Whatever type of business you run, and whether it’s a start-up or a large enterprise, improving efficiency and productivity is sure to be top of your Christmas wish list this year.
But you don’t need to wait for a Christmas miracle: there are plenty of things you can do and tools to deploy that will make a real difference today – and most are much more cost-effective than you might think!
So, without further ado, here are the things to consider bringing on board to make 2023 your most profitable year yet.
A Great CRM Platform
CRM (customer relationship management) software could make all your business dreams come true! This powerful tool makes managing your customers’ information and potential lead details effortless and can take some of the weight off your customer service department in the process.
Look for software that’ll allow you and your team to view the entire sales pipeline in real-time and track where clients are in the timeline. An option like Monday CRM can unite all your customer data in a single board and allows you to capture user data from embedded web forms and direct this information into the platform, helping everything run seamlessly. Centralizing all your customer communications both builds a better rapport with your client base and makes for smarter working.
Many CRMs also offer plenty of opportunities to boost collaboration by, for example, giving different departments and teams better ways to work together and a single platform to communicate, share files and folders, and work on assignments.
This, along with the multitude of integrations, means you can save time and money and – crucially – build better relationships with your customers and prioritize the leads that matter most.
Deploy Intranet Software
Introducing an intranet to your business can have many benefits, including the new and improved means of communication it offers! Intranets help team members to stay on top of important announcements, events, and business-wide meetings and forums, and can also operate as a social space to help your team become closer and keep morale high.
Using an intranet eliminates the hassle of printing and circulating a slew of memos and ensures everyone has access to the information they need – meaning fewer missed meetings and the need to send multiple messages to ensure everyone gets the message loud and clear.
Get all your employees working together and aligned with the same set of goals – and feel more in the loop, too, by deploying a company-wide intranet.
Task Management Tools
Using a task management app or platform is an excellent way to amp up transparency, boost communication, and ensure tasks are completed efficiently. A good task management tool will allow you to set, amend, and keep track of tasks in real-time and also allows your team to view who’s doing what and task interdependencies, thereby preventing confusion and the possibility of work duplication. Everyone will be able to identify points at which there’s a logjam (or the potential for one) and take necessary action to avoid it and keep the work flowing smoothly.
Both the manager and the team can send updates, comments, and more, regarding the task via the platform so that any issues can be resolved quickly.
Live Chat Software
Emailing can seem slow and clunky when you need to send a super quick internal message or want a quick-response answer. Increasingly, businesses are deploying live chat software to help with communication and reduce wasted time.
Dealing with a perpetually jam-packed inbox is time-consuming: live chat can drastically reduce the number of emails hitting your (and staff members’) inbox and solve that irritating sense of email overload.
Collaboration Platforms
In this age of hybrid or fully remote teams, a top-notch collaboration platform is vital to keep productivity levels optimum. Look for a platform that offers document sharing, supports video meetings, and includes plenty of tools to aid collaborative work – an option with lots of integrations is a great call to streamline workflow even further.
When choosing a collaboration platform, it may be a good idea to consider one highly customizable so that each team can use it in the way that best promotes productivity.
Innovative Email Clients
And finally, you may not give too much thought to your business email client – new, highly-innovative email platforms, however, offer loads of scope to increase the efficiency and productivity of your team. Priority inboxes, for example, allow your team members to focus on important tasks without being distracted by non-urgent messages pinging in while also ensuring that no missive falls through the cracks.
Your business could benefit from an email client offering in-app video conferencing and voice messaging, so conversations can flow more naturally without switching screens or apps. Look for a client that also provides, as above, plenty of integrations, boasts dynamic, shareable calendars, and has an advanced search facility.
The Takeaway
Excellent communication is often the cornerstone of a team working productively, efficiently, and firing on all cylinders. In their very different ways, all the ideas above are designed to enhance and support team communication, raise morale, and create a happy and fulfilled workforce.