5 Ways to Automate Your Workplace

Companies are becoming more and more efficient now because some of the tasks are being automated.

By MEGGIE NELSON

Gone are the days where you have to manually track your employee’s’ working time as well as their vacation leaves, and so on.

Why are business owners eager to bring automation to the workplace? Well, automating your workplace brings with it a lot of advantages. Owners can dramatically cut the cost of employment since they do not have to hire specific people for the job and it is also more efficient for everyone in the workplace.

That being said, if you seriously want to consider this, then here are the 5 great ways to automate your workplace:

1. Use of Productivity Apps

Technology is ever-evolving and it would be highly advantageous if you use it for the betterment of your company. Now, there are productivity apps and software that you can use to streamline the process.

For example, you can put all of the tasks that your employees need to do into Google Docs. Once that is inputted into the system, you can then allow your staff members to see the document so that they will know what they need to work on.

This streamlines the process and it is much easier for you to track what needs to be done. Plus, you do not need to worry about losing the data since everything is saved in the cloud storage.

2. CRM & ERP

If you own a business that caters to a large customer base, you will find that using a CRM (customer resource management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) can be greatly beneficial to you.

In a nutshell, these two are programs that integrate all of your clients together. Not only that, but it can also include your company’s details as well as automating other things such as the payroll, customer management, sales, just to name a few.

Manually taking on these tasks can be pretty time-consuming and it can lead to a lot of errors. Automating this can greatly help you; it can save time and a lot of resources.

3. Time Attendance Tracking Solutions

If you have a lot of employees, it can be a daunting task to keep track of their working time and their progress manually. Automating this by using employee time-tracking software can help your company immensely.

For example, an employee tracking software allows you to let your employees clock in/out and they can also request a time off from within the app as well. This is very useful for workers who have to travel frequently or if they work remotely.

Moreover, there are certain tracking solutions that allow you to configure the program wherein the employee will have to take a picture as a validation procedure. This brings peace of mind to the management team.

4. Implement a Task Management System

As your business grows, so is the workload. It would be very inefficient if you do things manually like assigning each team member a specific task or giving reminders to different departments, etc.

For you to have an easier time with this, you need to implement a task management system. Usually, there are programs that allow you to automate the entire process such as the ones I mentioned above (like assigning new tasks, setting reminders, etc.). One Management system that is easy to use is Basecamp. You can assign tasks, reminders to specific workers and you can even set deadlines as well.

Moreover, such programs will allow you to have access to the system 24/7 so that you can closely keep track of everything that’s happening within your company.

5. Invoicing and Payroll

If you have a lot of employees, it will be pretty cumbersome to pay them manually, right? Fortunately for you, there are some software that allow you to place an invoice automatically. Such programs can also allow you to keep track of their payroll as well.

Two of the most popular accounting programs that do all of the things I’ve mentioned above are Xero and Freshbooks.

Xero is a popular choice because of its extensive set of options. You can categorize and import bank statements, input every employee in the database so that you can set an invoice (it can even be automated). Plus, it has a mobile app so you can change some settings from within it.

Freshbooks is another famous software that not only allows you to create invoices, it also has other features such as time-tracking, set reminders, and notices, and it even generates reports of everything that’s happened in a specified time.

Conclusion

Technology is ever-evolving and it has improved our lives dramatically. So, why not use it to automate some processes in your company?

Time is money and in this day and age, things can be automated to give us convenience and peace of mind. Automating some of the processes in your company will ensure that you will have huge savings on your resources.

If you want your business to run smoothly, you may want to seriously consider to automate your workplace.

Meggie Nelson is a freelance writer and communication manager at AMGtime. Meggie is deeply convinced that marketing is a key to get success in all spheres and it’s a crucial part of our lives. Regularly, she delivers various concepts on how to market products, services, and events effectively. Meggie believes in a win-win formula and utilizes it on a daily basis in staff management.