Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

September 2023

The Growth Mindset Strategy: A Blueprint for High-Level Management

Are you looking to take your business or team management to the next level? Do you want to challenge yourself to develop a strategy to motivate and engage your staff while producing maximum results? If so, then the growth mindset strategy is for you. This article provides an in-depth look into how this approach can help high-level managers get more out of their employees and explain why it works so effectively. With a growth mindset, everyone will feel happy and supported.

The wrap-up: 5 key takeaways from the 'Time-tracking framework to keep your team engaged' webinar

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Marcel Petitpas, Co-Founder and CEO of Parakeeto, to unpick his surefire time-tracking framework for agencies. If you’re an agency leader who has ripped up your time-tracking methodology and thrown it out the proverbial window (let’s face it, who hasn’t?) then this blog is for you. Time-tracking is notoriously difficult to get right, but with Marcel’s guidance and the right tools in place, it really doesn’t have to be.

Employee utilization rate: How to calculate and improve it

Do your employees always seem to be working hard, yet their total billable hours remain low? Tracking your employee utilization rate is essential for service providers that need to optimize resources and improve profitability. Not monitoring this metric means you could be doing a lot of work without many client deliverables or billable hours to show for it. How do you calculate this rate and keep it as high as possible?

Understanding the MOCHA method in project management

If you’ve tried RACI models for clarifying responsibilities in your marketing project management efforts, did you get the results you were hoping for? For some agencies, RACI delivers incredible clarity. But others find it a little underwhelming, vague, or even confusing. Divvying up project roles into four categories (responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed) is one way to bring clarity to a project.

Disciplined Agile 101: Your comprehensive guide to DA

Does it ever feel like following an agile approach isn’t as, well, agile as it’s supposed to be? For all the advantages agile delivers, there are trade-offs. And sometimes, the framework ends up getting in the way of business agility. Some are turning to a hybrid approach in an effort to achieve better adaptability — and greater agility — throughout the delivery lifecycle. This hybrid approach is a scaled agile framework called Disciplined Agile.

The principles of lean project management

Did you know that businesses waste $1 million every 20 seconds because of poor project performance? It’s a staggering number for sure, and for growth-focused agencies especially, it’s a statistic to avoid becoming a part of. That’s where lean thinking comes into play: to help agencies avoid waste and inefficiencies and keep projects more streamlined and profitable.

6 of the best lean project management software

With a laser-like focus on eliminating waste through continuous improvement, it’s easy to see why lean project management has caught on even outside its manufacturing origins. Today, lean has become one of the leading styles of project management across software development, marketing, manufacturing, and more. Companies ranging from Intel to John Deere to Nike have implemented lean manufacturing and seen powerful results.

Boosting email conversion rates: Best practices and key metrics

The stats about email marketing ROI seem almost too good to be true: $36 for every $1 spent is a heck of a return. But results like those don’t happen simply by deciding to send a few sporadic marketing emails. They happen when you send the right emails to the right people at the right time, pushing them to the right outcomes.

How to Implement Sustainable Project Management in Your Workplace

In today’s rapidly changing world, the concept of sustainability has become more than just a buzzword. It has become a vital consideration for businesses across industries. Sustainable project management is a powerful approach that integrates environmental and social responsibility into the project lifecycle. In this article, we will explore how you can implement sustainable project management practices in your workplace, benefiting both the planet and your organization’s bottom line.

What's next for managers in the stress-free future of work

We’ve all become familiar with the phrase “unprecedented times”. You might even say it’s been overused. But if there’s one cohort in the corporate world that knows what the phrase really means, it’s managers. Remote work is booming. Demand for decentralized offices is sky-high. Good people are leaving unexpectedly. Up to 60% of employees are on the fence about their jobs or on their way to checking out.

Rethinking monitoring: A fresh approach for modern teams

For the last 40-50 years, forward-thinking organizational leaders have been working hard to reform top-down organizations into places where democracy and collaboration set the pace of progress. Employee empowerment has become non-negotiable. However, one area that has been slow to transform is employee monitoring. It’s only since Time Doctor recognized the need for employee-friendly monitoring that things really started moving in the right direction.

10 Best Note Taking Apps in 2023 (Free & Paid)

Whether you’re attending a lecture for coursework or a meeting to understand client requirements, one thing is common – you’re left to your means to process and retain large volumes of information. And unless you’re someone who can boast eidetic memory, using the best note taking apps can be a life-saving skill in classrooms and boardrooms alike. With a flood of note taking apps invading the markets, choosing one that serves your purpose can be challenging.

October 2023 Version Update: Improved Collaboration with Clients

While gearing up for bigger fall releases, which will include a brand-new project view and revenue forecasting options, our focus is on smaller updates this month. Like simplifying the Stripe setup as a continuation of our recent mission to enhance client collaboration options, and doing some behind-the-scenes technical fixes to improve Scoro’s overall performance.

