With improved technology, the world has surely become a simpler and easier place to live in. It has helped us tremendously in improving and leveraging our resources beyond imagination. As a manager, you are responsible for not only delegating tasks to your team members but also increasing efficiency and productivity in project completion. Apart from the obvious leadership skills that are quintessential for all managers, there are several technological tools and software that can be used by them for enhancing the efficiency of their team at work. Here is a list of 5 useful tools to increase productivity and efficiency of your team.
Dropbox
Despite the fact, that there are numerous apps and software that allow you to share files and documents from your computer to the other remote devices, Dropbox is one such revolutionary tool that allows you to do it absolutely free of cost. Dropbox is used by millions of people in the corporate environment across the globe, for the purpose of transferring and accessing content within the organization. It allows you to share large files which can otherwise not be sent through email. In addition to this, it spares you the hassle of opening your mailbox, composing a mail, attaching a file and then sending it across to its desired destination. Furthermore, the Dropbox app is a great way to share and access important files and documents within the blink of an eye, even when you are not at a desk.
Asana
Marketed by the developer as a team productivity tool, Asana can be used as a fine combination of a task organizer and a communication tool for your team. The incredible software allows the managers to schedule meetings, organize their to-do-list and communicate with their teammates efficiently. Studies indicate that much of the productive time at work is lost in accessing, reading and responding to emails. Asana effectively eliminates the use of emails a primary channel of communication within an organization and makes it easier for the managers to reach out to their subordinates and colleagues. By integrating all the project details and job cards in a single software, the managers can efficiently delegate tasks to his subordinates, and also track the project progress without losing on critical work hours.
Toggl
Using spreadsheets for time tracking is more of an old school approach that no longer works for the highly charged work environments on today. Toggl is a great time tracking tool to keep a track of your team members efficiencies and create reports by segregating the data under the subheads of client, project, day or week. The online software tool also allows the managers to identify the probable sources of distraction within the team and reduce wastage of time upon unproductive projects that will not benefit the organization in any way. In this way, Toggle helps a manager to increase productivity and efficiency of his team and ensure higher revenues for the company by focusing on more lucrative projects.
Remember the Milk
This amazing task management tool facilitates the users to create and organize their to-do lists online. Remember the milk is especially useful for businesses and teams that are working on multiple platforms at the same time. The software automatically sends reminders through email or SMS to the users, to eliminate the possibility of missing out on important meetings, reviews and tasks. Through this app, managers can swiftly and efficiently share and delegate tasks to their team members. The best part about this software is that it can be easily synced with other tools to increase productivity such as Google Calendar ad Evernote as well.
Freedom
Regardless of the fact that it has contributed immensely in shrinking the world and making life easier for us, technology has also become one of the major distractions in our professional lives. Freedom is a revolutionary software that can be used to disable distracting networks and websites, and enhance the productivity of your team by minimizing outside disturbance. Managers can utilize its exceptional capabilities by customizing the time-frame for which they wish to disable the network, and help their team members work efficiently. You can also schedule the disabling as per a well chalked out plan or start a session instantly. The distraction management tool is an effective way of limiting undue diversion of your employees and encouraging a serious work environment that motivates them to complete their assigned tasks within a specific time frame.
In addition to developing effective leadership and interpersonal skills such as communication, decision making, problem-solving and critical thinking, a good manager is also expected to incorporate advanced technology systems and utilize their abilities in ensuring that his team completes the delegated tasks and deliver the desired results successfully.
