Every business strives for efficiency, and there are few things better than discovering new tools that are simple to use, affordable, and able to increase productivity. As businesses become larger and teams become more disconnected and widespread, it can be difficult to unite a collaborative team and keep track of their progress. Fortunately, there are many technologies available that can make things easier for all team members and bring you closer to your goals. Here are some of the best to look out for.
Workboard
Objectives and key results (OKRs) are sometimes confused with key performance indicators (KPIs), but the big difference is that OKRs are a management framework for effective goal setting rather than just a set of measurements. Advantages of OKRs include increased employee engagement, greater transparency, and better alignment with company goals. With Workboard OKR software, you can easily set OKRs, distribute individual and team goals, track progress, and coach team members.
OKR software is used by many successful companies including Microsoft, Samsung, Zendesk, CVSHealth, and more. The framework can be broken into a few basic ideas:
Objectives: These are the main strategic priorities for your company. Objectives should be easily understandable and give motivation to your company. It’s best to pursue just a few of these at a time. A great example objective would be to increase sales by 15% in your next quarter.
Key Results: These are how you measure your progress toward your objectives. These are specific, measurable, and time-sensitive. In the example objective, if you find that you’ve increased sales by 5% in your first month, you’ll be perfectly on track for your objective. Key results help determine whether an objective was too ambitious or too easy, so you can adjust accordingly next time.
Initiatives: These are the steps you take to influence your key results. To increase sales, initiatives could include things like equipping the sales team with better technology, adopting new sales strategies, or improving customer service.
OKRs have a long history of helping businesses grow into the powerhouses of their industries, and they may be just what your company needs to reach the next level.
Python
Python is a high-level general programming language that’s loved for its ease of use and readability thanks to its use of white space. Python supports many programming paradigms and can be used to develop desktop programs, websites, and mobile apps. Virtually any business can benefit from having team members who know Python, and there are several reasons why the language is often preferred over others.
One of its most useful functions is Python zip. This function is used to merge multiple iterables into tuples. In other words, this is a way to simplify long lines of code into an easily readable format. Python zip can even group tuples from different data structures and use them in programming loops. Python’s abilities and simple syntax make it easy for programmers to increase their productivity.
Bright Pattern
Every business needs outstanding customer service to retain existing customers and stand out from the competition. The contact center is where most customers will interact with your business outside the store, and a true omnichannel routing system can create a personalized and memorable experience for your customers.
Today’s customers are used to the ultimate convenience, and most modern contact centers allow customers to contact agents through their preferred means (voice call, text, SMS, web chat, etc.). The omnichannel difference is that customers can seamlessly switch from one channel to another while staying in contact with the same agent. This gives customers more options, and with a unified agent desktop, your employees can easily keep track of the conversation across all channels. If a customer does need to be transferred to a different agent, the new agent can come in with the full context of the conversation, which saves everyone’s time.
With this solution, your agents will be more productive than ever, and customers will be saved from additional frustration they may be all too used to when contacting other call centers.
