12 Productivity Apps for Business in 2020

12 Productivity Apps For Business In 2020

Implementing remote work is not a new concept. Many companies have adopted the work-from-home setup for years. However, the situation that the COVID-19 pandemic brought has led to an increase in the number of business entities that shifted to this. Because of the unexpected circumstances, there was a need to make significant changes within a short period. While it helped in continuing the operations of many businesses, some companies have found remote team management challenging.

The Challenges for Remote Team Management

Maintaining the productivity of employees is crucial to attaining business success. But due to lack of experience, some companies find it difficult. Here are some of the challenges that come with remote team management:

  • Tracking Employee Productivity
  • Maintaining Company Culture
  • Ensuring Effective Communication
  • Finding New Employees Fit For The Team
  • Promoting Work-Life Balance

Utilizing Productivity Apps

Technological advancements have helped make a lot of things easier for us. That is true for managing a team as well. With the right tools, employees can maximize their output while minimizing the chances of burning out. At the same time, they help companies ensure the team’s efficiency and productivity.

Here are 12 apps companies can use in 2020:

  1. Slack – Despite its name, this app helps boost team efficiency. It offers various functions such as sharing documents, video calling, messaging, assigning tasks, and monitoring task progression. It also provides chat rooms where teams can share announcements and participate in discussions. Having informal conversations is also possible. Additionally, Slack allows the integration of various social media channels. 
  1. Trello – This tool is suitable for process-based tasks. It includes the creation of boards and inputting different tasks in between steps. It helps companies keep track of where employees are in the process. It is also possible to set priorities for each task. Companies can easily attach documents, type messages, and assign work. 
  1. Asana – With this, teams can create projects, set various goals, and come up with a schedule. Task management is also made easy with Asana as it allows the creation of different boards for shifting tasks as the team completes them. Team members can communicate in threads under every task. This tool also lets companies integrate it with other workplace apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams among others.
  1. Basecamp – This is a communication tool that helps with project management. Each project has different sections wherein teams can manage processes. These sections include a to-do list, schedule, message board, chat feature, and a place to save files.
  1. OneNote – This app from Microsoft is excellent for note-taking. It helps companies that need a single place where they can compile a lot of information on a wide range of projects. The layout of this app makes it easier to break topics or projects into separate notebooks.
  1. Lucid Chart – This online diagram tool allows companies to easily create charts, concept maps, and diagrams. With its tagging feature, team collaboration is also possible.
  1. Monday.com – This app allows teams to plan, track, and deliver tasks in one workspace. It also gives access to real-time updates on each activity. Teams can create a timeline for every project and store documents related to it.
  1. MeisterTask – This tool is not only good for an individual but is also helpful in ensuring team productivity. Companies can create visual project boards, invite team members, and collaborate with other employees in real time.
  1. Todoist – This app can help in managing personal matters, but its business version is suitable for teams. It is easy to assign tasks, set deadlines, and add details with it to ensure that everyone is on the same page. It also has visualization tools that show the progress of each project that the team is working on.
  1. Zapier – With Zapier, teams can integrate automation into various apps. Because of this, users can receive, notify, share, and save information from different apps that the company uses. Syncing all productivity apps can help employees quickly create workflows and monitor progress across different platforms.
  1. Toggl – This app allows companies to monitor employee productivity. It keeps a record of the time a team member spends on a task. It also allows users to adjust timetables.
  1. Microsoft Teams – Generally, Microsoft Teams is similar to Slack, but it also allows integration with Microsoft Office features. If the company has Office 365 and its team members are heavy users of productivity apps, then this tool may be helpful. It also allows real-time chats.

Remote team management can be hard. But with the help of the right tools, companies can ensure employee productivity, which can help in attaining the goals of the business.