Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

May 2023

Employee Monitoring for Performance Review

Are you curious about how performance evaluation can impact employee productivity and organizational success in today’s fast-paced business world? Want to know why many companies are adopting employee monitoring as a powerful tool for accurate and objective performance assessment? Stay tuned as we delve into the importance of employee monitoring for performance reviews!

20 Essential Project Management Skills Every PM Must Have

Having technical knowledge won’t cut it if you want to excel in project management. As someone who knows the field inside out, I can tell you that there are many other essential project management skills you need to master to succeed. It’s not just about planning and scheduling but also about communication, leadership, and problem-solving. In this article, I will explain the 20 essential skills you need to become an effective project manager and succeed.

Introducing the new Teamwork Desk and Custom Views

The team behind Teamwork Desk is committed to helping you provide the smoothest client communication and best customer support experience possible. That’s why we're excited to introduce a refreshed and simplified Desk, to give you a faster, sleeker experience. It’s got all the same functionality that you’re accustomed to, with a clean, modern look and layout that makes it easier to find what you need.

Accurately Convert Salary Calculator from Hourly Wage to an Annual Salary?

Calculating your salary can be complicated and time-consuming, especially when paid hourly. Hourly employees have different pay structures, including overtime, bonuses, and other incentives, which can make it challenging to determine their annual salary. However, knowing your annual salary is crucial for financial planning, budgeting, and negotiating with employers.

10 Best Free Word Processing Software in 2023

As technology advances, word processing software has become an essential tool for anyone who needs to create and edit written documents. With myriad options available, from the ubiquitous Microsoft Word to the less well-known free alternatives, it can be difficult to know which word processing software best fits your needs. In this blog, we will explore the ten best free word processing software options available.

Navigating the BPO Odyssey: Past, Present, and Future with Derek Gallimore

In this enlightening episode of the Future Workforce podcast, our host Liam Martin engages in a comprehensive conversation with the BPO maven, Derek Gallimore. They delve into the fascinating world of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, guiding listeners through a statistical journey of its performance, growth, and evolution. Beginning with a detailed look at industry-specific statistics, they paint a picture of the BPO sector's robust past and its dynamic present. The conversation further dissects profit margins in the industry, providing listeners with valuable insights into the fiscal mechanics of the BPO space.

Time Tracking Integration with Microsoft Teams: Solutions for Project Managers in Remote Teams

In today’s dynamic work landscape, project managers in remote teams face unique challenges when it comes to maximizing team. However, with the time tracking integration with Microsoft Teams, project managers have powerful tools at their disposal to overcome these challenges. In this article, we will explore the latest trends and relevant features that can help project managers in remote teams unlock their team’s full potential.

ClickUp Pricing: Is It Worth Spending in 2023?

Looking for an alternative to ClickUp pricing? While ClickUp is a great all-in-one productivity platform, it falls short on speed, mobile app capabilities, and UI aesthetics. In this in-depth guide, we will deep-dive into the ClickUp pricing plan and compare it with Nifty’s pricing model to help you make an informed decision. Let’s dive in!

10 Excellent Project Scheduling Tools for 2023

Executing projects accurately and on time is no easy feat—especially if you’re juggling tons of tasks (and/or an entire team) at once. Luckily, project scheduling software can give you the tools you need to streamline your operations, ultimately saving you tons of time and giving you full flexibility and confidence in your workflows.

How to Start a Social Media Marketing Agency

Do you want to know how to start a social media marketing agency? When it comes to social media marketing, businesses are always looking for ways to connect with their target audiences. However, many businesses don’t have the time or resources to manage their own social media campaigns. This is where social media marketing agencies can come in handy. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to start a social media marketing agency and what services you can offer your clients.

Project Management for Writers: 10 Tips to Get More Work Done

The process of writing articles and works on various topics is a creative one based on inspiration and a desire to reveal a certain issue as accurately as possible to the reader. However, the success of the activity depends not only on the author’s talent but also on his ability to organize project management properly. After all, no matter how professional you are, chaotic work on texts will not provide the desired results.

The Wrap-Up: 3 key takeaways from the 'How to Command 50-200% Higher Fees to Scale your Agency' webinar

Are you struggling to scale your agency and looking for expert advice on how to command higher fees? We recently hosted an insightful webinar with Mandy Ellefson, the CEO of Hands-Off CEO, where she shares her experiences, strategies, and tools for overcoming these challenges and creating a successful and scalable business. With a wealth of experience in helping businesses scale up, Mandy is an authority in her field and has valuable insights to share.

