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Collaboration & Productivity

The 4 best apps for team management productivity

By December 23rd, 2021No Comments
best apps for team management

Ensuring everyone and everything in a project is moving in the right direction can be overwhelming, especially when handling projects with large scopes. The slightest misstep could result in process delays, budget overruns and missed deadlines. But things get easier with the right team management software.

An effective team management app promotes collaboration, ensures accountability and most importantly, eliminates the chances of errors and saves time.

Nonetheless, with the increased demand for apps for team management, there has been a rapid rise in companies coming up everyday to launch new applications. This makes it hard to select the right one among a ton of options. This guide highlights some of the best team management apps, to help you select the ideal one depending on your needs.

What Should You Look For in a Team Management App? 

Some must-have features of a reliable mobile project management app are;

Task Sharing, Delegation and Tracking

An effective app for team management aims to make work easier for the manager. It does so by ensuring work gets planned, shared and delegated among the team members. This way the amount of time spent organizing the work is reduced and everyone can focus on accomplishing tasks and meeting deadlines.

Besides delegating tasks, you can track how far the team members are from completing the tasks and whether they are in a position to meet the set deadlines. If not, you know beforehand and can plan around it to avoid putting too much pressure on them as that could compromise the quality of their work.

Chat or Other Communication Features

A good team management app should make communication and collaboration easy. It should enhance easy remote working so the team members do not have to be in the same room to get the work done. Therefore, select one with easy-to-access and access communication features.

Visualization Boards, Kanban Boards

Most professionals love checking their progress on visualization or Kanban boards. They claim that the idea motivates and keeps them focused. They can see how far they are with their tasks, and limit the work in progress. This enhances efficiency and increases the chances of meeting deadlines. Look for a project management app with Kanban boards to help the team members focus on the right amounts of work and finish the tasks on time.

File Attachments

The right app should make it easy to add files to projects and tasks. This feature keeps everyone updated reducing lost time wasted waiting for email attachments or reuploading files again and again in different places.

Integration with Calendar

Select an app for team management that allows integration with third party applications such as calendar. Then all the tasks will be set with clear deadlines and touchpoints can be easily scheduled.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing features like Google Meet enhance collaboration and make it easy to hold virtual meetings. The tools allow you to connect with your team on video chat for touchpoint meetings. Group video calls are great to discuss ideas and share updates on tasks with the entire team, in real-time. Private 1:1’s are good to brief team members or have longer conversations regarding specific tasks.

Analytics and Reporting 

Project reporting is not the easiest task but the process is critical in understanding the team’s progress and whether you are on the right track.

Furthermore, project analytics and reporting helps the team leader to keep a close on projects’ timelines. With this, they can determine if they need to allocate more time and resources depending on how far the teams are with their tasks.

What Are the 4 Best Team Management Apps

Drag
kanban board

Rating by Capterra: 4.4
Rating by G2: 4.4

Pricing: $8 per user/month

Drag is one of the best team management apps, thanks to its amazing features and ease of use. It is the ideal option for any organization that uses Gmail. In essence Drag is a project management app for G-Suite that transforms gmail into a team management app. It becomes an all-in-one interface where you can share, delegate and monitor tasks. You do not have to switch tabs, thus minimizing chances of errors.

Even better, Drag features analytics and reporting features that lets teams analyze their progress and determine if they are on the right track. For instance you can track the amount of tasks that have moved through a workflow and set a leaderboard for your team.

The automations tool makes it possible to automate tedious tasks, thus making it easier for them to focus on other productive tasks. Additionally, because Drag works from inside your Gmail, you can automate specific email messages to get converted into tasks for your team. This is particularly useful for helpdesk.

Drag’s team management features

  • Kanban board for better tasks viewing;
  • Task sharing and delegation tools;
  • Shared inbox and email collaboration features;
  • Mobile app for board tracking on the go;
  • Automations;
  • Analytics reports on workflow and team productivity.

Pros

  • Drag has an easy-to-use interface;
  • Transforms Gmail into a team management application so you can keep it all in just one place;
  • Super affordable which makes it ideal for small firms using Gmail.

Cons

  • It requires teams to use Gmail

FunctionFox
functionfox screenshot

Rating by Capterra: 4.5
Rating by G2: 4.4

Pricing: from $5 /user/month

FunctionFox is a timesheet and project management software that is primarily designed for creatives. It is meant for companies that deal with graphic designs, multimedia, public relations and advertising.

With this application, you can monitor multiple tasks, assign jobs and manage the project’ team members remotely. The software is only advisable for small businesses due to its basic features.

The software features a standard time tracking tool and other project management features. It has multiple reporting tools that you can use on project activities, tasks and clients. You may also use it to compare financial data like project estimates and actual costs.

It also has features such as: a stopwatch timer to monitor how much time is spent on each task; PM tools that can be used to create personal calendars, share documents and define milestones.

