Regardless of its size, your business can only go as far as your employees take it. And although the first step to help your company reach its full potential is hiring top talent, it’s also essential to nurture your employees and give them the necessary tools for maximum efficiency. For instance, unmotivated employees are unlikely to go the extra mile for your company, but even the most driven teams won’t be able to work at their best without the appropriate software.
In short, productivity can make or break your company. If you don’t take action to improve communication, team management, efficiency, and morale, it will be hard for your business to thrive. Fortunately, productivity software allows companies to tackle many of these issues.
The average employee spends 60% of their time attending meetings with no clear goals, chasing approvals, searching for documents, and managing their workload. This is a lot of time spent on menial tasks that don’t add any value to your company. So, the first challenge to face is to find a way of reducing the time spent organizing work. Effectively delegating tasks and showing employees how to manage their time is a great starting point. Strategies like the Pomodoro technique or the ‘getting things done’ method are just a few proven tactics that help people declutter their minds and focus on the important tasks at hand.
However, to have your team performing at their best, there are a lot of human capital management best practices that need to be followed. This can be the most challenging part, as people are complex and what works for some might not work for others. That’s why it’s essential to have transparent communication with your employees and know what motivates them individually. Not taking this into consideration can decrease overall productivity and even result in losing top talent to other organizations or mental illnesses like burnout.
Even though software isn’t able to tackle an employee’s motivational issues, it does solve some logistical productivity challenges. Here’s what we recommend using to boost your team’s productivity:
It’s nice to have a clean email inbox with no unread messages, but opening and sorting each one into relevant folders can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Thankfully, email organizers like SaneBox offer an easy way to remove clutter from inboxes and highlight messages that need immediate attention.
Founded in 2010, the company uses powerful AI to free inboxes from unwanted emails and spam. It does so without forcing users to download a separate program, as SaneBox can connect to one or more email addresses via its browser app.
The best part is that it’s straightforward to use, as users only need to check on SaneBox's daily Digest reports to learn what happened in their inbox. What’s more, the company offers reasonable prices, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a risk-free test period via a 14-day free trial.
In this era of ever-evolving cyberthreats, a reliable password manager is not just a convenience but a necessity. Developed by the Canadian company AgileBits in 2006, 1Password has grown from its initial release as a simple password manager for Mac into a polished and highly comprehensive service that’s available on the most popular platforms and browsers.
Offering data breach warnings alongside secure sharing and seamless synchronization across devices, 1Password consolidates its reputable position in the password manager industry.
Even though the software doesn’t have a free version, prices are cost-effective and start at just $2.99 per month. Plus, users can take advantage of s 14-day free trial and see for themselves what the software offers before committing financially.
Monitoring your employees isn’t the most glamorous thing to do, but it’s necessary. Fortunately, companies like ActivTrak have come up with smart ways for you to be on top of your workers’ productivity without breaching their privacy. Unlike other monitoring systems, ActivTrak doesn’t take screenshots all day long, but the app does take screenshots when an employee goes against your company policies. The software will also automatically blur any personal information on the image, such as Social Security numbers. To make things even better, the comprehensive reporting ActivTrak offers is the perfect way to check where you need to improve operational bottlenecks, which employees may need help, and more. Prices start at $9 per month per user, but you can try ActivTrak’s paid features with the 14-day free trial available. Plus, there’s a free plan that supports up to three users.
Trainual is one of those products you don’t know is essential to your business until you start using it. The online service helps you build a comprehensive manual to educate and guide future and current employees on everything about your company. Trainual places great importance on teaching users how to make the most of it through instructions, templates, numerous video tutorials, and an extensive FAQ page. The biggest slog with Trainual is at the start, but thankfully the effort is shared between all team members. While building your company manual may require a considerable investment of time up-front from everyone, it will clearly save hours, if not days, later on. Plans start at $49 per month, and the company offers a free trial of seven days that provides access to all features.
Housecall Pro is the ideal all-in-one solution for home service businesses looking to streamline operations. With features like scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing, the platform simplifies business management, enhances communication, and boosts efficiency.
Priced affordably, it’s a great choice for service professionals, whether you’re managing a small team or a larger operation. Individual users can enjoy the platform’s numerous resources for as little as $49 per month, billed annually. There are price reductions of up to 30% with yearly billing, an exclusive 50% Best Reviews discount, and a 14-day free trial allowing users to test its capabilities to the max.
