Think about your business — what’s important to you? No matter your company or industry, your clients, employees, and product or service most likely come to mind. For these elements to mesh cohesively, you need a team that works together just as well. And for this to happen, you need visibility into how your employees work, how clients benefit from your product or service, and how projects are completed.
How would your work management practices change if you had more visibility into your teams? You’d likely be more informed about what’s happening, when, and you’d be more confident about how your teams are currently functioning and performing. You’d also be closer to achieving your business goals.
Many companies face the issue of not knowing how to gain visibility of their teams, or even what to do with that visibility once they have it. Read on to see how you can use visibility to gain task insights into how your teams are functioning, and how you can use them to improve teamwork across your organization.
Failure Isn’t an Option — With Modern Workforce Tools, That Is
Teamwork and communication can only go so far without modern workforce management technology. Think about the technology you’re currently using — are you arming your company and your teams with the right tools?
An operational system of record can effectively organize all of your teams’ project information in one easily accessible place. With a comprehensive, one-stop-shop system, you’ll be able to see who is doing what on any given project, the status of said project, and all reporting information clients need.
No matter your organization or industry, visibility is imperative to virtually all operations. When visibility is used to its full potential, you have everything you need to make better business decisions, save precious time, and even improve your bottom line.
To improve its business operations, U.K.-based design agency Foolproof partnered with Workfront to identify gaps in utilization and availability. With an operational system of record designed specifically for modern workforce management, Foolproof improved its bottom line and opened the door to unmatched business growth. Take a leaf out of their book and see how your organization can increase team visibility.
Reason #1: Save time.
Is most of your time spent hunting down team members to find out a project’s status? With an operational system of record, you can improve turnaround time, hit deadlines, and impress clients when you need to. With Workfront, Foolproof’s resource manager was able to save 16 hours in monthly reporting time, as well as 24 hours in weekly reporting time. What would your organization do with all that extra time?
Reason #2: Increase project visibility.
No more searching for project data — instead, all of it is there for you in your operational system of record. You can quickly and easily collect all of the project information you need for client reports. Foolproof was able to easily create customizable templates and reports for their clients with Workfront because all of the information they needed was right at their fingertips.
Reason #3: Be prepared.
No one likes to be caught unawares, especially at work. It’s not always possible to predict exactly what projects will be coming down the pipeline, but increased visibility into projects can give you a heads-up. With Workfront, Foolproof was able to accurately forecast projects within 10 percent four weeks out — and within 30 percent six weeks out. Not only does this help managers and executives see what’s coming, but it also lets team members know what is expected of them in the near future.
You’ve Got Visibility. Now What?
Having visibility into your organization’s teams is all well and good — but what do you do with it once you actually have it at your disposal? The best tools are only useful when they’re used to their full potential. Once you have the tools at your fingertips, better task insights are only a few steps away.
Once you’ve utilized tools to gain visibility, here is your action plan for using them:
Step 1: Identify gaps. Use your system to see where your company is falling short. Are projects being completed on time? Do team members know what’s expected of them? Are your teams working together productively? An operational system of record can break down silos and show you where things are lacking—but most helpfully—where things can get better.
Step 2: Improve organization. If you’re searching for ways to improve teamwork, your organization may not be in top shape. An operational system of record keeps all information in one place, so that team members know what they need to do on any given day, and managers know what’s getting done. If operations are better organized, teams are encouraged to use teamwork.
Step 3: Prioritize the right work. One thing companies realize once they gain visibility is that their priorities could use a little fine-tuning. An operational system of record shows whether these previously established priorities are working, and where edits can be made to streamline productivity and make smarter decisions.
Visibility is a simple concept. However, it’s difficult to achieve and debilitating to go without. But once you have the tools to increase visibility, valuable insights aren’t far away. The good news is that you’re steps away from extra time, more transparency, and a better bottom line. Visibility is worth it, so make sure you’re doing what you can to see your teams clearly.
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