AI for workforce management: Everything you need to know

The potential of AI has recently received a lot of attention in the field of workforce management. A new article or blog post on how AI is changing the way we work appears every day, making grand claims about increased productivity, accuracy, and a smarter workplace. But it can be challenging to distinguish fact from fantasy in the midst of all this excitement. So, what’s the real story behind AI in workforce management? How much of the hype is reflected in real-world applications?

Strategies for successful project management in nonprofits

Running a successful startup is like playing chess — it requires foresight, strategy, and careful planning. Before you make a move, you must consider all the possible outcomes and how your decisions will play out in the long term. The same holds true for startups. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs overlook the importance of project management in setting up for success.

Setting the stage for success: How to welcome a new employee

For many, the first day on the job feels a lot like the first day at a new school: You don’t know anyone, have no idea where anything is, or who to turn to for help. There’s a definite warm relief when a friendly face takes you under their wing to show you around and make introductions. And whether you’re the new kid at school or the new person at the office, that sense of relief applies.

An essential guide to client orientation

Pop quiz: How much of your agency’s revenue comes from clients? If you didn’t answer “all of it,” the percentage is still pretty high, right? (And if it’s not — well, we want to know your secret!) Without clients, an agency can’t continue to pay its people or keep the lights on. This reality isn’t lost on managers and CEOs, and if asked, just about every one of them will say their agency is customer-centric.

10 excellent project management tools every startup should consider

In a startup, you deal with limited resources, tight deadlines, and high expectations. Not to mention, you’re often wearing multiple hats, from visionary leader to meticulous planner. So, how do you keep your ship steady and sailing towards your goals? By finding the right project management tools. These digital lifesavers are designed to make your life easier, helping you with project planning, task management, time tracking, and workflow automation.

The role of project management in startup success

Running a successful startup is like playing chess — it requires foresight, strategy, and careful planning. Before you make a move, you must consider all the possible outcomes and how your decisions will play out in the long term. The same holds true for startups. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs overlook the importance of project management in setting up for success.

How to Implement Process Improvement Management in Your Organization

Do you want to improve your confidence at work? It’s possible, and there are several things you can do to make it happen. When you have faith in yourself and your talents, success will follow. We will discuss some tips and strategies in these blog posts for becoming more confident at work. Read on for helpful advice!

Increasing Employee Productivity: 10 Simple Strategies

It’s no secret that increasing employee productivity can positively impact your business. Did you know there are simple things you can do to increase employee productivity without spending a lot of time or money? Check out these ten simple strategies and tips below to get started. Remember, the better your employees can focus and be productive, the more successful your business. Let’s dive in!

How to Find and Hire the Right Talent with a Recruitment Strategy

Looking to hire new talent for your team but need help figuring out how to go about it? A robust recruitment strategy is crucial in finding and securing the right fit for your organization. You can ensure that the recruiting process is smooth and successful from start to finish. The article comprehensively guides finding and hiring talent with a recruitment strategy.

How "Schedule Anywhere or Schedule Everywhere" Can Help Your Working Environment

Schedule anywhere, or schedule everywhere are two popular time management that can help your working environment. By allowing employees to access their schedules online, these flexibilities can help you save time and improve productivity. In this blog post, we’ll explore how remote scheduling works and how it can benefit your business.

The Best Tips to Get Hired in 2023

As we witness how tumultuous the work environment has become, many of us are setting our sights on new job opportunities. With the job market constantly evolving, it can be difficult to know exactly what steps to take to stand out from the competition and land that dream job. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best tips to help you get hired in 2023. From perfecting your resume to acing the interview, we’ve got you covered.

The Power of Time Management Goals: How to Set Them and Achieve Success

Do you ever feel like there never seem enough hours in the day? Are you constantly trying to juggle competing tasks and obligations? It’s a common feeling, but it doesn’t have to stay that way! Setting time management goals can help you make the most of your time and reach success. This guide teaches how to set effective time management goals and achieve success. Let’s get started!

Creating a Free-Harassment Workplace

It is every employee’s right to work in a harassment-free environment. Unfortunately, many people face some form of harassment in the workplace. This can be highly damaging to both the individual and the company as a whole. Creating a zero-harassment workplace is essential for all businesses and organizations. In this article, we will discuss how to create and maintain a zero-harassment workplace. We will also cover what employees can do if they experience harassment in the workplace. Stay tuned!

Simple ways to track employee performance (+ best tools)

Is your team meeting deadlines, achieving business goals, and delivering the results you expect? With an employee performance tracking system, you can easily measure these outcomes and spot trends in your team’s activity. However, not all tracking systems are created equal. Some require much more manual oversight than others. Others employ check-ins too infrequently to support efficient change or allow for substantial improvements. So, which solution is right for your team?

