When it comes to managing your employees, your projects, your workflow… and keeping all the information organized and in the right folder, what do you consistently use? Are you using a legal practice management software for this purpose? Or are you stepping out of the practice management software arena and finding solutions in apps? Is everyone on your team engaged and active?
If there’s one thing that the new generation of workforce has in common, it’s the use of the smartphone for everything. Word processing, calendaring, texting, chatting, collaborating, multi-tasking, the former communication only device is now used for just about anything you can think of in your business. Finding the right day-to-day task software to increase your efficiency, your productivity and your profitability in your law firm may be less about tethering it to your practice software machine and more about expediting and consolidating communications.
In our company, we love Evernote and Slack, but that doesn’t mean that the literally hundreds of other options are not great! Azendoo, Fleep, Jostle, Moxtra… there are many other options for you depending on what you want to get out of your practice. The question becomes: Just what do you actually use the software for? Other than having it sit on your smartphone or tablet with the proverbial answer “well, I downloaded Evernote two years ago but didn’t have time to get into…”
Let’s take a minute and talk about the five benefits of task software we love!
1. Your team will be more organized. Want to stop misplacing things or being on the wrong page with responsibilities? Visualizing what is actually going on in your business can be a powerful option that tools like this enable you to see. Collaboration tools can be an incredibly powerful tool for you to use and enable you to take your organization to the next level.
2. Real time task management. Tired of having an outdated task list? Frustrated when your team members forget to update it? Put it in list or a chat or a workflow in any of these software tools. If your receptionist sends out the new welcome packets to your new clients she can check off that the work was done in real time so you can get the update and keep the pulse on how things are getting done in your office.
3. Stop the email madness. These tools allow you to put your whole team in one conversation. Say goodbye to miscommunication and extensive e-mail threads. Now your team can find everything they need to know in one location. No more shuffling through e-mails to find files.
4. You can share any type of document with your team at any time. Keep in mind, not all apps have the same functionality. You want to choose a tool with access to whatever information you use in your business. PDF’s, docs, videos, photos, powerpoint presentations, whatever it may be…you can share it with your team! Sometimes it is hard to attach certain documents over e-mail or they get lost in the shuffle, but these tools solve this problem.
5. Relatively low cost. The costs for most programs like these are based on users or business level. Be sure to consider the free trials available and take the time to use them. Want to learn how to use one of these for free? With Slack there is free trial for an unlimited amount of time! Why would you not want to take advantage of a free app that will make your business and team more organized? If you want to upgrade Slack you can pay a cheap $6.67 monthly, and you can receive Slack credits which will give you benefits.
Communication, project management and task delegation are a vital part to every business. Don’t wait to try these out to keep your law practice moving in the right direction because, at the end of the day, you hold the keys to your own success. Need help getting started? Let us know! You can give us a call at 850-933-5072, send us an email at yourpractice@practice42.com or fill out a contact form so we can contact you!
