One of the biggest struggles for businesses in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world is organising busy workloads from day to day. With emails flying back and forth and phones ringing off the hook, it can feel as though a project will never come together. Luckily, there are a variety of organisational tools you can use to gain some control over the chaos and make sure everyone in your company or team is on the same page.
When used in the right way, these tools can enhance productivity, streamline workflow and reduce stress for all employees. This leaves you with much more time and energy to focus on delivering high quality work, as well as an undoubtedly more efficient business.
Track Your Time
If you’re not currently using timesheet software, you’re missing out on a simple organisation tool that can help staff to manage their time effectively. Many timesheet programs are free, so there is no reason not use this useful tool. Your team won’t be wasting time filling in their timesheets, and you’ll be able to spot points where time management can be improved. Many of these programs can help to organise task lists, eliminating problems with the day-to-day organisation for everyone.
No need to spend Monday mornings creating a complicated to-do list for the entire week, as these planners can make it incredibly quick and easy.
Map Your Processes
One of the most effective ways to boost organisation in your company is the use project management software such as kanban boards, which maps your work flow and allows everyone to see the current status of every task. Ideal for team projects and collaborative workplaces, this software enables you to communicate easily with everyone involved in a project, see which tasks still need completing and collect all relevant documents in one place.
No more searching your emails for a piece of correspondence or an important document, as these intelligent tools store everything on an intuitive interface that allows everyone to see how your project is progressing.
Project management software can be a complete game-changer for your company, massively reducing the time you spend on trying to organise a project. Instead of chasing people for updates and briefing your team on how the project is going, you can use your time to focus on delivering the highest quality work possible.
The transparency and user-friendly nature of this software mean that everyone can see how the project is progressing, without having to manage a chaotic email inbox or work across several platforms simultaneously.
Streamline Your Calls
Even small business can benefit from using a telecoms system, which directs callers to the right person and can save you a lot of time when working with both customers and partners. Having a separate phone number for people you’re working with is always a good idea, and if you’re part of a larger organisation, it will undoubtedly help to use telecoms add-ons to redirect your callers to the right department.
Rather than having one receptionist take all of your calls and redivert them, you can save time and stress by using keypad options feature on your phone lines.
This is particularly important if you’re experiencing a low call response rate and want to make sure that your callers are getting what they need from you. There’s nothing less conducive to effective communication than a phone number that’s always engaged. Filtering your call flow will ensure that calls will get through to the right person the first time, without the confusion that can sometimes arise from using manual switchboards.
Meet Face to Face
When things get busy, it’s easier to forget the importance of meeting with your team in person. However, email threads or conference calls are no substitute for meeting face to face, especially when there’s a specific issue to resolve. Talking things through in person is more likely to generate a practical solution, and will avoid any of the confusion or crossed wires that can sometimes happen in email correspondence.
If the idea of scheduling a meeting for the entire team is stressful, then there are plenty of meeting schedule apps to help you out.
Whatever the size and nature of your company, making good use of these clever organisation tools can make a difference to your team. Now there’s no need to waste time on making complicated schedules of your own or searching for a specific email that you need.
Conclusion
With so many efficient tools at your fingertips, organising a busy workload has never been so easy. Now, over to you: What’s your favourite organisational tools? Please share with us!
