No matter how big or small your business is, it can be a challenge to keep everything and everyone organized. Even if it seems unnecessary in the moment, it is best to set standards and start making use of tools while your business is still small, so expansion and growth are more seamless. Here are some of the most useful organizational tools and technologies to help keep your business moving in the right direction.
Best for Virtual To-Do Lists: Asana
Asana is a great way to organize to-do lists both for yourself, and for others throughout your organization. Within Asana, you can categorize tasks under subheadings, and then invite various team members to each set of tasks. You can create both one-time and recurring tasks. Once a task is finished, a team member can mark it as complete. Asana can be very helpful in visualizing the tasks that have been completed, those that still need to be done, and managing tasks within each category. It allows for efficient collaboration, and prevents multiple team members from wasting time by completing the same activity.
Best for Communication: Slack
Slack is a great tool to use to keep the lines of communication open within your organization. Whether your company works together in an office, or works remotely, digital communication is always a must. There are tons of ways to communicate digitally, and each has their pros and cons: While email is professional and easy to keep organized, it can be slow; while text messaging is instantaneous, it can be harder to keep track of conversations.
Slack brings together the best of both worlds, with a platform for instant communication that still offers plenty of ways to stay organized. Within your organization on Slack, you can create different channels for different purposes, along with private messaging capabilities for one-on-one conversations. Channels can be created specifically for socializing, so that other channels with important business information don’t get clogged up. Slack is a great way to keep your company connected, but still organized and efficient.
Best for Assigning Tasks: Trello
When managers or others within your organization need to assign tasks to employees, they should turn to Trello. Trello boards can be organized into categories, and then cards can be added under each relevant category with tasks that need to be done. Each card can be assigned to one, or many, individuals. That way, employees can check the Trello board and know exactly what tasks they are expected to complete. Once a task is done, the card can be archived to clear space for the next set of tasks. The color-coding and sorting capabilities help Trello be a great way for employees to visualize their workload, and keep tasks organized by order of importance as well.
Best Catch-All: Google Workspace
Finally, while it may not offer the most advanced capabilities in any one area, Google Workspace offers an incredibly wide range of tools. There is value in having almost all aspects of your workflow together in one program. With Google, you can create and share documents, organize important materials in Drive, communicate through email, chat, or video calls, and share calendars all in one place. Google Workspace is low-cost, it is relatively user-friendly, and it brings together many of the best parts of other tools and softwares all in one place. Depending on the size of your business and your exact needs, it is likely that Google Workspace could be a valuable tool for your team members to make use of to collaborate and stay in touch. All of the above can help your business run more smoothly. Making use of the tools that are out there is a great way to keep your business organized and efficient, and help minimize the growing pains you’ll feel as you expand.