Founded in 2013, HoneyBook helps small business owners manage customer relationships from the first inquiry to the final payment. The platform offers an arsenal of features and tools that streamline sales pipelines and keep track of every stage of the process. It’s great for those who rely on several types of software and spreadsheets to manage their businesses, as it merges customer information, contact forms, invoices, and many more, into one place. Its simple and intuitive interface allows users to smoothly navigate through all its resources. Additionally, the option of automating tasks and the variety of templates available show that the service has the whole package. The best part is that you can get HoneyBook for as low as $1 per month by taking advantage of the company’s occasional promotions. Moreover, with the 7-day free trial and the 60-day money-back guarantee, there’s no reason not to see what this CRM software is all about.
Widely known for offering a suite of tools that empowers teams to connect, create, and collaborate, Google Workspace has firmly established its position as a great solution for remote and on-site businesses. By providing a centralized environment where users can keep track of tasks and workflows, the provider ensures smooth operations all around. With prices starting at just $7 per user per month, opting for annual subscriptions can translate into 20% off monthly rates. Plus, testing out its full capabilities can be done without reaching for your wallet, thanks to Google Workspace’s 14-day free trial.
Semrush is one of the most popular SEO suites on the market. Although a bit pricey, the platform comes with everything you need to rank at the top of search engine results.
From keyword planning to content ideas, market research, social media management, and PPC campaigns, Semrush is your best friend for all types of digital marketing strategies. Additionally, while it can be overwhelming at first, we found the solution to be intuitive the moment you get the hang of it.
The best part is that there’s a free version with enough features for a small website to take its first steps on SEO. Plus, Best Reviews readers get an extended 14-day free trial for Semrush Pro, and all plans are protected by a 7-day money-back guarantee.
In a digital world saturated with video editing tools, it’s not easy to come up with something new and attention-grabbing, but Munch seems to have managed it. Offering an automated and fast user experience without compromising on customization, this AI video repurposing platform stands out for its effectiveness in streamlining both content creation and repurposing.
Established in 2021, Munch leverages the power of AI to create an all-in-one platform, making it a valuable asset for content creators who prioritize staying in tune with trends and marketing insights. The commitment to optimization ensures that users can produce content that resonates with their target audience, keeping up with the ever-changing online world.
With prices starting at $40.80 per month, users can benefit from a discount of up to 16.6% on the regular price by opting for longer subscriptions. Unfortunately, while creating a Munch account is free for everyone, gaining hands-on experience with the software at zero cost is only available for accounts created in the U.S.
YouMail is an award-winning company specializing in robocall blocking and innovative voicemail solutions. It eliminates unwanted spam calls by identifying and blocking them, ensuring that only important calls reach you.
It also provides other features like auto attendant and caller identification, making it a thorough call management solution. The app is available for Android and iOS, and you can manage YouMail’s settings via its browser-based online platform. Plus, it has a free version with standard call and voicemail protection. Or, if you’re investing in a paid plan, it’s worth considering annual billing, as you spend up to 25% less compared to monthly payments.
Although using the right software improves efficiency, the way your small team works is what most impacts their productivity. Thankfully, many companies have already researched how to boost their productivity, and there are several best practices you can follow to deliver a higher output with less effort.
Simplifying your surroundings is a great place to start. While project management apps help clear up your information flow, you should also declutter your working space. Only having the essentials on your desk and always keeping things in the same place is a good way to prevent losing time looking for a document or a stapler.
With everything we need to do during a day, it’s easy to think that multitasking can help you finish more tasks in a shorter period of time. But that’s not entirely true. In fact, you should avoid multitasking altogether, as our brains aren’t wired to process several tasks simultaneously. It will not only take you longer to finish both tasks, but the quality of your work will also suffer. It’s better to just do one task at a time and capitalize on your peak productivity hours. For instance, if you have several meetings you need to attend in a day, try to schedule them all in a row, giving yourself the rest of the day to focus on your to-do list.
Productivity is indeed crucial, but there are many other aspects that business owners need to worry about. From marketing to payroll and online security, small business owners need to be a jack of all trades. Fortunately, we live in an era where technology can help with less important tasks, allowing you to focus on the most essential elements of a small business, such as strategy and human capital management.
The Best Reviews team researches and tests all products first-hand. We've been reviewing products and services since 2012 and are proud to only publish human-created content.
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