How Leaders Should Leverage Company Productivity Tools

ut simply, efficient and productive employees equate to increased profits. When employees are productive, they are creating products or services faster for your customers and clients. That’s why many successful teams use company productivity tools.

However, there are plenty of companies that aren’t utilizing the tools they have available to them. Either because they are stuck in their ways of doing things, they don’t think they are necessary, or they don’t understand how much these tools can benefit their organization.

These company productivity tools can range from CRM systems, to cloud-based communication systems, to calendar syncing. Let’s take a look at some of the ways these productivity tools can help your business thrive, even during a pandemic.

Project Management Improvements

Let’s start with some interesting statistics. This first one you might not find surprising. According to KPMG research, 70% of companies have experienced at least 1 project failure in the past year. If you’re not one of those organizations, congratulations, you probably have good project management practices in place.

But if you’re not using project and task management tools, you’re missing out. PWC research found that 77% of high-performing projects are using project management software. So, why are these project management tools so effective?

Project management tools allow you to set and assign a hierarchy of tasks, track progress, see if deadlines are coming up, and know who’s responsible for delays. This enables teams to efficiently and effectively complete tasks on time. You can also identify which tasks are dependent on team members and which ones can be completed sequentially.

Different individuals, teams, and departments often rely on the same data as well. With project management tools, you can have centralized data storage so that everyone has access to the same information when they need it. No more asking for files and documents or emails with attachments. Plus, it allows you to continuously monitor projects so that you’re always aware of what stage a project is at.
‍

‍

Say goodbye to creating task lists, project plans and associated documentation... Let MetaSpark's AI build it all for you.... Start Free

Better Team Collaboration

Great team collaboration starts with good communication. Productivity tools provide an organization with communication both internally and externally. That usually means the option to instant message, email, call, video call, share files, and have video conferences. With tools like MetaSpark, you can integrate all these communication channels into one easy-to-use platform that makes communication more efficient.

Especially with the rise of remote work, collaboration is key to maximizing progress. Using productivity tools now allows you to block websites and particular apps like social media apps or email apps that get in the way of completing tasks. They also allow employees to make to-do lists to manage tasks and day planners to define goals for each day. By setting session times and alarms when tasks go over time, employees can better manage their time.

All of these features give managers and decision-makers a way of tracking each employee’s performance with data. It’s not about punishing those that are underperforming. It’s about knowing who needs help and what kind of help to provide so that everyone is performing at a high level.

Plus, when productivity is based on output and data rather than opinions, you take the subjective nature out of employee performance. This way, employees know they and their colleagues are treated equally, which can improve morale. That means better attitudes, customer service, and more productivity.

Also read: How Data-Driven Management Boosts Remote Employee Engagement

Automating Manual Tasks

Automation isn’t about replacing humans with robots. Automation is about machines doing repetitive tasks for us that we didn’t want to do anyway. Not only that, but they do them much more efficiently and accurately. Humans make errors, but a programmed computer does not switch up the digits, make a typo, or get tired. Automation has become so prevalent in the business world that by 2025, it’s expected that 90% of organizations will have an automation architect, according to Gartner.

If you’re one of the organizations that aren’t automating manual tasks, you might want to get on board quickly because your competitors most likely are. Automation can do so much for your business, from boosting efficiency to ensuring consistency. Furthermore, you can save money. Manual tasks take a lot of time and resources. By removing manual resources and lowering downtime, you can ensure your business runs more smoothly. Productivity tools that automate processes ensure your employees aren’t performing mundane, repetitive tasks that aren’t helping your business grow.

Marius Mihalec, Founder and CEO of Pulseway, writes in Forbes, “As technology continues to evolve, embracing automation is not a question of if but when. You don’t want to be the last to discover this change in your industry and sacrifice future growth for today’s convenience.”

Setting Clear Goals for Team Members

As Tony Robbins puts it, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” In an organization, it’s not always easy to set goals and keep track of how employees are doing. Not manually, that is. When you have large teams that are working remotely, meeting deadlines becomes even trickier. But with productivity tools that allow you to digitalize the entire goal-setting process, setting and tracking become much easier.

Setting measurable and trackable goals not only makes employees work harder and faster but also boosts morale. When progress is measured by task completion and deadlines being made, employees are judged by their output and not employee performance reviews. This puts everyone on an even playing field because it lets them know what they have to do to impress management.

Add in a reward system, and employees can get rewarded for completing tasks or projects. Company productivity tools such as MetaSpark uses data from employee’s completed tasks to measure company performance. As they complete their work, AI analyzes it and generates productivity dashboards. In real-time, you can see which teams and individuals are most productive. And when employees complete tasks, they’ll receive points (or “Sparks”), which can be used towards rewards of their choosing.

Are you ready for a company productivity tool that offers accurate, data-driven insights into productivity across individuals, departments, and your entire organization? Schedule a demo today!