Why and how to measure employee satisfaction

We all know the famous saying: “What gets measured gets managed.” But resources are finite, so you can only monitor KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) for some things in your business. You need to choose what gets measured and what gets managed wisely. This article will argue that employee satisfaction is one of the most critical metrics. And that any business looking to grow and satisfy its customers should be measuring it as a priority.

How to Hire a Web Developer: What Skills to Look For And Where to Find Them

Having a website is putting out a piece of your brand, and of course, you would want this piece to be of high quality and to run smoothly. Therefore you will want to hire the best web developer, but how do you know which one is the best for your business? There are so many skills and specialties that web developers can have! Not to mention, there are countless places you can find web developers. How do you know which one is the best for your business?

9 Project Management Software That Integrate with Xero

Xero is a technology company that provides cloud-based accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. It helps them easily manage their day-to-day financial operations by simplifying and automating financial tasks, such as invoicing, payroll, and expense tracking. Pairing good accounting software with a comprehensive project management solution is the smartest and fastest way to improve business operations.

Professional services software integrated with QuickBooks

Professional Services Automation (PSA) software enables your business to easily and accurately log time, plan client projects, and provide continuous client support. With a QuickBooks integration, you can sync data from the PSA tool easily. For example, you can generate invoices from time logged within your PSA tool, then send over those invoices right to your QuickBooks account. This way, information is easily synced between systems and your business can be paid accurately and on-time.

Maximizing Productivity with Time Doctor's Productivity Ratings

Are you looking for a way to track and improve your team's productivity? Are you looking for a powerful time management tool to skyrocket your productivity? Look no further than Time Doctor! The new feature of Time Doctor is here: Productivity Ratings. Discover how you can categorize your activities as productive, unproductive, or neutral to gain valuable insights and metrics on the performance dashboard.

Motivation or Penalty? How to Ensure Your Team Performs Well.

It can be challenging to get a team excited about their work. People are often not motivated to do things they don’t want to do. As a manager, you must find ways to motivate your team to reach their potential and produce their best work to improve team performance. This blog post will look at why motivating your team is essential and how you can do it. We’ll also explore the different types of penalties you can use to motivate those struggling to meet the target.

Hybrid work strategies: New rules for the future of work

In recent years, the concept of remote work has gained traction, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it a necessity for companies worldwide. With this drastic shift, questions about the future of work have come to the forefront. To gain insights into this evolving landscape, Liam Martin had a conversation with Dave Mastronardi, the CEO and founder of Gamestorming Group.

37signals: Live design review for "Basecamp project stacks"

In this live design review with Jason (product), Brian (product manager), and Dorin (designer), we discuss a new Basecamp feature in development that allows people to organize their projects into stacks. This design includes a round of simplification in response to a more complicated design we looked at last week (not part of this video).

Zoho Projects: Bring your team together and accomplish more

#projectmanagement #zohoprojects Zoho Projects enables visualization of your project schedule and workload with Gantt chart. With collaborative features such as social feed, audio/ video conferencing, and discussion forums, you can connect with project stakeholders in a way that's quick and easy. Project and portfolio reports and dashboard keep you in the know of project updates.

Boost Your Business with Employee Productivity Tracker

Running a business can be challenging, especially when managing employee productivity. An employee productivity tracker is one of the most effective methods to boost productivity. In this blog, you will have a list of the top 5 employee productivity tracking software in 2023 to help you make an informed decision. Furthermore, you should know the importance of clear expectations and deadlines for remote workers. This article provides tips for providing regular remote employee monitoring and feedback.

Ready to stop second-guessing your performance metrics? Here's what you can do

Most people realize this too late: personalizing your Time Doctor Productivity Ratings is the secret to evaluating your team’s performance accurately and fairly. Ratings put a value on the underlying software, channels, and information sources your team interacts with when delivering outputs and outcomes. In addition to wisely spending time on tasks that matter—how work is produced is important for your company’s cost-effectiveness.

What's New in Asana | September 2023

Welcome to the September edition of What’s New in Asana. First, add delight to your project tabs with an emoji. Put an emoji at the beginning of your project tab name to create a custom tab icon. Next, when setting a task to repeat monthly, select the “on the” option to choose which weekday the task will reoccur. Finally, create a rule to set the value of your project’s numeric or text custom field. For example, set a budget based on a task's assignee.

7 High-Income Skills to Learn

In today’s dynamic economy, individuals are seeking to acquire skills that not only provide job security but also lead to high earning potential. High-income skills are abilities that allow individuals to earn a substantial income while working for themselves or someone else. These skills are in high demand and can be learned through various channels such as online courses, mentorship, and practical experience.