Self-Service Best Practices

With the advancement of technology and the increasing expectations of modern consumers, self-service options have emerged as a crucial component of effective customer support strategies. It has become important to encourage self-service for companies of any size or industry. Self-service refers to the customer support process that helps enable customers to get help on their own without contacting a support agent.

How to Build Trust in a Remote Team?

It’s easy to affirm that trust and communication are essential in any team, but is there a magic formula behind it? After all, as humans, we are constantly trying to keep ourselves safe. Therefore, building trust can be especially difficult to maintain in a remote team. In a remote team, you can’t just pop into someone’s office to ask them a question – you have to rely on tools like email, chat, and video conferencing to communicate with your colleagues and employees.

How to Prioritize Projects with Project Management Software

Ask anyone who’s shipped meaningful work and they’ll tell you the same thing: ideas are a fraction of what matters. The devil is in the execution. Execution is where you pay the real price for your projects. Time, money, and resources… projects require an investment. Which is why it’s critical you learn how to prioritize your projects. For many project managers, prioritizing projects is easier said than done.

Remote Work is a Platform

Back in the mid-90s, just as Netscape Navigator was giving us our first look at what the visual internet could be, web design came in two flavors. There was the ultra basic stuff. Text on a page, maybe a masthead graphic of some sort. Nothing sophisticated. It often looked like traditional letterhead, or a printed newsletter, but now on the screen. Interactions were few, if any, but perhaps a couple links tied a nascent site together. And there was the other extreme.

Why Our Small Business Needed Project Management Software

There’s no course in business school that teaches how to run a business with your wife. Marketing. Finance. Supply Chain. Law. Most of my business school experience taught “Business” with a capital “B” — the suit and tie variety. So, when my wife and I launched a business 10 years later, I was unprepared and uneducated on the challenges we would face.

Action Items: What They Are & How to Define Them

Action items start where the agile meeting end. Because most meetings end with variations of an enthusiastic, “Okay, team, let’s make this happen!” Cut to a day or two later when confused team members are asking each other, “What was it that we had to do? What had we discussed?” or “How do we go about it?” Well, this is what happens when you fail to document the key points in the meeting!

Free 30-60-90 Day Employee Onboarding Plan Template for Employees and Managers

Most plans are useless. A typical 5-year plan is nothing more than a collection of guesses. And when these guesses turn out to be incorrect (as guesses often are), companies are forced to choose between their original plan and what makes sense today. That said, there’s one plan that no company should ever ignore… The 30-60-90 Day Onboarding Plan.

Subordination in the Workplace. Is it Necessary or is it Outdated?

There is a great deal of debate surrounding the concept of workplace subordination. Some people believe that it is a necessary part of the workplace hierarchy, while others feel that it is no longer relevant in today’s society. Yet, if it is not that important, why are we still talking about it? The answer may lie in the fact that subordination, while it may not be as relevant as it once was, can still have a significant impact on workplace dynamics.

What's New in Asana | May 2023

Welcome to the May edition of What’s New in Asana! First, communicate with your team more clearly by adding headings, images, and tables to your comments. Next, critical path in the Timeline view lets you quickly see which tasks are crucial for completing your project. Finally, now you can duplicate existing dashboards in the “Reporting” tab for easier setup and standardization across your organization.

9 Ways to Make Hybrid Work Safer & More Productive

For business leaders, employees, professionals, and management teams across most major sectors, it’s become clear that general attitudes toward work have changed remarkably in recent years. From the rise of smart technologies, IoT devices, and advanced AI software tools to an increasingly present conversation regarding mental health and well-being in the workplace, modern hybrid work is multifaceted.

Effective management of time and budget gears up productivity for construction services

Zoho Projects promotes seamless collaboration in remote teams at a construction service company in the US. Craig Mann, manager at the company, notes that through effective tracking of work hours and allocation of budget, Zoho enables his team to do their best work.

Suddath achieves timely delivery through improved visibility across projects

Suddath, a 100-year-old moving and logistics company in the US chooses Zoho Projects to manage their projects. Paul Schuster, Vice President of Technology at Suddath talks about how Zoho has offered the company a foundational framework to manage resources, budget, and timelines.

