Covid-19 has had a lot of unexpected effects in the workplace. Research showed that staff were 47 percent more productive when working from home.
Yet you may want to bring your workers back into the office when it’s safe to do so. How do you make sure you can boost productivity back to remote working levels?
Read on to learn about 5 tech solutions you need.
1. Project Management Solutions
A great way to improve productivity is to use a project management app. They’re better than whiteboards since remote workers can also access them.
Break projects down into the tasks needed to complete them. Then assign specific tasks to individuals or teams. They can mark them as ‘done’ when they’re finished.
Using these apps means everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing. Workers can also see tasks not yet completed. If they finish their task early, they can help others with theirs.
Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and even a collaborative Google Sheet can help you set up a project management system.
2. Instant Messaging Apps
Many offices rely on emails to communicate. Trouble is, emails can get lost in a busy inbox. If the recipient is off sick, no one else can pick up an email sent only to them.
Instant messaging helps to ease some of these problems. It’s a less formal platform than email.
Other people from the team may be better placed to answer the question. Group chats help everyone stay up-to-date with the project.
Slack, Discord, Skype, and Microsoft Teams all offer the ability to chat within project-specific channels. With Teams and Skype, you get the added option to run video chats too.
3. Productivity Apps
As much as we love these chat apps, they’re still a distraction. Install an app that allows workers to shut off other platforms so they can get work done.
One of the best productivity hacks is also the simplest.
Give staff physical timers so they can use the Pomodoro technique. In short, they spend 25 minutes working on a task and 5 minutes resting.
Some software blocks out specific programs, like internet browsers or chat apps. Others only do this for a period of time.
When staff can work uninterrupted, they get into a ‘deep work’ mindset. They’ll produce better work in a shorter period of time.
4. Updated Hardware and Software
All the apps in the world won’t help workplace productivity if your hardware and software are outdated.
If programs take too long to load, it’s easy for attention to wander. Your staff will find other things to do while they wait. This means it takes too long to get back on task when the software finally loads.
Consider updating physical machines like desktop computers, printers, and wireless routers. Updating software can also help speed up working processes so staff can get to work faster.
Switching to cloud solutions can also help. If you’re looking to migrate to Office 365, check out this post first.
5. Dictation Software
How much time does your staff waste trying to take notes during meetings? What about turning them into something useful afterward?
With voice-to-text or dictation apps, they can turn the meetings into meaningful notes. Google Docs has a built-in dictation feature. Otter.ai is also a good choice since staff can record and transcribe directly from their phone.
This also gives them an accurate record of what was said in meetings. With fewer mistakes to correct, the quality of work will increase.
How Will You Boost Productivity in the Workplace?
These are five simple tech solutions to boost productivity in the office. Start with the hardware you use. Without decent hardware, apps, and software are useless.
Next, upgrade your software and provide timers. After that, you can experiment with the tools to see what suits your staff.
Looking for other ways to increase productivity? Check out our business articles for more tips.
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