TOP 8 Trending Business Tools to Improve Employees’ Productivity

The COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head upon the world. This virus blanketed the globe with its contagious symptoms, forcing organizations in different industries to move to a ‘Work-from-Home’ setup. Times might be difficult, but it might be possible for businesses to survive through this pandemic. 

Best 8 Trending Business Tools While Working Remotely

Hence, here are eight new business tools you should use to ensure productivity even while working remotely.  

1. Ringless Voicemail

Ringless Voicemail tends to work like regular voicemail but without making the user’s phone ring. 

Sending ringless voicemails allows businesses to send messages straight to a dedicated voicemail server. Thus, this non-invasive marketing approach may yield promising results since you or your marketers won’t intrude on your leads or customers’ valuable time. 

But, you might wonder, how much do ringless voicemails cost? Many services require a monthly subscription fee for unlimited messages. But you may also opt for a service that provides a pricing structure that lets you pay for each message sent. 

For example, you might be a proud owner of a startup firm when the pandemic hits. So, your business might not have enough funds for a large-scale marketing operation. If this is the case, you can consider using a ringless voicemail service that only charges you per message sent. Perhaps that service only charges you with USD$0.099 per voicemail sent. Hence, you only need to pay USD$9.90 for the entire marketing operation.   

2. Mass Texting

Another way to market your services during this pandemic is through mass texting. You can use a service like the Mass Text App to advertise your products and services to your target audience. Similar to a ringless voicemail, sending bulk text messages is relatively inexpensive, making this marketing tool ideal for businesses without a significant amount of cash in their capitals. 

You should opt for reliable services and software that provides their customers with a ‘cost per message’ pricing structure. For example, you need to send 1,000 texts about a new promotion from your store. Now, if each text sent costs USD 0.015, you only need to pay a total of USD 15 for the entire text blast. 

Note that mass text messaging is quite a popular marketing tool today because of its ease and convenience. You can use reliable bulk messaging tools for marketing a product or service through text messages to as many people as possible. 

Many businesses use this marketing tool because it allows them to easily communicate with potential customers. But what makes mass text messaging different from other marketing practices?

Perhaps you might compare mass texting to email marketing. After all, you’re still going to send messages to a person’s device. But, in email marketing, you need to study your company’s demographics before you make your final decision. 

Also, you might target more sales leads with mass text messaging than email marketing. This is because it’s relatively easier to receive text messages than emails, even with the help of smartphones. 

Note that you only need a cell service provider to receive text messages. Conversely, you need a stable mobile Internet connection before you can receive emails on your phone. 

3. Calendar and Scheduling

Working from home can be both a blessing and a curse. When you were working in the confines of your business establishment’s walls, several restrictions might be in place. Hence, it can be highly challenging to procrastinate in that environment. 

On the other hand, your home has all the amenities and luxuries that constantly call out to you to procrastinate. The lure of stopping work and then wasting time doing other non-productive things can be difficult to resist while you’re at the comforts of home. 

Hence, you should use a reliable calendar and scheduling app to keep track of your daily, weekly, and monthly appointments and deadlines. You have several calendar apps to choose from the Internet, many of which can sync with your desktop or laptop PC with your smartphone. 

For instance, the Google Calendar web app can sync with the mobile app of the same name. Hence, if you set a schedule using your PC, the information will automatically reflect on your mobile device. However, this syncing might not work if you’re using different Google accounts on your PC and phone. 

Calendar and scheduling apps allow you to keep a clear record of all the information you need and when you need them. Thus, it’s a useful tool, especially if you’re trying to stay organized during this pandemic.

4. In-house Communication

The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily removed the days of walking up to a colleague to talk about current and future projects. Now, you and your staff members are probably stuck at home while working on several tasks. 

Remember, communication is still an integral part of relatively any business’ survival and growth. Hence, to keep tasks running as smoothly as possible, maintain proper in-house communication during this pandemic.

Use business communication tools, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Skype, to properly and efficiently convey messages between team members. You can also set up groups to ensure everyone within a particular project captures relevant information regarding the tasks at hand. 

5. Cybersecurity

Don’t disregard online threats simply because you’re working from home. Always keep in mind that cybersecurity is a very important aspect for any business, especially for those with an online presence. 

Many organizations have already fallen prey to the hands of hackers as these illicit individuals gained access to company networks and stole sensitive information. What does this entail for your business? 

For example, cyber attackers steal sensitive customer data, which might include bank and credit card details. Therefore, you should have strong cybersecurity protocols and software in place. 

If your business falls victim to hackers, your organization might slip into a state of chaos. Imagine your workforce scrambling to keep business protocols in order because of the cyberattack. While your company is trying to save itself from drowning, your competitors are snatching leads away. 

Failure to rectify the situation may lead to your business, closing its doors permanently. Avoid this tragic event from happening by ensuring your business and home Internet network has strong cybersecurity programs running efficiently. 

6. Sales

It might be challenging to create and record sales conversions at home, particularly if you’re working in a new environment rather than your office inside your business’ establishment. But you can still take advantage of several sales tools to ensure your business remains productive during the pandemic.  

For example, you may take advantage of an online web app to keep track of sales going through your company’s website. But which web app to use? Consider using a site that helps you identify which offers the highest conversion rate. 

Note that there’s no universal rule to determine which sites are the most effective. Keep in mind that each business has unique sales requirements. Hence, you should seek an app that syncs with your preferences and qualifications. 

7. Project Tracking

In a business setting, particularly in an establishment, it’s quite easy to walk up to a colleague to ask about their progress for a specific project. But the pandemic made it more challenging than usual to consult with team members. 

Nonetheless, collaborating with teammates about tasks is not an impossible feat with the right business tools. Use project management software to keep track of projects that you and your team are undertaking and will undertake. 

Project tracking apps are also useful for managers since these programs keep track of employee productivity. If you’re a project manager, you’d always want to ensure that all project-related activities complete on time and within the allotted budget. Without the right software, it can be tougher than average to keep track of each team member’s progress.

8. Health

Just because everyone in your business is working from home, it doesn’t mean they’re immune from illnesses. Staying at home while ensuring business productivity might still leave some employees vulnerable to certain illnesses, especially the COVID-19 virus. 

Hence, don’t forget about the importance of health in business, despite most, if not all, workers are working remotely. You can let your colleagues download health-tracking apps on their computers and smartphones. 

For example, you might use a calorie-tracking web app to ensure you’re not going to get overweight during the pandemic. Consequently, some of your staff members might want to use a focus mobile app, particularly one that uses the Pomodoro technique. This focusing technique allows users to concentrate on one task for a specific period, which might take about 25 minutes. Then, that individual will rest for five minutes before resuming work. 

Remember, rest is still an integral component of staying productive. You can’t expect your employees to work to their cores when their tasks become detrimental to their well-being. Letting your workforce use a Pomodoro app gives them a quick break after each focusing period. 

This quick yet relatively effective way to acquire a moment’s reprieve helps refresh the mind, allowing the person to concentrate more on their tasks during focusing periods. 

Wrapping Up

To ensure business productivity and health during the COVID-19 pandemic, use the right business tools. On a positive note like many other illnesses, this virus, which affected different industries, the world will overcome it. Hence, even though these times are quite trying, using the right hardware and software will help your company survive and perhaps even thrive during the pandemic.