Online Tools That Will Help You Run Your Business
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If you are running a business, you will know that it takes a lot. You are often feeling like you need multiple arms keeping those plates spinning. Some of these plates are big and need the utmost human attention, but others are so routine and tedious that they hardly seem worth doing at all – and yet, they are.
Luckily, we live in the digital age, where there is software and apps found online that will help you run things much smoother. There are tools that can make big tasks easier, and some that can outright take tasks off your hands. If you’re looking for ways to make running your business easier, take a look at our top picks for the best online resources.
Trello
Trello is the very best in project management. If you are overseeing a team of employees, you want them to work as fast as possible, not looking to you for what they should be doing next. That’s where Trello comes in. Although it markets itself as a “project management” platform, you can use it for day-to-day tasks that need doing. Simply create a checklist for your employees to follow and sit back and watch as their productivity goes through the roof. You can follow progress and see instantly if someone is falling behind.
On the other hand, if you do have a big project that needs done, you can use Trello to break up the project into tasks and distribute them evenly amongst your employees. There is nothing worse than feeling like someone in a group task isn’t pulling their weight (looking at you, university group project teammate), so assigning tasks to each employee will ensure that everything gets done and the work is split evenly.
LinkedIn Learning
There are lots of reasons that you might have to look into training for your employees. Maybe you have a new hire that will need to be shown the ropes, or a new skill. Maybe you have an employee that will need a new skill or qualification to gain a promotion in your company, or maybe you simply need to shake up the way things have been operating or would like to add a new skill to the team’s roster to attract new eyes.
Sooner or later, the concept is going to come up and you will be left with a choice: send the employee away on an expensive college course or hope the training VHS tapes you have in the cupboard will cover everything you need.
There is, in fact, a third option, that the internet can help you with. Remote learning has taken off in recent years. Either students are gaining entire degrees online with far reduced tuition and no dorm fees, or they can gain a few new skills on a subscription-basis with sites like LinkedIn Learning.
Being the go-to platform for all things business, it only makes sense that you not only network but train with LinkedIn. You can sign yourself, your employee, or your entire team up for a course and watch their progress as they learn. Choose from business courses like leadership skills, technological courses involving IT, or creative courses such as graphic design that can all aid your business in various ways.
OpenPhone
Over recent years, for obvious reasons, the world has had to quickly adapt to remote working. Whether it’s due to employees opting to work from home, or businesses expanding to send employees traveling while working, or even hosting regular client meetings, chances are you’ve found yourself needing a reliable business phone system.
The basics cover video and phone calls, but OpenPhone does so much more. OpenPhone is the best software for all your business call needs. Like most phone systems it operates over the internet, eliminating the need for a landline, but it also provides you with local and toll-free phone numbers to operate with. Get as many numbers as you need for you and your team, and mute calls when you are off the clock. You can call and text globally, enjoy group messaging, as well as call recording and transfer.
Plus, you can field calls that aren’t meant for you with OpenPhone’s auto attendant scripts, saving you time since customers can follow a path to the employee they are looking for.
Zest
Employee benefits are a great way of encouraging productivity. It evokes loyalty in your company and gives staff members something to work towards. Benefits can range from dental to mileage, but they can be tricky to keep track of.
Zest offers employers a new approach to handling employee benefits, with each employee given their own space within the platform for employees to assign and control benefits and bonuses. Assign benefits when you have a new hire or withdraw them when someone leaves. Change benefits as you see fit, like if an employee takes the train to work and doesn’t need a car and give bonuses if someone has done a good job on a project.
This would be an invaluable tool for your HR department to make things a lot easier in keeping your staff happy. You will promote productivity with your employees all working towards a tangible, personal goal.
Zendbox
If your company is in any way involved in ecommerce, you will need Zendbox. If you are selling products online, whether it is the main point of your business, or simply a supplementary income, you will need to ship those products to your customers. It is the often-forgotten aspect after perfecting a product and marketing a product: getting the product to the customer.
Plus, your products could be going all over the world, making them difficult to track. Should a customer contact you saying they never got their package, where are you to turn?
Zendbox offers a platform to track every shipping and delivery, integrating with all the major shipping companies, like Royal Mail, UPS, Hermes, eBay, and Amazon. Wherever you are selling from and by whatever means, you can track your packages with Zendbox and ensure that everything reaches the right people.
