Task prioritization plays a critical role for every business regardless of its type and size. There are multiple projects running simultaneously in a company, and keeping track of all the tasks of those projects simultaneously and meeting their respective deadlines can become difficult without the right task management system in place.
Earlier, when the automated task management system was not available, companies used to apply Eisenhower Matrix to differentiate urgent tasks from important tasks. This matrix was based on the concept invented by the 34th president of the United States - Dwight D. Eisenhower which helped businesses to prioritize tasks effectively enabling them to delegate tasks in a smart way and focus on strategic tasks that help them achieve their predetermined goals.
Example of - Eisenhower Task Prioritization Matrix
Currently, the best task management tool enables your team members to prioritize tasks accurately, manage the entire task lifecycle from start to finish and provide clear real-time visibility of every project. It also helps project managers to collaborate efficiently, control the tasks effectively and meet the deadlines confidently, resulting in ultimate customer satisfaction that leads to achieving the three most important business goals - survive, sustain, and profit.
Despite this, many companies are still reluctant with the idea of implementing a task management system as they perceive it as an expensive investment. But, the truth is that a robust task management software can help in accelerating business revenue as it keeps the team and clients on the same page, helps them navigate through the ups and downs of the project, manage resources effectively, and ensure high productivity, eventually saving time and money both.
In today's business world, task management is not merely about preparing to-do lists and setting deadlines. It is much more than that. There has been a drastic change experienced in the business working model after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now even in this post-pandemic era, we know one thing: flexible work schedules are here to stay.
As per a survey report, 41% of respondents indicated that pandemic changed the way they collaborate and communicate. Task management software played a significant role by smoothening this transition from in-person discussions to online file sharing, virtual communication & task monitoring.
(Source: State of Remote Work 2021)
Now, when most businesses are following remote and hybrid work schedules, maintaining effective collaboration has become more challenging than before. In that case, modern task management systems are helping many companies in establishing seamless connectivity within teams working from different locations and eliminating all the communication gaps relating to task allocation, progress, and deadlines as they are transitioning to the new normal.
Read on to explore the comprehensive information about the task management software and its benefits that eventually lead to explaining its essential role in meeting the primary focus of today's business model.
What is a Task Management System?
Task management is the key element of project management, and thus it is vital to ensure that every task is completed thoroughly within a specific time frame. The task management system is an application that is designed to streamline the entire task lifecycle that includes planning, analyzing, prioritizing, execution, and reporting. The task management software can provide real-time visibility over the different tasks running within the organization and render clarity over who is responsible for which tasks and when those tasks are likely to be completed. Also, it helps team members working on the same tasks to collaborate effectively, prioritize tasks, set deadlines and ensure the project is completed successfully.
Task Management Process
To elaborate this further, let's look at the key functionalities of task management software.
Key Functionalities of a Task Management Tool
You can rely on task management tools to streamline the entire task management lifecycle from planning tasks to completion.
Task Planning
Accurate task management requires precise planning. Task planning depends on the project scope, budget, timeline, and resources. A task management tool segregates the tasks into simpler jobs assigned to different resources to follow a structured and systematic approach.
Task Prioritization
Prioritizing tasks is the most important aspect of a task management tool. It allows you to prioritize tasks depending on various factors like client requirements, resource availability, and many more. This helps ensure that resources have been optimally assigned with the most critical tasks, ultimately achieving high-end customer satisfaction.
Task Assigning
Using the task management system, the project managers can assign the different tasks to the resources and monitor the status of each one of them to make sure that the projects are completed on time, and the required productivity is being achieved.
Task Tracking
Tracking the status of multiple tasks can be a struggle. Task management software can help you do that with a few clicks and taps. The task management tool allows you to search and filter tasks based on different criteria and follow the right planning for other tasks assignment and prioritization.
Task Collaboration
Collaboration among team members is essential to make a project successful. When different people are working together on the same task, it becomes vital that they are aware of every detail of the task and stay updated about the same on a real-time basis. The task management software is a centralized location easily accessible by all the team members, ensuring that they are on the same page, regardless of where they are working.
Resources Allocation
Resource allocation is one of the prime challenges that managers or team leaders face today. The time tracking software makes that easy for you. It provides all the information about the resources needed to complete the tasks and optimally allocates those resources to gain maximum efficiency.
Task Reporting
Task reporting is vital to make future decisions regarding task assigning and setting deadlines. The reports clearly show which tasks were completed on time and which ones got delayed. Based on the accurate data, the managers can make smart decisions and ensure cost-efficiencies and profitability within the business organization.
The task management software features mentioned above prove that it plays a massive part in improving the company's abilities in completing the projects successfully, even in remote and hybrid working environments. To elaborate further, let's move on to the major benefits that task management software can provide to business organizations in the current business scenario.
Technology played a major role in helping businesses to execute projects and maintain high productivity goals in remote working environments. We all are aware that the Covid-19 pandemic changed the way businesses work. Several companies are still learning to master remote working. Businesses worldwide had to rethink their strategies and approaches towards task and project management.
This pandemic brought permanent changes to the way we work. Gone are the days of face-to-face meetings in the office for discussions and collaboration. The new normal way of working includes video meetings, online document sharing, and communication through slack or skype messages. Even employees who are not tech-savvy had to learn new technologies to survive this pandemic and grow during these difficult times.
