Running a business is a colossal endeavor. It requires juggling a lot of different moving parts and making sure everything is in proper working order all the time.
Without certain advents of modern technology, it could be downright impossible!
Conducting operations the old-fashioned way, without the help of online tools, can be a time-consuming and needlessly difficult task. You would have to do a lot more things in person, needing all of your employees to be in the same place at the same time, which isn’t always feasible.
Embracing the convenience of the modern age can save your employees loads of time and have your business running more smoothly than ever before.
Here are four different online tools that can help your business to run more efficiently.
1. Document Sharing Platforms
Document sharing platforms, such as Google Documents, are an integral tool for any business that processes a lot of forms that need to be seen by various employees. They are also quite useful when multiple employees need to collaborate on a single document.
Using a document sharing platform is a lot faster than sending papers by mail or fax. They even beat email due to their collaborative features. It’s so much simpler to have each employee edit the same document rather than to have several different copies floating around in their inboxes.
For sharing sensitive documents, a more security-minded sharing platform such as firmex.com would be recommended.
2. Group Messaging Apps
These are a great way for your whole team to have instant, centralized communication with each other all at once. It’s the easiest way for management to send orders and information to all of their employees at the same time.
Employees can also ask questions to their entire group of coworkers and managers when they’re not sure who exactly has the answers they’re looking for. This eliminates a lot of time wasted making individual phone calls.
One app particularly recommended for business purposes is Slack. It was designed specifically with employee management in mind and allows for conversations to be separated into convenient “channels” based on relevance. It also has built-in file sharing capabilities!
3. Online Videoconferencing Software
When not meeting in person, you would spend hours making countless individual phone calls to each member of your team, or writing endless threads of emails. You might even have to send documents in the mail and have all of your operations delayed while the post takes its time arriving.
It doesn’t have to be this way! Online video calling platforms, such as Skype and Zoom, are a useful tool for efficiently communicating face-to-face with remote employees. The videoconferencing software allows for easy group video or voice calls without the hassle of setting up a conference call on a traditional telephone.
If it is possible for your business, having most or all of your employees work remotely and use these platforms for communication can save you money on brick and mortar business space, as you won’t have to find a place to put all of these employees.
4. Appointment Scheduling Software
For an appointment-based business, online appointment scheduling software is an absolute must. It saves so much time and energy that would normally be spent juggling different timetables so that you can focus on providing quality service to your clients.
Applications like Roverd allow your clients to schedule their own appointments based on employee availability, and can even process their payments through the same software. Other websites such as Google Calendar may be appropriate for scheduling in-house employee meetings.
Conclusion
Operating a business comes with many challenges. But with the help of these simple online tools, you can make your entrepreneurial experience as streamlined and efficient as possible.
