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10 productivity tools to help your frontline workers perform better

Heather Gray

Feb 19, 2020

11 min read

Managing your productivity levels in the workplace can always be a challenge. The pressure of getting your tasks done efficiently by the end of the day can be incredibly nerve wrecking, this is why implementing productivity tools in your office should be the first step in ensuring a smooth workday for your employees 

What are Productivity Tools?  

Productivity tools are software applications that are designed to helps users manage their jobs by letting them do more work in a short amount of time.  

Frontline workers too often have a hard time to be organized within the workplace. In order to stay ahead, they must embrace the idea of using productivity apps.  

Let’s look at some of the best productivity tools that will help your workers to not only be experts in their fields but also give them the confidence to perfect their work management skills. Ready? Let’s dive right in. 

1) Hexnode MDM

Hexnode MDM is a powerful solution to set up, monitor and secure the mobile devices used by your workforce. Trusted by small businesses and Fortune 100 companies alike, Hexnode MDM offers plenty of features to keep your frontline workers productive and focussed. You can easily set up a purpose-driven kiosk mode, where employees can have access to all the applications they need to get the job done with no distractions. The built-in messenger and remote access capabilities are a great way to check in on users in need, and offer them real-time assistance. Telecom expenses can be tracked and carefully regulated to keep business wireless costs in check. Hexnode MDM lets you easily push apps, media or documents to users and securely delete them when they’re no longer needed for work. When it comes to integrations, plenty are available to help you optimize your processes and cut down busywork. There’s also an abundance of features geared for mobile security, data loss prevention, and regulatory compliance.

Features:

Price: Starts at $1.00 per device per month

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native
  • Desktop– Mac
  • Desktop– Windows
  • IoT– tvOS

2) ClickUp

One of the most popular productivity tools, ClickUp has everything you need in a single place. With its simple and colourful design, your frontline workers can easily set up reminders, goals, and share docs. What makes this tool even more cool is its 24/7 support and wide array of free help docs. You can customize your own workflow by creating statuses that fit each project needs. ClickUp even lets you create multiple assignees and help you plan your project timelines with the assistance of task dependencies. Goal tracking doesn’t get any easier than this–it offers your workers the chance to complete their work and track their goals all within the same interface. ClickUp’s flexibility and reliability could make it into one of the top productivity apps in the future.

Features:

  • Collaboration Tools
  • Real-time Editing and Syncing
  • Different views for different workflows
  • Custom Statuses
  • Gantt Charts
  • Spreadsheets
  • Mind Mapping
  • Assigned Comments
  • Time Tracking

Price: Starts at $5.00 per month per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Desktop – Mac
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Desktop – Windows
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native

3) Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail provides the perfect platform for employees to communicate and share their work with each other. It has a unique blend of a classic email template and modern collaborative tools that allow users to comment on any piece of information they like. Favoured by many small and large enterprises, Zoho Mail is more than just your average inbox, their servers guarantee privacy by making sure your data stays secure and accessible at all times. They claim to be GDPR compliant and that they add extra protective layers to your data. By making use of productivity tools like like Zoho Mail your frontline workers can catch up with their daily tasks by making use of the app’s integrated calendar, notes, contacts, and bookmarks right within the inbox. They also have the option to make announcements, create tasks and share notes with other members in their team.

Features:

  • Data Recovery
  • Spam Blocker
  • Whitelisting / Blacklisting
  • Email Monitoring
  • Routing
  • Signature Management
  • Archiving and Retention
  • Shared Inboxes
  • Data Recovery

Price: Starts at $1.00 per month per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native
  • Desktop– Mac
  • Desktop– Windows
  • IoT– tvOS

4) Freshdesk

In business, customer service is everything. It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, the way your frontline workers handle customers can determine the success of your company. This is where handy productivity tools like Freshdesk can bring in plenty of help. This cloud-based helpdesk system effortlessly combines numerous customer interactions from email, phone, and web. It will help your workers resolve any issues they may have in a single go. They can even save time and keep customers happy by automating repetitive tasks. Freshdesk also has an added advantage of letting them offer convenient self-service options to customers. Managers can generate reports to track their team’s performance, gain insight on customer satisfaction and identify hurdles.

Features:

  • Email Integration
  • Interaction Tracking
  • Multi-Channel Communication
  • Real-Time Chat
  • Self Service Portal
  • Ticket Management
  • Network Monitoring
  • Customizable Branding
  • Knowledge Base Assessment

Price: Starts at $15.00 per month per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native

5) Samepage

One of the best team communication and productivity tools out there, Samepage promises exactly what its name suggests. It improves teamwork by letting your employees, customers, and partners communicate with ease by means of managing projects, storing important files and sharing great ideas. With Samepage in toe, everyone in your company will be kept updated on what happens within your organization. It combines team chat, video conferencing, and screen sharing in a single workspace that is cloud based. Samepage has built in chat tools to boost your team’s productivity. What makes Samepage stand out among all the other team communication tools is its ‘content chat’ feature where anything you share on a page will have a conversation attached to it. The best part of this app however, is that it offers its entire set of communication tools for free.

