Task managment in office

[GuyMor]

Hi all,

Seeking your advice regarding task management, how do you do it in your business? (we're a small business 5 employees, so not going to invest £1000s for a solution, need something realistic)

For example:

1. I'll give an employee a task, they didn't do it (for whatever reason), and won't tell me. I will forget I asked them, the forget they need to do it, 3 month pass and then we remember again...
2. I'll give my employee a task- they will do it, but forget to tell me it's done. I'm in the dark have to ask them if it was done

Appreciate any solution that works for you

 

[ffox]

Office 365. Cost as little a £5 per year per user. The SharePoint online libraries can be configured to generate tasks from events. For instance a customer emails in a supply query. The email is stored in a SharePoint Library by the recipient. Storing the mail generates a task and can also send an email to any designated individual in the organisation. The task may prompt a follow up to occur after a number of days. The task can only be completed when the follow up has been done and the action recorded in SharePoint.
Completed tasks and uncompleted tasks are in the task folder for the supervisor to monitor and chase. Tasks can be reallocated from one user to another in the event of absence.
Set up is simple and requires no coding.

 

[Ali Amjad]

I have worked with 2 startup companies up till now and have used different task management software like Trello, Redbooth, Assembla, Asana and currently I am using TaskQue. But I think if you are only 5 members then you can go with free versions of any of these software. My personal preference would be TaskQue because of its Queue feature because you just keep on entering the task in the software and allocate and segment the tasks in accordance with the job roles. So, as soon as anyone is done with their work, they know exactly what's next in store for them, so, you don't need to spend £1000 on anything, it's free. Just my two cents on the topic. Cheers.

 

[stender]

simple excel spreadsheet works for me.

 

[Thomas Harvey]

Have a look at Asana, it's got a free package which may be helpful.

It's got a small free package which may be helpful.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Outlook... simple - basic and does exactly what you want...

send an email with the task - stick a time in the calendar for when you expect the task to be completed by - stick the task in the task box...

everyone's got a reminder.

Give them a bllxing if not completed when asked...

Rinse

Repeat...



Alternatively you can set up a gmail account and do more or less the same - with internal emails

 

[STDFR33]

Until you address why jobs are not getting done, why staff are not communicating with you, and why it's months before anything comes to light, there's not much anyone can recommend.

 

[jamesbaldock]

I use Zoho Support for things like this - something that is really powerful but easy to set up.

All cloud-based so you do not need to worry about backups.

I agree with 'The Accountancy Lab' though - if things are not getting done then that's an issue but I'd suggest getting some software in place first and then there really aren't any excuses for jobs not being completed.

 

[GoingOnline]

We use MeisterTask (it's free for small teams) but I would say that unless you get people to check the tasks, mark them as done, etc... any system will be totally worthless.

And if so far they get away with not doing what they are supposed to do, or not communicating with you, it's unlikely they will remember to tick a task off, or move it to the "in progress" column.

 

[Krystsina]

We use Asana: it is a free tool that will let you manage all your team work. You can create tasks for each other, see when it was done and by whom, collect ideas in special threads, and much more other useful things. I'm absolutely not engaged with any promotion of this product, I just really love this tool as it is a part of my everyday working day, and I'm in love with its design and functionality as well

 

[Redsquid Communications]

We all use Microsoft Outlook, and it's a life-saver in terms of assigning tasks!

The way that it collects all your emails, tasks and dates into one platform makes it really easy for everyone to be able manage everything.

Also, whenever someone schedules a meeting with you, you'll get sent an email, and the date and time will automatically be set into your calendar. It means that it doesn't matter if you forget to put it in yourself.

And also, because most employees have their inbox open almost all the time, it's very difficult to avoid any reminders or notifications.

It also works really well with Office 365 software like Word and Excel. And if you own Outlook on a PC, you can also use the same account on your mobile.

If you have any questions about Outlook, feel free to ask!