As a business manager, you’re aware of the importance of keeping your team focused, on track, and productive. You also know how hectic and overwhelming it can be to stay on top of all the tasks, projects, and responsibilities that come with running a team or a department. That’s where a work management system comes in – to make all those challenges manageable for your organization.
But what exactly is the objective of a work management system? And how can it help your business thrive? Let’s take a closer look.
The Objective of a Work Management System
At its core, the objective of a work management system is to help you and your team work smarter, not harder. It’s about streamlining your work and processes and managing work at scale more effectively. Work management systems can also ensure that work is executed with higher degrees of control and security. This helps enterprises better meet regulations and mitigates risk. At the end of the day, work management systems are technology designed to drive better business performance.
Streamline Work Processes
A work management system is designed to make your operation run smoother and more efficiently. By doing this, you can confidently cut out wasted steps or redundant processes so that the same amount of work gets done in less time or its simply done in a much more effective way.
Many work management systems provide automation capabilities that help you take mundane and repetitive tasks off someone’s desk. This allows your employees the opportunity to work on higher value activities and it helps drive greater employee satisfaction.
Work management systems allow you set up automated processes using rules, triggers and other dependencies such as dates, approvals and actions completed. Automation offers a more secure way of doing work, drives greater productivity and moves risky activities out of email and spreadsheets.
For instance, you could set an automation process to generate and send approval documents to key management personnel for completing a capital expenditure request. Or automatically schedule and send reminder emails to team members for any upcoming task or action items that need to be completed.
Reduce Confusion and Misunderstandings
As businesses evolve, processes and workflows inevitably become increasingly more complex, and keeping track of all the moving pieces can become challenging. Employees might find they are working on the same task simultaneously and unnecessarily or that they are not clear on who is in charge of what activity.
It gets even more confusing when remote work enters the mix and teams are scattered across the globe.
A work management system serves as a central hub for everyone where true work orchestration, execution, and collaboration occurs. It provides teams with a centralized console and work platform where tasks and responsibilities can be managed, monitored, and acted upon. Visibility into when tasks need to be done, who is in charge, and how progress is going is the cornerstone of automation technology. What once was only manageable with spreadsheets and emails is now elevated to a point where transparency is no longer an issue. Everyone can stay up-to-date with work, task, or process changes in real time.
Improve Communication and Collaboration
In addition to dispelling misunderstandings and confusion, a work management solution can also foster better communication and collaboration within your team.
Working together on all aspects of work is made simpler when everyone has access to the same documents, resources, and progress updates in one central hub – as defined by permissions and dependencies in the automated workflow. This eliminates the need for switching between emails, chats, or messaging apps as it’s all contained within one platform – so you get improved communication and work execution with minimal hassle.
Reduce Errors and Mistakes
Even the most diligent of workers make mistakes from time to time, and while they might blame it on overworked brains and exhaustion, sometimes the business tools in place to enable better execution of work are the root cause of errors.
A well-implemented work management system, while not a panacea, can mitigate mistakes in several ways.
Often it’s not the high-level task that causes the most errors; it’s the tedious, repetitive work, such as data entry or manual process management, that cause the most heartache. This is where automation comes into play. By automating mundane tasks, you can improve a company’s operation and likely see an uptick in employee productivity and morale.
Having guidelines, templates, and clear instructions within the automation platform also help team members complete their tasks with accuracy and fewer mistakes.
A work management solution also makes it much easier to track progress and identify potential issues on the horizon. With this data in hand, you can take action and preempt any possible mistakes or even plan out contingencies in case something does go wrong.
Increase Productivity
Picture two scenarios. Team A uses a work management solution, while team B does not.
Team A can prioritize their tasks and focus on the most important ones first. They are able to assign tasks to the appropriate team members based on their skills and availability. They can also track progress and identify potential issues early on, allowing them to course-correct and stay on track.
How about team B? Team B is struggling to keep up. They are constantly firefighting, reacting to problems as they arise instead of proactively addressing them. They also struggle to prioritize their tasks and waste time on less important tasks.
As a result, team A completes tasks faster and more efficiently, while team B is constantly falling behind. Team A gets more done in less time, while team B is constantly feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
It’s clear that work management systems can increase productivity by helping teams prioritize tasks, assign tasks to the right people, and track progress.
Gain Valuable Insights and Data
Work management systems often come with powerful reporting and analytics tools that allow businesses to track and analyze data about their workflows and processes in real time. Businesses can not only make data-driven decisions to optimize existing processes but also use the insights gained to make smarter decisions for future efforts.
Achieving Consistency and Compliance
In today’s highly regulated business environment, companies must adhere to specific standards or else incur costly penalties or legal ramifications.
Establishing standardized processes ensures that all employees are working according to the same guidance and rules, thus increasing compliance across the board.
Work management systems can also help businesses track and monitor compliance with relevant regulations or industry standards. For example, a company might use a work management system to track the completion of required training or ensure that all team members follow the correct procedures for handling sensitive data.
Final Thoughts
To use a nautical analogy, as a business leader, you are like a ship’s captain navigating the complex waters of running a business. Rather than sailing blindly, a work management platform can act as your navigation tool, helping you steer the course and get the most from your team’s efforts.
It can help ensure that no task gets left behind, that jobs are done efficiently and with fewer errors, and that everyone is aware of their responsibilities. The benefits are clear – improved productivity, better compliance, and more data-driven decisions for long-term success.