5 types of marketing collaboration tools your team needs

Three-quarters of creative collaboration happens remotely, but waiting for feedback is the #1 problem slowing teams down. How do you make sure your marketing team stays on top of everything — and that nothing falls through the cracks? Enter collaboration tools, the marketer’s best friend. The right collaboration tools streamline your workflows, simplify communication, and manage deadlines, all while increasing transparency and accountability.

Top 7 project management apps for iOS

Gone are the days when team members only worked from behind their desks or in their cubes. Nowadays, people can work on the train, in the parking lot, at the coffee shop, and even in bed. We have mobile apps to thank for that convenience. iOS is the mobile operating system used by Apple products and the premier system for U.S. users: Apple’s U.S. market share grew to 57% in the 4th quarter of 2022.

Challenges of Entrepreneurship You Weren't Warned About

Entrepreneurship is growing. In 2021, 5.5 million small businesses were created, a million more than in 2020 and a 54% increase over 2019. As basic supply and demand often goes, there has also been an uptick in businesses designed to help entrepreneurs succeed. Which means the digital space is flooded with experts, gurus, and coaches all claiming to help you avoid the challenges of entrepreneurship. The problem? Everyone talks about the same challenges with the same solutions.

How to Write a Work Plan?

Unconsciously, since very little, we have dived through life with plans. First, our parents made plans for us, then at school, our teachers made sure we followed an academic plan to the best of our regard. Everything is planned out either by us or third parties, therefore if you want to be successful, it’s important to have a plan! A work plan is a document that outlines your goals and the steps you need to take to achieve them.

Maximizing ROI in Event Planning through Effective Project Management

You’ve probably heard phrases like making the most of going digital, handling events, affiliated marketing, event management, or project management floating around. While these terms may seem like typical trendy business language, project management is much more than that. Event planning is an exciting but complex undertaking that involves numerous moving parts and stakeholders.

Compare the best project management tools for project managers in 2022

Whiteboards are out — project management software is in. There's never been a better time for project managers to fully manage their team and projects thanks to the development of extremely useful project management software available in 2021. Because of this tech, it's now easier than ever to plan projects, schedule tasks, track milestones, and create progress reports.

The 6 best LiquidPlanner alternatives for team management

It’s frustrating when a project doesn’t go as planned — for your agency and the client. But poor project performance goes deeper than feelings of frustration; it impacts your bottom line. Research indicates that the global average for wasted investment due to poor project performance is 5.2%. This is why project management software is such a game changer. When you invest in the right software, you can up your chances of project success and increase your ROI.

8 Confluence alternatives for project planning and collaboration

Are you using Atlassian’s Confluence to keep your projects organized and progressing? If so, you're not alone. The widely-recognized tool offers plenty of features, but it’s not the only solution in town. If you need something snappier than Confluence can provide, a number of feature-rich work management software may serve your agency better.

Efficient Project Management: The Best Software and Techniques to Keep Your Team on Track

Project Management plays a crucial role in defining the success of any organization. Without proper project management, you might struggle to finish your tasks within a given deadline. Let’s try to understand the importance of efficient project management by taking the example of John, who is working as a project manager in a start-up. John’s team was working on an important project that must be completed within a tight deadline.

Busy or Overworking? How to Avoid Toxic Productivity at Work

There’s nothing wrong with being productive. It’s rewarding to smash your to-do list, especially if you have an equally busy work and family life and you need to be super-organized. But is it actually possible to be too productive? If your obsession with getting things done is damaging your well-being, then the answer is yes. This phenomenon is called toxic productivity.

7 effective project management apps for Android

Collaboration isn’t just a nice thing to cultivate. It’s vital to success in the ways we work today. CEO and technology guru Don Tapscott put it this way in a speech at Trent University: There’s no magic formula that guarantees a healthy collaborative team or workplace. It’s arguably easier to foster in person and offline, but that doesn’t jive with how many of us work today.

The benefits of business process outsourcing for digital transformation

In the post-pandemic world, digital transformation has become more relevant than ever. Shifting global attitudes and a widespread transition to remote working have meant companies need to leverage new technology to adapt to the fluidity of the modern business world and the modern workforce. For many companies undergoing a digital transformation, business process outsourcing (BPO) providers can help drive additional success.

