Making Work Visible

An Intro to Task Management Apps

The pandemic caused a fundamental shift in how we work.  Spending less time together in the office can make managing and organising work more challenging.

In the worst situations, issues become apparent only once problems have grown severe. Costs and timescales can be badly affected by confusion, stress and low productivity.

Fortunately in recent years there has been an explosion in task management tools, which range widely in features and complexity.

Bucket Style Board

Task management is more than a to-do list. It is tracking tasks from beginning to end, delegating subtasks to teammates, and setting deadlines to make sure projects get done on time. Task management software, offers the visibility for teams to work more productively and efficiently, and for managers to monitor progress in real time.

“Hoot & Company offers a complete solution, helping you to find the right tools but also working closely with your team to master their use.”

If you are an SME it’s unlikely you need the full rigour of complex project management software. In most cases one or more well configured task boards will provide a highly effective simple solution.  Trello is the most well know provider, however MS-Teams/Office 365 users have MS-Planner for free.  If you are looking for more advanced functionality Asana and Click Up offer more workflow functionality, and greater options of views and visuals.

Benefits include:

  • 24 hour task tracking
  • Simple digital displays
  • Productivity metrics
  • Automatic flagging of late tasks
  • Group communication by project or task
  • Integration with email and other apps
  • Clear communication of priorities

Armed with greater visibility, one can easily analyse where efforts are best placed. It's not unusual for teams to produce twice as much valuable work as before. In one case I've seen a five fold increase in productivity.

Implementation Is Key

Getting the right tools for your organisation is only part of the puzzle.  When adopting new software it’s important that people begin from a position of best practice. Just as you wouldn’t give employees a company debit card without clear rules and safeguards,

Key considerations include; how these tools will be incorporated into meetings and other IT applications, how tasks will be sized and described, where to place work within the task management software and who is responsible for updating it.

Task boards can be fantastic visual tools within meetings, assisting with prioritising, communicating aims and finding ways to improve productivity.  Visualising achievements is also great for motivation.

The right approach will save time, avoid confusion and yield the greatest success.

Solutions are often very simple. For example a 10 minute daily team meeting where people say one sentence about what they did yesterday and what they intend to do today. The team leader can check this against the task system. Without this meeting people initially forget to use the software. Assigning 10 minutes for reporting is all that’s required. This also saves time chasing people later or asking for additional reports.

Michael Broadley Profile
Michael Broadley

How I Can Help

I offer a complete solution helping you to find the right tools, but also working closely with your team to master their use.  I specialise in utilising simple tools which don’t require high technical expertise.

To get in touch please email:
michael@hootandcompany.co.uk

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