Inefficiency costs the world’s businesses billions every year. According to a study by market intelligence firm IDC, many businesses lose as much as 20 to 30 percent of their annual revenue as a result of inefficiencies. For example, another report by Cottrill Research found that 20 percent of the workweek is wasted by the time it takes for employees to access different sets of information.
Businesses turn to a variety of methods for increasing productivity and helping their organizations run more smoothly, but implementing new technologies can prompt the most immediate results. There are several tools that can help increase efficiency through a variety of methods including simplifying communication, improving organizational systems and automating certain business processes.
For example, according to the 2019 Kofax Intelligent Automation Benchmark Study, automation alone can have a demonstrable impact on your business. A survey of more than 300 high-level executives found that employee satisfaction consistently improved after certain job tasks were automated. Ninety-two percent of survey respondents saw improvements in employee satisfaction and 52 percent said employee satisfaction increased by 15 percent or more.
Here are 10 free and easy DIY technology tools you can implement in your business to increase efficiency today.
Calendly
Calendly helps you schedule appointments and meetings by sending invites to involved parties and setting a day and time that works best for everyone. It syncs with Outlook and Google calendar services to help you keep track of your commitments.
Due
This program is more than just a digital wallet and payment processing application. It also helps users track time spent on projects, a useful feature for billing clients but also monitoring productivity. Other features include invoicing templates and global credit card processing.
Expensify
This application takes the hassle out of preparing expense reports for reimbursement, which can often be a time drain on employees at your company. It’s also useful for smaller operations needing to keep track of expenses and income for tax purposes.
Hootsuite
This online social media management and scheduling tool helps businesses stay on top of their various social media accounts. It allows users to schedule posts across different social media accounts instead of having to spend the time to manually post updates on each account.
Hubspot
This software offers a variety of inbound marketing and sales services, but the platform’s customer relationship management application helps users easily create contact and company profiles while organizing every detail of customer communication.
MailChimp
This email and marketing management system gives users an easy way to promote their businesses online. The platform also provides users with statistics and analytics on email campaigns, allowing you to monitor user engagement, make adjustments and increase your conversion rate.
Slack
Slack has revolutionized business communications by simplifying the way organizations interact with each other. More than just an instant messaging application, features include file sharing, screen sharing, and a searchable archive to help your team work more collaboratively.
SumoMe
SumoMe is a WordPress plugin that gives users access to a variety of tools to help them grow their email list and increase traffic. The application offers email opt-in forms, a fully customizable design, social media sharing, and visitor targeting.
Trello
This productivity platform helps teams categorize project tasks and ideas. It can be used by teams to brainstorm ideas, catalog new ideas, prioritize tasks, and provide a transparent picture of project progress that is accessible company wide so all employees are kept in the loop.
Zapier
Zapier is a broad automation solution that allows users to automatically transfer information between web apps. It’s compatible with more than 1,500 applications, helping users to automate basic, but time consuming tasks.
Implementing these tools is sure to boost efficiency in your business. To further harness the power of technology and increase efficiency in your operation even further, contact Treehouse Technology Group today. We specialize in helping companies implement solutions that will grant them the greatest ROI.