Boosting business efficiency: The power of a productivity audit

Organizations must continually adapt and innovate in today’s fast-paced and cutthroat business world to stay ahead. Profitability, growth, and long-term viability are all directly impacted by productivity, which is a fundamental factor in corporate success. Businesses must function at peak productivity levels to produce more with the same resources and acquire a competitive edge. Productivity audits are helpful in this situation.

5 Google project management tools to fine-tune your workflows

Google Workspace has more than 3 billion users and 8 million paying customers as of 2022. You can’t have a long conversation about promoting team collaboration and sharing knowledge without mentioning Google Workspace (formerly referred to as G Suite). Its range of tools, including Google Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Gmail will help streamline your workflows and effectively manage your agency’s projects. But the one thing it’s missing is a project management tool.

From Idea to Reality: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating a Successful Proof of Concept

Imagine Jerry, an entrepreneur brimming with innovative ideas, eager to bring his latest brainchild to life. He knows he has something special, but how can he convince others of its potential and set the stage for a successful product launch? Proof of concept! The answer lies in crafting a solid proof of concept—a critical step often overlooked by aspiring innovators.

Implementing Project Expense Tracking: Why It Matters and How to Do It Right

Growth is the ultimate goal of every company, and companies grow when more projects are completed. As a result, it is extremely important to keep track of all your project expenses. Failure to track project expenses can result in overspending, and misleading financial reports, and yes, your project can fail under adverse conditions, causing you to lose your next project.

Agency Burnout: 5 key takeaways from the 'Agency burnout expert roundup'

These are just some of the comments we received in our recent agency expert roundup on the topic of burnout. We were expecting the conversation to strike a chord with those at the top of their agency game, but what we didn’t realize is just how real burnout is – and how painfully it is being felt across all sectors and job roles in the industry.

May 2023 Version Update: Roles on Quotes, Advanced Triggers and Actions

Get ready for a supercharged update! Our May version includes two high-impact improvements that give you new superpowers in Scoro – read below how to unlock the full quote-to-cash flow with role prices and set up advanced automagical workflows or notifications!

5 key takeaways from the 'The Mastering Agency Profitability Guidebook'

The life of an agency owner is a constant juggling act. Between managing client relationships, overseeing internal projects, and keeping a close eye on financials, it's unsurprising that many agency owners struggle to maintain profitability. That's why we've built a new guidebook to help you maximize your agency's financial performance.

Bring Your Team to Basecamp | Basecamp Office Hours

In this Basecamp Office Hours session (recorded live on May 4, 2023), Ashley, Laura and Kimberly from the Basecamp Customer Success team are joined by longtime Basecamp users Nathan Sykes and Dinos Papoulias. During this one-hour session, the team talks through some best practices for bringing your team to Basecamp and getting colleagues onboarded and familiar with a new system. They demo the Basecamp project management software in addition to answering questions live.

How to Open a Web Development Studio

The web! The new frontier for businesses. It has never been easier to get started in web development. You don’t need to be a tech giant or have millions of dollars to invest. All you really need is a great idea, some coding skills, and a bit of elbow grease. Starting a web development studio can be an extremely profitable business venture. However, there are a few things that you need to know to be successful. So, how do you start a web development studio?

The Wrap-Up: 5 key takeaways from the 'Mastering Agency Profitability' webinar

In a recent Teamwork webinar, we had the pleasure of hosting Megan Bowen, Chief Customer Officer at Refine Labs, for an insightful and engaging discussion on how agencies can boost profitability by establishing stronger teams, processes, and pricing strategies.

10 Best Practices for Managing Your Help Desk

Optimizing your help desk and processes is key to maximizing the satisfaction of customers. Help desk management should be a complementary process between your help desk software and your team. On one hand, your help desk should provide you with the optimal features to improve your processes. On the other hand, you should define your workflows and ensure best practices are followed. With that said, here are 10 best practices for managing your help desk and improving your support.

Tips and Ways to Measure Your Project's Impact

There are a lot of talks these days about impact measurement and how to go about it effectively. Many organizations are looking to measure the impact of their projects to assess whether they are achieving their desired outcomes. But what does it mean to measure project impact, and how do you do it? In this blog post, we will explore some tips on how to run effective impact measurement projects.

