Companies rely so heavily on productivity software that you probably don’t even remember a time without it. It’s so woven into our day-to-day work, workers likely don’t know how long it would take to complete tasks if they didn’t have them.
Productivity software has allowed companies to get through one of the most difficult years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With everything moved online, employees are able to work remotely from the comfort of their homes while being just as productive as they were in the office.
But what exactly is productivity software? You might not realize most of the applications and platforms you use in your everyday life are types of task-managing productivity software.
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Examples of Productivity Software
It’s pretty simple, actually! Productivity software refers to any tool that helps employees increase productivity. Think about any platform you use on your computer that makes your life easier — these are most likely productivity software. They can range from handling tasks such as creating a document, to making a presentation, to organizing data, and sending messages. Different software falls into each of these categories:
- Word processing (Microsoft Word, OneNote, Zoho)
- Spreadsheet (Google Spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel)
- Project Management (Trello, Asana, Wrike)
- Graphics (Microsoft Paint, Adobe Photoshop)
- Database (Oracle DataBase, MySQL)
- Communication (Slack, Zoom, Outlook)
- Time Tracking (Hubstaff, Harvest, Accelo)
- Organization (Zapier, Google Calendar)
- Presentation (Microsoft Powerpoint, Keynote)
- Task Management with AI (MetaSpark)
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Productivity software, as you can tell, is everywhere in the virtual world. You probably have several of those applications open on your computer right now.
One of the newer categories is task management software — particularly software where tasks are automatically retrieved from every system using AI. This type of software can increase every employee’s productivity each week, earning them back valuable hours in the workday.
If you have only one or two types of software to help you increase efficiency, you might be missing out on a few benefits from not using a range of them that integrate or complement each other. If you or your team is not using productivity software to better manage tasks, here are five reasons why you should consider obtaining it.
1. Simplify collaboration within the organization
If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that collaborative teamwork doesn’t require in-person interaction. With so many tools that help facilitate task workflows between individuals, teams, and departments, employees can work together from almost anywhere. For example, Google Docs allows your team to share a document with others and make comments and edits in real-time; Slack allows your team to communicate and send files back and forth; Zoom enables your team to have group meetings face to face, albeit digitally.
2. Have better command over projects
Task management tools have had a major impact on productivity. They allow managers to track a team’s progress and efforts, assign tasks, and see where projects need extra help. This takes the guesswork out of leadership and gives managers greater command and control over a project’s timeline.
They’re able to more clearly identify problem areas and know who their greatest team members are, as well as who works best on different tasks. According to a PMI study, 61% of the organizations that used project management tools completed projects on time, compared to only 41% of the organizations that didn’t.
3. Save time and money
Task management tools allow employees to work smarter, not harder. They help with completing both simple and difficult tasks quicker. Whether it’s with creating reports or sorting data, these tools are much more capable than the human brain. Plus, with automation, your team members don’t have to manually enter data all the time, saving countless hours each year.
By not having to do recurring and repetitive tasks, employees can focus on the money-making aspects of the business. It can be as simple as Google Calendar automatically importing events from your Gmail emails. It may seem like not that much time is saved, but manually importing every event into your calendar for the year adds up to many wasted hours.
You also save money because you don’t have to build an entire in-house system yourself. That requires a whole team of designers, builders, programmers, and full-time staff to maintain it. Plus, you can save on office space because it enables employees to work remotely from home.
4. Impress by looking more professional
Using the latest and greatest productivity software not only makes your team more efficient and productive, but you’ll also look that way to your partners and customers. For instance, you can create a professional PowerPoint presentation with impressive slides. Or, your team can use Photoshop to make your documents dazzle or add or change designs to your company’s website. But the most impressive aspect of using productivity technology is that your clients will be impressed by the quality of work and timeliness of its delivery.
5. Integrate it into systems already in place
It’s one thing to have all these amazing productivity tools that make everyone’s tasks easy. It’s another to have them all working together in unison. For example, if you’re using Google software — Sheets, Docs, Gmail, Calendar, Teams, and more — they all work together. When everything is compatible, your employees will have everything in one spot with tools that function together.
However, not every productivity tool integrates with another. This means employees have to spend time every day switching between multiple apps. According to a Slack study, 68% of those surveyed said they spend at least 30 minutes a day switching between different apps.
But now there are new task-managing productivity software solutions that are bringing all these different productivity tools under one roof — or one simple-to-use dashboard. That way, employees no longer have to switch between their communication app, email, task management app, and other platforms.
Improve Organizational Efficiency in 2021
Task-managing productivity software has transformed the business world and the way we function in the workplace. They’ve become part of our daily lives because they enable us to be more efficient and improve the quality and quantity of our work. Simply put, task-managing productivity software makes people better at their jobs.
Many companies likely use some form of productivity software to help manage tasks, but that doesn’t mean they’re receiving their full benefits. Review what software tools you use in your day-to-day and determine if they can be integrated with other software to increase employee efficiency.
If you’re looking for a task-managing productivity software tool that automatically pulls every task from every system into one dashboard without any data entry, check out a demo of MetaSpark!
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