Now, even though the pandemic has significantly subsided, many employees still want to work from their homes instead of commuting to their offices. Thus, project managers and their teams need to embrace the new business model that includes a hybrid working environment wherein some employees work from the office and some from their homes or any other remote location.
It has become vital for the companies to now focus on implementing new task management methods and technologies to stay competitive and achieve success amidst changing business environments.
So, what are those effective task management methods that companies need to adopt currently to progress and stay competitive, and how can task management software help meet the primary focus of today's business model?
Let's find out.
Effective Task Management Methods to Follow Amidst Today's Business Model
Protecting Team's Health & Wellness
Completing tasks on time is essential, but protecting the team's health and wellness becomes the priority of the project managers these days. The pandemic has already taught us the importance of health & wellness. Ensuring that all the team members and stakeholders we are working with are healthy and equipped with the proper medical facilities plays a significant role in effective task management in the current scenario.
Communicating Virtually
Project managers now require managing remote and hybrid teams and spending a significant amount of time in virtual meetings with their team members and clients to complete projects on time. Video conferencing tools like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams help in clearly presenting the intricacies of the tasks, and that plays a significant role in getting projects completed quickly and efficiently.
Staying Updated with Technology
Task management in this new normal era requires adopting new technologies to strategically complete tasks saving time and costs. An advanced task management tool that enables assigning and managing tasks from a centralized location for in-office and remote team members has become a must requirement these days. The task management software can replace manual and time-consuming tasks with automation and real-time updation that benefits the organization greatly.
Being Proactive
Proactive project managers recognize how pandemic has forever changed the way we work. To lead the fierce competition prevailing these days, you need to stay updated with the latest technology and upgrade your skill-sets constantly. Regardless of the business model, every company needs to make quick decisions to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines. Good task management software helps project managers to stay updated with the current status of the tasks running within the organization and make proactive decisions.
Moving Out of Comfort Zone
Due to the changes brought in by the pandemic, the project leaders are required to implement non-traditional ways of managing tasks which sometimes may require moving out of their comfort zone. For example, many employees are not comfortable with virtual meetings, or many of them are not used to updating their task details in a task management system. But, in this competitive environment, when a digital transformation has become a must for businesses, it becomes imperative for the managers and employees to move out of their comfort zone and adapt to the new technological changes.
Finally, let's look at the 6 prominent ways task management software helps meet the primary focus of today's business model.
6 Prominent WaysTask Management Software Helps in Meeting the Primary Focus of Today's Business Model
As the pandemic subsides, project managers must rethink task management to enhance productivity and differentiate their companies from the competition. Task management software is helping companies survive in this post-pandemic era and enabling them to gain their maximum potential in terms of resources optimization and productivity.
Task management software is a must-have tool for every organization as team members working on the same project from different corners of the world are required to collaborate effectively and remain on the same page to achieve goals seamlessly.
#1 Stores Information at One Place
With the help of task management software, you can store every detailed information about the task pending, running, and completed at one centralized location, which is easily accessible to the entire team. This simplifies the project management process, leading to quick deliveries and customer satisfaction.
#2 Enables Task Prioritization
There is no guesswork around which task should be done first with task management software. The task management system allows you to differentiate the time-intensive tasks that are required to be paid attention to on a priority basis. Based on that, you can assign tasks and set deadlines to ensure that projects are managed and completed accurately.
#3 Allows Tracking Team Progress
The task management software provides clear visibility over the tasks assigned to specific team members and how much time they are completing each task. This helps differentiate the team members who are progressing and delivering better results than those who are not, enabling you to make crucial decisions relating to task assignments and team appraisals.
#4 Keeps Information at Fingertips
Regardless of where your team members are working from, task management software allows you to keep track of the task progress at your fingertips. Being able to view which tasks are in progress and how much time they will take to complete on a real-time basis helps you serve your customers better, ultimately leading to an exponential growth of the business.
#5 Improves Team Collaboration
The task management software can work as a centralized repository of knowledge shared by all the team members. Whether it is about sharing files, images, or any other information, the team members can easily access the updated versions from the location they are working from. This makes remote and hybrid working environments convenient for all the team members and enables them to deliver the best results.
#6 Eliminates the Chances of Missing Deadlines
The task management software can send reminders and notifications about the tasks nearing their deadlines, enabling team members and managers never to miss a deadline. Delivering projects within a committed time frame improves the organization's reputation and simultaneously helps businesses achieve predetermined goals.
Conclusion
The stay-at-home mandates and work-from-home situations during Covid-19 pandemic made us realize that working remotely is actually more productive than working from the office.
Implementing remote and hybrid working models has helped companies to improve productivity and retain top talent. But, to make these types of business models efficient and successful, the companies need to adopt the right technology; otherwise, this new approach can cause revenue loss for the company.
The pandemic also taught us that we need to be ready for any crisis and unexpected situations that may arise in the future. The companies need to consistently keep track of tasks and apply non-traditional ways to complete projects on time even if all the team members are not physically present in the office.
Precisely, the projects should not be impacted adversely in case employees are working from the place and time of their choice. The team collaboration should be flawless, and communication should be seamless to deliver quality projects on time regardless of the unforeseen circumstances and surrounding challenges. This is possible only with the help of innovative tools like task management software and project management systems.
If you are seeking a robust solution to manage all your tasks in a streamlined manner, go through this list of the best task management tools to make your search process easier and make smarter purchasing decisions.
