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Increase Productivity in the Workplace With These Great Apps

By Peter Davidson posted 10-06-2014 06:55

  

Today's advanced technology enables us to some amazing things, but it also serves to provide plenty of distractions. In the workplace, distraction leads to a decrease in productivity and possibly a lack in communication. This, subsequently, leads to mistakes, incomplete projects, missed deadlines, and other issues that can be detrimental to a business.

Thankfully, not all technology is distracting, and some of it is especially useful in the office, helping to increase productivity and allow co-workers, departments and team members to work more efficiently together. Many business analysts say the key factor in increased productivity is effective communication, especially when several team members are involved on one project. So the following list focuses on some of the top communication apps available for team members to stay in constant communication with each and better achieve their goals and complete projects.

Some have been around for a while and may be easily recognized, and possibly already in use at your company. Others are relatively new but already a popular choice due to their high functionality and excellent features. Read through the list and decide for yourself which app or apps are best for you and your team members.

 

Gmail

Seriously, who isn't using Gmail these days? It's obviously so much more than just an email application. Even if your company has its own internal email infrastructure, chances are you might have an alternate Gmail address, simply for the added functionality and features provided in this great email program, as well as the integration with many other Google products and platforms. From sharing documents to organizing calendars, using Gmail is like opening a window to increased productivity. You can also use Gmail to communicate with contacts without actually sending an email, sort of like an instant messenger app. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

 

UberConference

If Gmail is the ultimate email app, then UberConference is the ultimate online meeting app. Meet with just a few team members, or hold a conference with potentially hundreds across the world, all on an easy to use yet very advanced online conference meeting app. UberConference also stands out from many other meeting apps due to many features that other apps just don't have or may want you to pay extra for. The free app is definitely worth checking out, if at the very least you only use it to communicate better with a  team or hold presentations, share documents and other business functions, but when you want to make a presentation to many, UberConference really shines.

 

Twitter

You probably weren't expecting to see Twitter on this list, but believe it or not, it can be a great way to quickly communicate with other co-workers and provide status updates on projects, meeting times, and other business-related things. And of course, it’s a great way to promote new products, services and major announcements to clients and customers.

 

Yammer

If you are worried that Twitter might prove too distracting for some of your co-workers and employees, you might want to give Yammer a try instead. It's very similar to Twitter, yet made specifically for internal company communications, so there will be no worry about distractions from the remainder of the Twitterverse outside the office.

 

Google Chat

One of those additional apps that can also be accessed through Gmail, Google Chat is essentially a nifty chat program, but it also enables users to conduct video and voice calls with others. One useful feature of Google Chat is the ability to save chat logs for later review and reference.

 

Basecamp

A great app for managing multiple projects with multiple team members. Basecamp can be used to post and assign projects to team members, post updates about progress, share documents and files, and improve management of projects overall.

 

Chatter

The easy to learn interface in Chatter is similar to Facebook, but the platform is solely intended for internal business use. It's a great way to communicate with other employees in the office and share information. It's become a very popular choice for internal business communication amongst employees, eliminating the need for emails, phone calls, etc.

 

Teambox

Teambox app is a combination of a messaging app and a project management app. Combining the two concepts seems like a natural move, because now it's easier to communicate about a specific project as well as make changes to the overall status of the project without requiring two different apps for all users involved.

While not all of the above apps might be needed for every company, many of them can be tried for free, such as UberConference. Takes some time to try them out and see which ones work best for your company goals and work to improve productivity amongst your team members and in the office overall.



#workplace #Collaboration #apps #productivity
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