and processes online. With Google Forms, you can create electronic forms for product recalls, time off requests, supply orders, acknowledgements of company policies, and more—in just minutes. These forms are easy to update and can be accessed from kiosks, computers, or mobile devices.

Customer story

Celio
Learn how

Create a form

  1. Go to forms.google.com.
  2. Click Blank form Plus.
  3. Name your untitled form.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

 

 

Centralize key assets

Keep all internal news, executive blog posts, project schedules, product documents, local and store-wide promotions, online forms, training content, and more in a single Sites website. Now your organization has a one-stop destination for all important information, which any employee (or just a select group) can access anytime.

Learn how

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 and thenMoreand thenGoogle Sites.
  2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Add a page to your site

  1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
  2. At the right, click Pages.
  3. At the bottom right, hover over Add New page.
  4. Click New page Add.
  5. Enter the page name.
  6. Click Done.
  7. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

Add Google files to a site

  1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
  2. At the right, click Insert.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, select the type of file you want to add, e.g. Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts.
  4. Choose a file and then Insert.
  5. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

Learn more at the Google Sites Help Center

 

 

Recruit and onboard store employees quickly

When retailers experience high employee turnover, shortening the recruiting and onboarding process improves the bottom line. After interested candidates submit their information through Forms, you can conduct interviews with your top choices from anywhere in the world with Meet. Let Gemini in Meet take notes for you so you can focus on the interview. Then, streamline the onboarding process with a Sites website containing new employee checklists and onboarding tasks.

Learn how

Create a form

  1. Go to forms.google.com.
  2. Click Blank form Plus.
  3. Name your untitled form.

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 and then 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.

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 and thenMoreand thenGoogle Sites.
  2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Add Google files to a site

  1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
  2. At the right, click Insert.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, select the type of file you want to add, e.g. Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts.
  4. Choose a file and then Insert.
  5. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

 Use "take notes for me"

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

  1. On a computer, open meet.google.com.
  2. Select a meeting.
  3. At the top right of your screen, click Take notes with Gemini .
  4. Click Start taking notes.
    • Meeting notes are added to a new doc and shared with people on the calendar invite that are within your organization.
    • Manually refresh “Summary so far.”
    • Stop and restart taking notes: All meeting participants internal to the organization can stop taking notes at any time. You can ensure that any confidential or sensitive discussions aren't part of the meeting summary.
    • When host controls are enabled for the meeting, only the host and co-hosts can start and stop taking notes.

Learn more at the Google Meet Help Center

 

 

Bring products to market faster

Collaborate and share product designs, mock-ups, quality guidelines, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a secure workspace using Drive or shared drives. Manage activities with a shared task list in Sheets or a shared team Calendar. Hold live video meetings with your suppliers in Meet to improve communications and reduce cycle time. For quick responses and feedback, send chat messages to your team using Google Chat.

Customer story

OVS
Learn how

Add files to Drive

If you're using the latest Chrome Browser or Firefox, you can drag files or folders from your computer into a Drive folder. Or, you can click New and thenFile upload or Folder upload and 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 project plan

  1. In Google Drive, click Newand thenGoogle Sheetsand thenBlank 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.

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 Plus and then 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.

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 and then 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.

Join a space from Chat

  1. Open Google Chat.
  2. At the top left, click Start a chat .
  3. Click Browse spaces. The spaces that you're directly invited to appear at the top of the list. To find a space, enter its name.
    • To preview a space, point to the space name and click Preview. When you preview a space, you can read messages, but you can't participate in the conversation or get notifications.
  4. To join the space, in the preview, click Add or Join.
  5. To open the space, click Open.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

 

 

Manage and track store construction projects

Stores are constantly changing their physical footprint; whether you’re opening a new store or rebuilding your space, coordinating every task with various internal departments and outside contractors is a challenge. Collaborate on task assignments and timelines in shared Sheets and Calendar. Different locations between teams isn’t an issue either—just hold virtual meetings anytime, anywhere with Meet.

Customer story

Tory Burch
Learn how

Create a project plan

  1. In Google Drive, click Newand thenGoogle Sheetsand thenBlank 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.

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 Plus and then 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.

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 and then 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


Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

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