First impressions count. Whether it’s running your own business or working on behalf of an organization, it’s good to be mindful of how you come across.
With that being said, there are plenty of tools and software out there, that can provide a better experience for those you work and collaborate with. Either as a business or individually, improvement can always be made to how professional you are.
In this article, we’ll be sharing the benefits of using software for work and business, as well as the top five software to help you come across as more professional.
The Benefits Of Using Software For Work And Business
With hundreds of thousands of software out there, it can be hard to take your pick. Regardless though, there are many benefits to using software, particularly when time and resources may be limited.
66% of small businesses face financial challenges, so it’s useful to make savings where possible. Some benefits of using software for work and business include the following.
Automates Routine Tasks To Save On Time
One of the biggest benefits of using software is that it can automate a lot of routine tasks that end up burning through hours of the working day. It means your employees can focus on other areas of their role and less on tasks that could be automated instead. If automation software is something you’re considering, visit https://www.helpsystems.com/product-lines/automate.
Automation is a technology that has become increasingly popular
Better Employee Satisfaction
Being happier as an employee or maintaining employee satisfaction within your business is important. Without that happiness or satisfaction, you’re more likely to see staff members leave. Employee retention rates can be a problem area for some businesses and recruitment can use up a lot of time and resources.
Utilizing software can assist in a lot of the work that’s required, whilst being affordable.
Improves Workplace Productivity
Workplace productivity is very important to manage in particular. The software can serve as a great way to save money but also improve productivity levels too. With tools to help get tasks done quicker, it saves a lot of time for the employees and the ability to focus on other things.
The average employee is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day. That means more must be done to encourage productivity in the workplace.
1. Bonsai For Contracts
A useful software to have when it comes to making yourself more professional is Bonsai. For some, drafting up a contract might not be possible if there’s no in-house legal team to help. That’s why a platform like Bonsai exists because the contracts are pre-made so that you only have to tweak it slightly to fit your requirements.
Having contracts for work between you and another party can certainly make you look more professional and you’re likely to be trusted more as a result. It’s a great platform for freelancers and can be a necessity that you may need if you’re working for yourself and not within a company.
One of the major benefits of Bonsai is that it’s affordable at $19 per month or $29 per month for the pro version. Having legally binding contracts in place is a great way of securing work but also protecting yourself from any problems. You’re less likely to get taken for a ride if there’s a contract in place.
2. Pitch For Presentations
Not everyone enjoys giving presentations but it’s often part and parcel of a role. Presentations can help communicate updates to your work and they can also help pitch an idea to a client or your manager, for example.
So with that in mind, a stunning presentation creator may be exactly what’s needed. Pitch is a fast, flexible and useful tool that creates engaging and visually appealing presentations for whatever the occasion may be.
With 100+ professionally designed templates to choose from, you can easily add in your brand color and any custom fonts or imagery to personalize it.
It can help with conference keynotes and project plans, making it a versatile software for you or the business to have. What makes it an ideal choice for most is that it’s completely free to use. However, for power users and growing teams, you can get a premium version of £8 per member, per month.
It’s a tool that’s loved by many, particularly some of the big brands like Grammarly, Notion, and UnSplash.
3. Trello For Team Management and Collaboration
Team management and collaboration is an important part of running a business or helping to manage your team efficiently as an employee.
With everyone communicating properly, it can avoid a lot of mistakes and miscommunication. This is particularly important when working with clients. The last thing you want is to have is crossed wires that results in your clients being unhappy.
Trello is one example of software that’s great for managing the workload that you have or that of your colleagues. It’s a cloud-based management platform, meaning it can be accessed from anywhere and at any time.
So whether you have one project ongoing or several, it can help delegate the work and keep you on track when meeting deadlines. Some of its features include:
Goal Setting
Set goals that everyone has access to and can be detailed extensively to communicate objectives for the business or current projects that are ongoing. Lists and cards make it easy to set to-do tasks and customize the workflow.
No-Code Automation
A recent study done by World Economic Forum predicts that in just four years, 58% of work tasks will be completed by humans, whereas 42% will be completed by machines. Therefore, as a human race, we’re becoming more reliant on automation.
With Trello, robots can reduce the number of tasks and clicks on your project board so that you can get on with the more important stuff.
Integrate Tools
Trello can make it easy to connect with various different apps and other software that you might be using. From Google Drive to Dropbox, it can streamline your work processes to be more efficient and productive.
4. Hootsuite for Social Media Promotion and Customer Interactions
In order to appear more professional, a strong online presence is necessary. Having a bigger following or a community that actively talks about you online can be great for drumming up new business.
A platform to help manage all your social media correspondence and content though can be much appreciated. With social media ad spending to reach $49 billion by the end of 2021, it’s wise to be part of a movement that invests in social media advertising.
Hootsuite can be highly beneficial for your organic content and to help manage all the various platforms that you have for social media promotion. From Twitter to Facebook, it helps keep track of everything you post, as well as how they’re performing.
It can track engagement as well as helping you respond to comments and direct messages where needed. Having something like Hootsuite in place can be useful for building a stronger relationship with your customers too.
When it comes to pricing, a professional plan is £39 per month, £99 per month for the team, and £520 per month for a business plan. Each one has a variety of added benefits and you can also get a 14-day free trial before committing to the platform.
5. Pocket to Stay up to Date With the Latest News and Trends
With so much access to knowledge nowadays, it can be hard to keep up with the latest news and trends online. Some of which can be handy to digest and learn from. However, whether you discover these new trends or news whilst commuting or on a lunch break, you can easily forget about them.
Pocket is one of those handy software tools that can be useful to capture and save articles, videos and more to one particular space. That means you can revisit this key information whenever it’s needed. It’s a platform that can help you curate your own space and where you can read and listen to content without distraction.
The software links up to your Google or Facebook account depending on your preference and there are premium options available for those who need more storage space. An annual membership comes to $44.99 a year, where you can permanently store a library of content. There’s also a monthly membership for those not wanting to commit fully at $4.99 a month.
Utilize Technology to Your Advantage When Professionalism is Required
Competition can be fierce regardless of whether you’re working for a company or you’re running your own business. Taking advantage of today’s technologies and software can put you in front of your competition, benefiting all areas of your working life.
Software like the ones mentioned in this article can help save time, improve productivity and lead to more opportunities further down the line. It also ensures your workload doesn’t have to slow down or be delayed in any way.
About the Author:
Natalie Redman (LinkedIn)
Email – natalieannredman92@gmail.com
Freelance writer for many clients across multiple industries. Natalie has two years of copywriting experience. Natalie has a wide range of experience copywriting for web pages for businesses across many industries. She’s also an owner of two blog websites and a Youtube content creator.