Features:

  • Client Portal
  • Collaboration Tools
  • Customizable Templates
  • Idea Management
  • Agile Methodologies
  • Budget Management
  • Resource Management
  • Portfolio Management
  • Kanban Board
  • Time and Expense Tracking
  • Milestone Tracking

Price: $8.00 per month per user (annual billing), $9.00 per month per user (monthly billing)

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Desktop – Mac
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Desktop – Windows
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – iOS Android

6)Vairkko Suite

Used in many shift-based industries, Vairkko Suite provides an easy solution for employers to manage their workforce in an efficient way. All the operations are done from a unified cloud-based platform. The cloud instanced can either be procured a la carte or be combined into a system that fits your enterprise. It works well in many small, medium and large businesses. The Vairkko Scheduling Cloud system makes it easier for managers to schedule their full-time and part time employees. Its interface further simplifies the task of assigning and removing staffs from work schedules . By using shift scheduling productivity tools like Vairkko, you can steadily see a decrease in absenteeism and mis-schedules.

Features:

  • Messaging
  • Mobile Access
  • Reporting / Analytics
  • Online Time Clock
  • Payroll Management
  • Shift Swapping

Price: $1.00 per month per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web

7) Dropbox Paper

Free productivity tools like Dropbox offers a wonderful workspace where different teams can exchange ideas and organize documents for important meetings. Along with its well-designed layout, Dropbox Paper makes work even more fun by converting plain docs into colourful presentations with just the click of a button. It provides an ideal space for your workers to unleash their creativity and coordinate with team members. The clean and smart formatting of Paper allow users to create amazing documents within minutes. They can even get to work with their favourite tools. The added tool file will then be previewed to the user.

Features:

  • Collaboration
  • Ideation
  • Workflow Management
  • File Sharing
  • Marketing Calendar
  • Project Management

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web

8) Hi5

Hi5 is the best tool to measure the satisfaction level of your frontline workers. This cloud-based productivity app allows employees to recognize and rate each other for the tasks they do. By letting your workers give continuous feedback, you can promote a culture where all hardworking employees get the recognition they deserve. Managers can now get important insights on their employee’s productivity and team culture with just a quick glance on Hi5’s dashboard. Team members can know each other and appreciate their peers by providing meaningful feedbacks. The tool also allows employees to get in touch with their co-workers and create their own goals.

Features:

  • Employee Recognition
  • Feedback Management
  • Benchmarking
  • Goal Management
  • Reward Points
  • Performance Management
  • Manager to Peer Recognition
  • Peer to Peer Recognition
  • Social Recognition
  • Nominations
  • Recognition Tracking

Price: Starts at $ 3.00 per month per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Desktop – Mac
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Desktop – Windows
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native

9) Clockify

Time management can be exhausting if you don’t have the right tools to implement it. If you are anxious about your workers not managing their time efficiently, worry no more as Clockify has all the right resources for managing time. This productivity tool helps keep track of your employees’ billable hours by the use of a timer. You can even have a detailed account of their schedules and timesheets. By using Clockify, your frontline workers will get a clear picture of their attendance and PTO. This is one of the best free time tracking software used by various enterprises. Your team can easily track their working hours and categorize them for each project. Managers can create their own reports and share it by exporting it as PDF, CSV, or Excel sheets.

Features:

  • Employee Database
  • Multiple Billing Rates
  • Automatic Time Capture
  • Mobile Time Tracking
  • Offline Time Tracking
  • Billable and Non-Billable Hours
  • Timesheet Management
  • Leave Tracking

Price: $9.99 per month

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Desktop – Mac
  • Cloud, SaaS, Web
  • Desktop – Windows
  • Mobile – iOS Native
  • Mobile – Android Native

10) iDoneThis

An easy to implement task management tool that lets you track your work based on achievements. The tool not only helps to boost the productivity of your frontline workers’ but it also lends a hand in keeping them stay focused. With over 160,000 people using this app everyday, iDoneThis guides these users to properly manage their team’s work progress. Its easy check-ins and reports will give your workers a clear idea on how each of their task gets completed. Many organisations that use this tool on a regular basis are now managing happier teams.

Features:

  • Collaboration Tools
  • Create Subtasks
  • Time Tracking
  • Task Management
  • Percent-Complete Tracking

Price: $48.00 per year per user

Free Trial: Yes

Supported Platforms:

  • Cloud, SaaS, Web

Why are Productivity Tools Important?  

Better the communication, the more productive your frontline workers will be. Many small businesses are now adopting chat tools to provide clear ways to communicate with their employees. This direct means of messaging allows each member of a team to get in touch with their colleagues. Productivity tools can help bring in an effective collaborative atmosphere in the office. By using the tools mentioned above, every frontline manager will find it much easier to delegate multiple tasks and assign suitable schedules to their workers.   

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Heather Gray

Technical Blogger @ Hexnode. Reading and writing helps me to stay sane.

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