One of the simplest ways of helping team members undertake certain tasks is by having the right workflow management tools and practices for them to follow.
Years ago, workflow management was created using Excel spreadsheets or Word documents. Some of you may even remember Visio (don’t laugh, I still use this program a lot). Each file would be allocated a number more often than not it was sequential before saving and printing and then placing in a procedure folder to use as a reference guide for how to undertake certain tasks within the business. Fast forward to 2021, and for online businesses and the need for hard copies is no longer relevant. It’s all online! For me, it has to be Asana and here’s why.
Asana is a mostly FREE online tool; now that’s a bonus but not the sole reason I use it. Get rid of your doubting Thomas ways, I hear you, “but it can’t be any good if it’s free”. I did say it was mostly free. If you think you might need a paid version, you can check out their pricing page here.
Why is Asana the best workflow management tool?
It is my preferred go to for project management/collaboration/workflow management. It’s concise, user friendly, easy to pick up and does what it says it will.
PC Mag recently published an article that goes more in-depth than what I intend to. I’m writing this from a user perspective. I’m just going to rave about how I use Asana and how it makes managing a team so much easier. Below are just a few ways you can use Asana to help you and your team grow your business and improve your workflow management.
- Use it for project management
- Communicate with your team
- Assign tasks and reminders to individuals
- Allocate projects
- View by list, calendar or grant chart
- Upload files and graphics
- Create workflow management templates
- Simple and uncomplicated
- Integrates with over 100+ Apps
- No complicated bells and whistles
How I use the best workflow management tool on the market
It all begins when I walk into the office; it’s my ritual go-to thing that I do.
- It’s the second app after email that I open when I begin my day in the office.
- After assessing the day’s tasks that have come in from the night before, I allocate them in Asana to a team member. I assign the due date, who will do the work, add all the relevant details, links and uploads, and that’s it. Then I get a daily list of tasks coming up and outstanding, and I can then action these accordingly.
- I also love to create project templates. These become the procedures for the team undertaking specific tasks. When I’m happy with the flow of the template, and it has covered all the individual tasks that need to be done. It’s as simple as making a copy of the template, renaming it and assigning it to a team member as a task to be completed. Every step, everything they need to know is in the template. So what if something changes down the track. Just update your saved template, so any new copies reflect the latest version.
- A lot of tasks in a given workflow can be repetitive or need to happen numerous times. The rescheduling, reminder and reoccurring settings help keep the team and me on track for deadlines.
- To use Asana to manage workflow only, I create the client as the project and then all jobs relating to the client sit under the project and are assigned to the relevant team members for completion. Due by, and any files or links are added to the task. I love that you can even add the next steps or what Asana calls sub-tasks.
So if you think you want to give Asana ago but don’t have time to set it all then reach out, we would only be too happy to help you with this. Heck, we can even manage the whole entire process for you if you needed. Click here to book a call and have a chat about what you need help with.
Since 2011, I’ve specifically been helping small business owners spend more time with their clients. I help them do this by taking the stuff they keep in their head and turning it into the systems and processes they need to drive their business. To find out more about how I can do the same for your business, let’s organise a chat.
Being an expert in business administration, systems and processes is the most important thing for my clients.