9 best idle time tracking software for remote/hybrid teams

Are your remote or hybrid teams actually working during their shifts? Or are they clocking more idle time and less active time? You don’t know the answer unless you review their completed tasks or check in with them throughout the day. At Time Doctor, we understand how challenging it can be to get these answers without crossing the line into micromanagement. Over the past decade, we’ve successfully grown our own remote team to 100+ people in over 31 countries. Our solution?

What is an Agency Pricing Quadrant? @getparakeeto

In our recent webinar with agency profitability expert Marcel Petitpas, we looked at a game-changing framework—the Agency Pricing Quadrant™. It's all about making pricing decisions that fit YOUR unique circumstances. The Agency Pricing Quadrant™ helps you chart your pricing strategy. 💰Whether your services involve high or low risk and high or low value, don't let industry trends dictate your pricing model—choose what aligns with your context and business needs.

Unusual Activity Report: Boost Remote Work Accountability with AI | Time Doctor Feature

Introducing Time Doctor's new feature: the Unusual Activity Report. This innovative AI-driven tool is designed to maintain transparency and accountability in remote work settings. It analyzes keyboard and mouse activities to identify and highlight any unusual or non-standard behaviors, ensuring the protection of productivity levels. The feature is adept at detecting attempts to bypass time tracking mechanisms, such as with mouse jigglers.

OneDesk - Archiving & Auto-Archiving

Learn how to archives tickets, tasks and projects, how to view archived work, as well as automatically archive work. OneDesk combines Help Desk & Project Management software into a single application. OneDesk also includes customer-facing applications: real-time chat, customizable webforms, and a customer portal. These integrated applications allow you to serve your customers while conveniently working on your projects in one platform.

11 Best Software Development Tools To Use in 2023

On average, it takes businesses as much as nine months to build a custom software product. Engage the right developer (or team of developers) for the task and equip them with the right software development tools, and you can cut this time in half! This blend of people, processes, and technology lays the perfect foundation for breathing life into your unique idea. Once you use this recipe to beat time and realize your vision, you can easily leverage the software product as a competitive advantage!

The rise of responsible outsourcing: Boldr Impact's mission-driven approach to BPO

Remote work has become an essential part of the modern workforce, and behind the scenes, there are unsung heroes making it all possible—business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. In a recent podcast interview, Liam Martin, the co-founder of Time Doctor and Running Remote, sat down with David Sudolsky, the founder of Boldr Impact, a mission-driven BPO company, to explore the unique perspective and impact of BPO companies in the remote work landscape. Listen to the full interview here.

Skills-Based Hiring: The New Age of Recruiting

It’s hard to believe that we’re already almost halfway through the decade, but as we approach 2023, it’s important to take a look at the trends that will shape the workplace. As well, as how better you can adapt your work practices to the future! Experts agree that five key trends will have a big impact on how we work over the next few years. From advances in technology to changes in how we value work-life balance, these trends will affect every aspect of our professional lives.

10 Best Flowchart Software Tools to Use in 2023

Flowchart software makes things easier for everyone on the team. With it, you can: The catch? There are diverse types of flowchart software available today. Selecting the right one can make all the difference to your success. In this article, we will look at the 10 best free flowchart software you can try in 2023 (and beyond).

Tracking Average Cost per Hire

Tracking the average cost per hire is a crucial aspect of any organization’s recruitment process. It refers to the total amount of money spent on recruitment divided by the number of new hires. Keeping track of this cost helps companies make informed decisions and optimize their recruitment strategies. In this blog, we’ll dive into the importance of tracking the average cost per hire and how it can impact your organization’s bottom line.

Using Project Templates

Many businesses deliver services or projects for their clients which often follow a similar flow. Projects of this nature can encompass a wide variety of procedures or services such as web design projects, marketing campaigns, or onboarding procedures. Let’s take the example of a design project. The standard procedure is similar each time with tasks that include things like wireframes, mocks, prototypes. No matter the web design project, it probably includes these tasks.

CRM Sales Tools Research 2023

CRM Sales Tools Research 2023 4 min read Bitrix24 Team September 5, 2023 Last updated: September 5, 2023 We present the findings of our CRM Sales Tools 2023 Research, which combines comprehensive market analytics with our survey focused on CRM sales tools. We surveyed 1000 Bitrix24 CRM users to gain a deeper understanding of the CRM sales tools’ role in businesses.

10 Steps to a Successful Performance Appraisal Process

A Performance Appraisal Process is a system employers use to assess their employees’ job performance. The appraisal process usually happens once or twice a year, and it can help employers make decisions about things like promotions and salary increases. We will discuss ten steps to setting up a successful Performance Appraisal Process!

Macromanagement. What is it and why its not good.

Macromanagement has been a hot topic lately. But what is it, exactly? Macromanagement is the term given to the way some managers operate. They micromanage the little details while ignoring or neglecting the bigger picture. As a result, their businesses suffer. We will discuss it in this post, so read on!