Best Tools and Technologies for Small Businesses to Increase Productivity

Productivity within a workplace is important and as a business, you can’t afford to take a drop in productivity levels when it comes to a small business in particular. Everything you can do to boost productivity levels and ensure your business thrives with the limited resources it’s got is key.

Thankfully, as a modern business, you have a lot of tools and technology at your fingertips. In order to improve productivity levels, here are a few ways in which you can boost productivity through the tools and technologies you use for your business this year.

What Tools And Technologies To Use For The Productivity Of Small Businesses

So what tools and technologies are out there worth investing in for your small business? If you’re looking to improve your productivity levels, then here are some technologies and tools worth exploring for your business.

1- ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a great tech tool that helps to boost productivity levels in many ways. While some people have some negative opinions about ChatGPT, it has helped many to assist in research, comprehension of complex texts, as well as providing translations for non-native speakers.

With ChatGPT, there’s a lot of potential for use across many areas of the business. For example, it can help to collect data on customers, which is highly effective when it comes to making decisions to market and advertise to the customers you’re looking to attract.

2- Clockify

If you’re looking for a tool that’s helpful when it comes to tracking how you spend your time, then Clockify is a worthwhile purchase. It’s often a case that your staff will procrastinate or become distracted by the things around them. Whether that be browsing online for a new handbag or speaking to their work colleagues in the communal areas.

Apps like Clockify can be helpful for timekeeping and to ensure your staff members are being as productive as they can be when working. It can be helpful for staff to personally analyze where and how their time is spent so that they can improve upon it going forward.

3- Grammarly

Grammarly is an incredible tool that’s helpful for use when improving communications. Whether that communication is with a client over email or creating content for the purpose of marketing the business in some way, shape, or form.

From educational to promotional content, Grammarly is helpful for correcting minor or major grammar and spelling mistakes, elevating your content as a result. With fewer grammatical errors, it makes your workforce seem more professional.

Like other applications and tools within this list, Grammarly is incredibly affordable and a worthwhile add-on to desktop browsers. This feature makes it easy to scan documents and paragraphs of text automatically to correct any mistakes quickly and easily. 

4- Monday

If you’re looking for a collaborative platform for project management purposes, then an application like Monday is well worth it. Used by many project managers and founders of businesses, Monday is a simple but powerful platform that’s highly customizable. 

Boosting productivity is easy enough when you have an application like Monday available and it’s affordable enough for any sized business to make use of.

5- Slack

Slack is another great option to consider, remaining in the area of collaborative applications. This collaborative tool helps all users to stay connected, which is often hard to do in hybrid-working environments or those who work entirely remotely. 

Slack helps to foster a community within your workforce, as well as helping stay connected with clients and other external workers who you may have contracted. Slack is an effective tool worth using when it comes to aligning working schedules and calendars in general.

With Slack, you can load on many staff members without limitations, provided you pay for the right subscription. There are a lot of integrations that can be had with Slack, too, making it a great option for those who want to bring all their software and tools together.

6- Apryse 

Barcode technology is important for business operations in regard to productivity levels. For the improvement of accuracy and speed in warehouses that are trying to streamline management of inventory, etc.

With barcode SDK implemented in the warehouse or management of stock part of the business, you’ll likely notice more efficiency in this department. Not only does it help with keeping stock of everything but it’s also useful when needing to process products quicker for improved delivery efficiency.

Distribution can be a pain point for many businesses that have exceptional demands on turnaround times. With this type of barcode scanning technology, it can speed up your efforts and make servicing your customers, more efficient. 

7- Zoom

Zoom is a great platform and has shown to be highly effective during times of struggle for businesses that have had to adapt quite quickly and aggressively. The pandemic is a prime example, with many businesses finding themselves working remotely with very little warning.

As a result, platforms like Zoom were the savior required to keep businesses connected. Zoom is a platform that allows users to connect with one another, whether to check in on their peers or conduct important meetings with stakeholders worldwide.

There have been more additions to the market for video conferencing and call applications. However, Zoom is a reputable platform that many businesses rely on.

What Should You Look For In Tools And Technology For Productivity?

What should you consider when choosing tools and technologies for your small business? Here are some considerations:

A User-Friendly Interface

Software that’s easy to use is the basic requirement you should be looking for when it comes to the technology you invest in. When it’s user-friendly, it’s easy enough to understand and get to grips with.

Whether you’re proficient with technology or not, having a platform or tool that doesn’t require much onboarding is helpful.

Automation Capabilities

Automation is a highly beneficial type of machine-learning technology. If you’re looking for new tools and software to utilize for your business, then looking out for any that have automation as part of their features is key.

With automation, you get a lot more productivity out of the business by having this readily available.

Integration of Third-Party Tools

Third-party tools that can be easily integrated to the software you use is extremely helpful. The more you’re able to streamline the applications and tools you use, the easier it all becomes when you house it all under one roof.

Productivity tools will typically come with a feature that helps you integrate all of your tools in one place.

Scalability

When you invest your money into tools and software, no matter how costly it might be, it’s important to consider scalability. Can the tool or software scale along with the growth of the business or might you need to find something else a little further down the line?

Any tool that you do buy, should be one that can adapt to the growth, however little or much progress is made by your small business.

Analytics

Finally, make sure there’s some form of analytics as part of your app or tool. This will help you make better decisions about your productivity for the purpose of improvement. Data is a powerful asset for any business to have, which is why analytics can prove useful for the purpose of learning more as a company.

Look for platforms that offer analytical features, even if it’s only basic information that’s available.

Additional Tips For Boosting Productivity For Your Small Business

There are lots of other ways where you can boost productivity for your small business. Here are a few suggestions that might help:

• Reduce the number of meetings – Try to whittle down the amount of meetings you have on a weekly basis. This will help allocate time more effectively.
• Encourage professional development – Investing in your employees is important and can prove very effective if done properly. Make sure to spend the money on staff training where possible.
• Avoid micromanaging – Managers or owners who micromanage will be sabotaging their own efforts and the efforts of staff members to be more productive.
• Provide flexible working – Flexible working can prove highly effective, especially if you’re giving staff the ability to work varied hours or the opportunity to work from home.

The world of business is forever changing and evolving. A lot of that is down to technology and tools that are being used proactively for the purpose of productivity. With that being said, look at the ways you can boost productivity by using the above tips and tricks. 

Final Thoughts

These tools and technologies for small business mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg of what’s available. No doubt, more tools and applications will appear on the market as time goes on. With that being said, find the tools out there that might be worth taking advantage of for your business this year and beyond.