FunctionFox’s team management features

  • Timesheets with timer;
  • Budget tracking;
  • Email alerts;
  • Reporting.

Pros

  • Enhances collaboration;
  • Ideal for remote working;
  • Allows costs estimating and tracking.

Cons

  • Can be a little hard to navigate;
  • Mostly limited to creative users.

Monday.com
monday screenshot

Rating by Capterra: 4.6
Rating by G2: 4.7

Pricing: $10/month/user

Monday.com is known for its collaboration features that make it easy for HR managers to manage their teams in a single platform. From the recruiting process to onboarding, Monday.com allows team managers to track their processes, thus saving time and eliminating chances of errors.

Instead of functioning like most project management software, Monday.com is more of a group of spreadsheets, where team members can log their tasks and update status reports. This way, team members can view the tasks that are active and which ones are in progress, making it easier for them to delegate tasks among themselves.

The application features time tracking and planning features. It is integratable with calendar, making it easy to set timelines and reminders. It allows customization of boards depending on your specific needs or what you wish to track, not to forget that teammates can share files among themselves.

Monday.com’s team management features

  • Has kanban board for easy task viewing and tracking;
  • Task assignment tools;
  • Reporting tools;
  • Features collaboration tools.

Pros

  • Reporting tools make it easy to monitor tasks progress;
  • Integratable with third party apps.

Cons

  • It has a complex interface that requires a lot of clicking;
  • It can be confusing to set up, particularly for complex projects.

Proofhub
proofhub screenshot

Rating by Capterra: 4.4
Rating by G2: 4.5

Pricing: $50/month

Proofhub helps teams to organize their tasks and track status. But it’s more tailored for firms that deal with creations, such as design work and advertisement. That’s because the app has visual tools that allow teams to discuss visual materials.

Ideally, ProofHub is suitable for teams handling projects that contain visual materials. It provides task management tools, Gantt charts, calendar, notifications and milestones setting features. Moreover, it has an in-app chat for easy communication and collaboration.

This application has a table view of tasks where you choose the tasks you want to see, sort them based on fields and rearrange them for efficiency.

Proofhub’s team management features

  • The application has collaboration tools
  • Gantt charts for a better tasks view
  • Calendar management tool
  • Commenting tools allowing users to comment on notes
  • Customizable templates

Pros

  • Has fixed pricing plan
  • The app is scalable
  • Allows customizable reports

Cons 

  • The user interface is a bit complex for beginners
  • Fewer reviewers from users

How Should You Choose the Right Team Management App?

Every team and project is different. What works for another team manager may not necessarily work well for you. Here are some steps to help you choose the most suitable team management app.

Identify Your Needs

The first and most important step towards choosing the right application is to outline your specific needs. Understand your team’s needs and the kind of solution that will ease and streamline their processes. 

Start by identifying where they currently fall in terms of productivity and any issues that could be hindering them from moving forward. Also, determine which team management methodology you wish to use, and then choose an application that suits all those needs.

The Costs

Pricing is a critical aspect when selecting any application. As much as you want to streamline the team management process, it will help to get an application that you can comfortably afford to pay for.

Take your time to compare the costs of different apps for team management. While at this, note that you mostly get what you pay for. Low cost may mean basic features. You should not expect premier features for standard rates. Therefore, the cost will again depend on your specific needs.

The Size of the Team

Team management apps are not built equally. Some are designed for use by small teams while others are made for large teams. Ensure to select an application that can accommodate all members without making anyone feel left out. It would also be best to choose one that allows flexibility as your team grows.

Features

Ensure that the features of your ideal team management app match your needs. For instance, if you wish to use the app to manage a remote team, make sure the application has tools that facilitate remote team management. It will also help to choose an app that allows collaboration, easy communication, analytics and reporting, to mention a few important features of a good team management app. 

How Shared Inboxes Can Get Your Team Collaboration to the Next Level
organizing gmail

Besides offering transparency and accountability, shared inboxes are the secret to better and seamless team collaboration. The idea helps team members support each other in responding to inquiries. If one team member is unavailable, the other one can take on the conversation from where it left.

Shared mailboxes for example, bridge the gap between emails and eliminate the need to forward emails between colleagues.  Check out the shared inbox guide to understand more on why you need to select a team management app that supports this feature. 

Take Away

Investing in a team management app is your best shot to better team management, increased efficiency and productivity. Drag is your go-to team management solution, thanks to its amazing collaboration features. Sign up to try it out today and also check out how Good Drop registered an increase in deadlines with Drag.

Try managing your team from inside your Gmail

Drag turns Gmail into your Team’s Workspace – One single place to support customers, manage tasks and close deals, from the place teams love: Gmail. We are a Techstars-backed Company, trusted by 30,000 users around the World.

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J Olof Stefenson

Author J Olof Stefenson

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