The 5 Stages of Team Development

TL;DR: Remote marketing teams have become more common, but unlike “traditional” teams that work in the same physical space, team leaders have the added responsibility of being more proactive and strategic about how they manage their teams. Understanding the five stages of team development enables you to get teams started, resolve conflicts more smoothly, share information effectively, achieve top results, and then review outcomes to keep finding ways to improve.

Call queueing: How to manage your call center call flow

There are various reasons why you may need to get in touch with a call center. Perhaps you’ve bought a faulty product and want a refund or need tech support when setting up the new conference call services you’ve recently signed up for. Think back to your last experience with a call center. Did you spend a long time on hold? Did you get connected to an agent who immediately helped with your query?

Teamwork and HubSpot Part 3: Automate, Track, and Streamline Client Communications and Requests

Welcome to Part 3 of our Teamwork + HubSpot No-Code Automations series! In this installment, we'll be diving into how to automatically generate tickets and log engagements in HubSpot when messages are posted in Teamwork. How are we making these two powerhouse tools talk? Shocker - it’s Zapier to the rescue!

10 best remote workforce management tools & software of 2023

To manage a distributed team, you need solutions for keeping everyone connected, tracking tasks and projects, and monitoring time and schedules to maximize productivity across time zones. But to choose the right remote workforce management software, you have to consider several factors, including: This article explores the top tools for managing remote employees to help your business operate more efficiently and enable your team to work better from anywhere.

Project Management Budget Tracker: Tips and Tricks to Use

Project Management Budget Tracker is a crucial tool for any project manager to keep track of expenses and ensure that the project stays within budget. The Budget Tracker helps managers to stay on top of costs and allows them to make informed decisions about where to allocate resources. It can be a daunting task to manage budgets, particularly when working on complex projects, but with the right approach and tools, it can be a breeze.

5 Features that Make nTask the Best Multiple Project Planner around

Businesses often have multiple projects that need to be managed at the same time. Managing multiple projects can be very challenging and is made more difficult when each project involves a different team, timeline and deliverables. This is why most businesses require a powerful Multiple project planner tool to help them manage all of their projects in an efficient manner.

How agencies increase contract value and drive retention

The digital agency space is more competitive than ever: the number of U.S. digital agencies has increased by 54% from 2018 to 2023. Standing out among all this competition to retain your clients and maintain (and grow) profitability is likely your top priority. How do you get the edge? With a firm understanding of your clients and some solid strategies that make your contracts more valuable and profitable.

A Review Of The 6 Best Online Timesheets Software Available Today

In today’s ever-changing world, staying on top of tasks and projects can be a challenge. Fortunately, with the advent of online timesheets software, it’s now easier than ever to stay organized and keep track of your team’s productivity. Timesheets software makes it easy to track hours worked, assign tasks, and monitor progress.

5 Productivity Tracking Software of 2023

Staying productive and organized can be a challenge, especially in the digital age. To help you stay on top of all your projects, tasks, and deadlines, we have compiled a list of the top 5 productivity tracking software of 2023. These productivity tracking software tools are designed to help streamline your workflow, keep you on track, and stay organized throughout the year. Read on to discover how each software can help you reach your goals!

The 5 Best Project Management Time Tracking Software Available Today

Project time tracking is a major concern, regardless of the shape and size of the organization. Of course, as much as managers like to liberate team members in terms of flexible work hours, there’s always an accountability factor in specific scenarios. The latter refers to deadline-oriented projects sourced through 3rd party contractors. In that order, at the time of billing, the contractor and the concerned 3rd party stakeholders need to see how many person-hours they are billed against.

The Benefits of Using a Time Card Calculator to Manage Your Work Hours

Accurate time tracking is essential for employers and employees. However, manually a time clock and calculating work hours can be a time-consuming and error-prone process. This is where a time card calculator can be a game-changer. By automating the process of tracking work hours, a time card or work hours calculator can help you save time, minimize errors, and streamline payroll processing.

10 Best Incident Management Software for 2023

Wondering what’s the secret to using incident management software? It’s a culmination of the right mindset, tools, and practices. According to Statista, these are the biggest challenges respondents face when supporting incident response processes: If you want to make the best of incident management tools, you need to start by selecting the right tool. This blog will compare the 10 best incident management software in terms of top features, pricing, G2 reviews, and more.