There are plenty of ways to get your the productivity of the company. Many developers have created technology aimed at exactly that. But which technologies to use and how to use them is not always clear. Using productivity software effectively is a skill in itself and not one that everyone intuitively understands. Sometimes it even pays to organize a training day or write a manual to keep your employees on the same page.
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It is important to communicate explicitly how you want to feel Business culture develop in the use of such technology. Keep reading to learn how your company can boost productivity by deploying software and how you can teach your employees how to use these tools effectively.
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Improve your communication
Email has been alive and well for over three decades. While it was used by some industries as far back as the ’80s, it really boomed in the mid-’90s. Email traveled at the speed of light compared to standard mail, which came to be known as “snail mail”. Even for office workers, it was much more efficient and productive to just send an email than to physically walk into someone’s office. However, we are finally living in a time where email has met its match when it comes to communication within the office.
Instant messaging services have been around about as long as email, but they’ve never been as sophisticated as they are today. Over the past decade, developers have focused on creating advanced messaging software. These tools are sophisticated, versatile and, perhaps best of all, safe. You can help increase your company’s productivity by using such an internal messaging system as the main channel for your team’s communication. Email still has its place, but for dedicated teams, the productivity boost of communication provided by such software is unparalleled.
Learn proper communication etiquette
Although e-mail is surpassed when it comes to internal communication, it has not become obsolete. It remains useful for communicating with companies, customers and any external persons of interest. Don’t let your and your team’s email skills decline as they focus on developing their IM skills. Encourage them to stay informed best email practices. Writing compelling emails remains essential as the number of email users is expected to grow to 4.6 billion by 2025.
While email continues to dominate intercommunication, your intracommunications will have their own etiquette. The best way to use each communication software depends on the software you use. But in general, you and your team may want to develop a writing style with asynchronous work patterns. Companies are increasingly hiring remote workers, who may work asynchronously. Keep messages clear and actionable to reduce vagueness and increase individual productivity.
Whatever your work communication, it’s in writing – you’ll want to follow Louise Dobson’s advice and “Watch your nonverbal intonation of intent that confuses and offends your readers.”
Manage projects digitally
Every company of any size has multiple teams working together on different aspects of the same project. Larger networks of teams have the potential to create comprehensive and sophisticated products that appeal to a large audience. However, it can also be difficult to understand different aspects of project completion. One team may need another team’s product before they can begin or complete their own tasks. Like a major traffic jam, a minor accident or delay can create huge backlashes in productivity between teams.
Regardless of the size of your team, you will likely benefit from using a task manager or project collaboration software. Using productivity software literally provides insight into all aspects of product management, big and small. You can clearly see which teams and team members are working on which parts of a particular project. You can easily identify and adjust which deliverables are causing bottlenecks in workflow pipelines. Project collaboration software gives you data you might never otherwise have access to and has the potential to vastly improve productivity.
Sync your calendars
Indeed, both types of the aforementioned software can give a huge boost to your company’s productivity. However, incorrect scheduling is a problem that prevents your team(s) from taking full advantage of the software. It’s great to use project managers to assign clear tasks and deliverables to team members. But not if a team member has planned to be out of the office for a dental appointment on the project deadline. Even through email, instant messaging and other communication channels, scheduling information may be lost in translation.
Fortunately, calendars have also come a long way in the past decade. Digital calendars have many advanced features, and again, one of the best is the visibility they provide. With a team calendar you can see at a glance exactly when your individual team members are available. This way you can schedule to your heart’s content with impunity. You reduce the likelihood of duplicates and overbookings, and forego potentially massive amounts of time spent resolving scheduling conflicts.
Don’t distract yourself
When talking about software that boosts your productivity, it’s also important to discuss what to avoid. Your attention is limited and many applications want to take advantage of that attention. Social media is a particular culprit and has the potential to completely divert your attention. Games, personal messages, even news and other applications can tear your attention. So it’s important to ensure that attention-hungry software is mitigated effectively.
Every person is prone to having their attention consumed by certain programs. They are quite literally designed to take as much of your focus and attention as possible, and time is money. Productivity-oriented developers have tried to limit the time they spend on distractions and have created software to curb attention-hungry sites. Encourage your team to install this kind of software on their work devices so they can spend more time focusing. Distracting sites and apps can be blocked during working hours and productivity can be measured and displayed in real time.
Make it a habit to find new software
When it comes to productivity, software skills foster an experimentation mindset. There are so many apps, widgets and downloads that can help increase the productivity of your team. But every team is different and has different needs regarding the type of work they do. Effective communication and planning systems are relatively ubiquitous, but your team may have more niche needs. There is probably some kind of productivity software that can help you, but you need to find it.
While you can do some research on your own, encourage team members to do their own research. Ask them to think about the day-to-day challenges they face and whether they could somehow be alleviated by automation. If so, let them follow that train of thought with search results. And if the kind of software they need just doesn’t exist, maybe a development opportunity is on its way. Where there is a need for one person or team, there are likely many more who have similar needs.
Invest in the future of your company
There are many different types of software that can increase the productivity of your business. Some of these are more common and ubiquitous than others, but each requires its own set of skills. Communication channels will remain essential in all companies. However, some companies will find certain niche software more effective than others. It can take time to develop your team’s skills with software, but it can be worth it long-term.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Ivan Samkov; Pexels; Thank you!
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