Employee productivity is the biggest asset to a company. Employees working in the right direction and producing timely results is what every company desires. Before the pandemic, companies used various tricks to increase the productivity of their employees. Many offices had playing areas for the workers to rejuvenate. Cafeteria and other surrounding areas were built in a way that the workers enjoyed every minute of their work hours.
However, the requirements of the employees post-pandemic have seen a shift. The way businesses work has undergone a huge transformation. The ‘new normal’ has made employees work from home in a virtual office space.
Workers desire quick results, which often results in an unwanted mess that can affect the companies’ productivity.
This mess can be sorted out if the companies guide their employees and encourage them to use tools that increase productivity. Using productivity tools is not a new thing for companies, especially when they are already implemented several. Like attendance trackers, Whatsapp chatbots for customer support, efficiency monitoring systems, etc, that are already providing high results.
Similarly, productivity tools will also help the employees deliver their best performances, boosting the company’s productivity.
5 Ways Productivity Tools are Helping Companies
Productivity tools are gaining a lot of attention these days. There are several areas in which your company can increase productivity and produce better results using these tools. We have simplified things for you, so keep reading!
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Communication
It is the most vital area to excel in. To grab desired recognition, it is essential to set distinguished messages and emails. In the globally competitive market, the best brands are the ones that have the best communicators. These companies take an edge over others by communicating their message clearly and concisely.
For example, the pandemic has taught everyone how they can manage meetings from a distance. Video conferencing or individual meetings is now available to all. Instead of arranging restaurant bookings before a business meeting, one can now use communication tools like Chanty, Skype, Google Meet, or Zoom to seal the deal online. These tools save commute time. Also, high-quality video conferencing with additional features can also make your virtual team meetings effective.
👉 Check also our list of employee recognition ideas
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Organizing
Good organizational skills will help your company build a strong network and produce exceptional quality work as working with a team of diverse people spread across the globe or country can be a tedious job. Managing work and scheduling meetings can be a messy affair in such situations. To increase work order, it is recommended to use planners. However, in this situation, a digital planner that can be accessed by all the co-workers would be perfect.
Microsoft Planner is one of the best organizing tools out there.
👉 Check also our list of best planner apps
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Collaborating
Handling projects in a team requires team spirit, management, and timely support from every team member. Apart from that, you can also use multiple tools that can help manage the team project for you. For example, you can integrate video marketing tools and management tools altogether when you are working on video production. Using these tools helps you and your team members communicate and delegate tasks easily.
Using tools for collaborating teams makes it easy for you to manage, track, and complete projects, processes, and tasks. Gathers everything a team needs to stay productive (goals, notes, to-do lists, calendars, etc.) in one willingly convenient place.
Asana is a good example of this. It is used for managing small teams. You can optimize your budgets using this tool. It is a free tool for a team of up to 15 members, and You can buy a subscription if you have more than 15 members.
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Task Management
Well managed staff delivers faster and smarter. However, generating ideas require good focusing power and the ability to do things on time.
And what’s the best tool for that – TimeCamp. If you want to track the productivity of your workers, nothing can beat TimeCamp. It gives your time spent on each software, website, and other places on the computer. It manages attendance records and also allows the workers to keep track of their activities. TimeCamp indeed helps in increasing productivity.
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Employee Training and Development
Skilled employees give you faster and impactful ideas, thus improving overall efficiency and productivity. That’s why providing on-time training is considered to be an important job, even during pandemic time.
How can efficient employee training programs when the traditional one to one or classroom training sessions are not possible? By combining various productivity tools. For example, you can use a communication tool like Skype for communication purposes, whereas you can use a timestamp for tracking their progress. Or collaborating tools for conducting a real-time workshop.
Things to Consider Before Selecting Productivity Tools
The next question is that how to find the right productivity tool for your business.
1. Determine your workflow
It is essential and helpful to prepare a mindmap. A mindmap helps you to see things. Once you have put together this, charted down everything your employee needs to do, you can easily opt for the right productivity tool.
2. Regular assessment of productivity tools
Just like you go for a regular health checkup, it is equally important to check your work health. Assessing the tools regularly and analyzing what is helpful or creating a mess will keep your productivity on track.
3. Is it worth spending your money on a productivity tool?
Many productivity apps require subscriptions. When you are paying the right amount, it is your right to evaluate the value they add to your work area. After all, what good is it to spend on a tool and gain nothing from it? Calculate the benefits you get from the tools against how much it will cost you.
4. Does it provide proper training and customer care?
It is fun to try your hands on new software and tools now and then. However, these tools are to increase your efficiency. Hence, look at the support and training that the application provides. Spending hours to understand the hows and whereabouts of the tool will kill your time.
5. Can you club your tools in one single app?
Instead of opting for multiple productivity tools, look for tools that can give you everything you need in one place. If not, use integration platforms to club your apps.
Productivity Tools for the Post-Pandemic World
As we discussed, the pandemic has changed the way businesses work. And adopting productivity tools is a part of it. What are your favorite productivity tools?
Author Bio:
Revathy Nair
Revathy Nair is a content writer/technical writer with a passion for creating content that can engage people, thereby boosting the online visibility of clients. Writing has always been her thing, and now it’s her profession too.