Managing a business is hard enough, and this year certainly hasn’t made things any easier. Whether your team is working from home or re-opening your doors, you can streamline and simplify your business by taking advantage of online tools and software. Though not a comprehensive list, here are a few examples.
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Collaborative Project Management Tools
Balancing projects and deadlines can be quite a complicated task without the right tools. Especially when you’re working remotely, you don’t want to have to wait on emails to see where your team members are in the process. Project management apps like Basecamp and Trello allow you to bring everything to a central workspace and collaborate in real-time. You can share files and notes, brainstorm ideas, assign tasks, and outline your project all in one space. Incorporating one of these project management apps will not only simplify the process but will increase productivity as well.
Cloud-Based Call Center Software
Most on-premises call centers are still closed due to COVID-19, but call center software can keep your customer service and sales teams running. As long as your team members have an internet connection, they can turn their home desk into a help desk. Cloud-based call centers connect all your digital channels so your sales and support teams have various modes of customer interaction — including phone calls, video, live chat, social media, and text messaging.
This cloud call center solution is scalable and suitable for businesses of all sizes while including advanced features like workforce management. Powerful integrations with companies like Microsoft, Zendesk, and Salesforce streamline your software systems and simplify the entire process. You can even monitor agent performance and customer satisfaction.
Communication Platforms
Peer-to-peer communication platforms are powerful tools for effective coordination and communication within your team. Instead of digging through emails and forwarding messages, you can keep your team members in sync with platforms like Slack. Create channels for certain projects, relevant topics, or questions where your team can live chat and share information and files. You’ll be able to send announcements and memos to your entire organization with ease. Slack takes a different approach than it’s competitors, integrating other apps into its interface so you can connect it to your Dropbox, Google Drive, Zoom, and Trello accounts.
OKR (Objectives & Key Results) Software
Goal setting and tracking key results is necessary for any business strategy but it can feel overwhelming when examined on a quarterly or annual basis. Using an OKR framework can simplify how you implement and track your strategic plans and company goals. OKRs software lets you align strategic objectives and measure results in real-time. The alignment of your organizational goals across your business provides increased transparency and keeps your teams in accord. OKR software automatically measures the key results of your strategic plans, making it easy to create charts and reports when you need them. You can even run virtual meetings and present key results reports on smart agendas. These OKR software features are useful for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large organizations. Swot analysis examples are also an important tool for assessing your business.
Shift Planning Software
There is nothing simple about balancing productivity and labor costs when creating a work schedule. Shift planning is a tedious and meticulous task, not made any easier with requests off and traded shifts. Ditch your spreadsheets and use shift planning software instead. Platforms like When-I-Work and Shiftboard lets you enter employee information, like job titles and availability, and then create your schedule by dragging and dropping. Most platforms allow employees to swap shifts, request time off, and pick up open shifts on their mobile app — saving the manager a lot of time. Integrations with POS systems or other HR software allow you to create sales reports and monitor labor costs.
Utilizing new software and online tools for your business is a no-brainer. Don’t waste time trying to coordinate projects over email or through fragmented Google docs. Track key results in real-time instead of spending weeks compiling reports for annual performance reviews. Most of these software and online tools can even be used together to simplify your business.
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