Keeping your team focused and on-task is critical for business success, but it’s not easy to do. Fortunately, these 5 apps simplify common team management processes like scheduling and performance tracking.
If you find it hard to stay on top of your team’s tasks or see a drop in employee productivity, you might benefit from a team management app. Team management apps offer many capabilities, including employee scheduling, task management, and collaboration tools. Check out our five top team management apps for 2023.
What To Look For in Team Management Apps
What To Look For in a Team Management App
Getting the right team management app for your organization starts with understanding your goals. Not every app will provide the same features, so you’ll want to determine what you need help with before beginning the search process.
Most organizations find ease of use and customizability essential to a team management app. No one wants to spend hours figuring out how to use their new software. Apps that provide a clean and straightforward setup are best.
A few standard features of team management apps include collaboration tools, messaging, task management, and employee scheduling. Some will also include customer support, which can help quickly resolve any problems.
1. monday.com – Best for Project Management
When it comes to project management, monday.com has a lot to offer. Its cloud-based software allows managers to create and manage projects in intuitive Gantt charts step-by-step. Administrators can assign tasks to their team members, enabling them to share files and notes with other project stakeholders. Once employees complete a job, they update the task status, which is visible to everyone involved in the project.
The software includes a time tracker, which helps managers understand how long each task takes to complete. Managers seeking to streamline processes can identify the most lengthy tasks and look for ways to simplify them, freeing up employees’ time and resources for other critical assignments.
It also includes some customization features, like creating custom forms for IT and HR departments. It facilitates document storage, so teams can share files and access them within the app without needing to email them.
Administrators can integrate monday.com with several major software applications, including Dropbox, Zendesk, HubSpot, Jira, Basecamp, and Google Drive.
To access monday.com’s most extensive features, employers must upgrade to the Pro Plan, which is somewhat pricey.
Key Features
- Intuitive task management tools like Gantt charts and visual timelines
- Simplistic dashboards
- Automation options
- Managers can set deadlines and current status by task
- Includes multiple templates
Pros
- Ease of use
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Few employee scheduling options
- Expensive
2. Connecteam – Best All-In-One Team Management App
Connecteam offers robust features you won’t find in most other team management apps, including communication, job scheduling, task management, employee engagement, and time-tracking. With Connecteam, employers can customize their app according to their needs and pay only for the tools they use. Plus, it offers best-in-class customer service that’s available to answer any questions that arise.
Through Connecteam, managers can quickly create tasks and assign them to the appropriate employees. They can include any relevant information the team member needs to be aware of, like files and checklists, keeping information all in one place.
Another benefit of Connecteam is employee scheduling. Employee scheduling is often a major headache for managers, especially when they need to accommodate multiple shifts and workers. Through the app, administrators gain access to several time-saving employee scheduling options, including pre-saved templates and drag-and-drop features.
With Connecteam, employees can clock in and out from their shifts directly through the app, which includes geo-fencing and GPS capabilities to ensure your workers are on-site during working hours. Employers can download digital timesheets for each pay period, expediting their payroll processes.
Connecteam offers a messaging feature that allows team members to communicate directly or through group chats, eliminating the need for SMS texts that can be easily overlooked.
Key Features
- In-app messaging
- Social newsfeed
- Task management solution
- Simplified employee onboarding
- Employee time-tracking and scheduling
Pros
- Comprehensive solution
- Inexpensive
- Superior customer service
- Easy to use
Cons
- Minimal integrations
3. ClickUp – Best for Task Management
ClickUp is the go-to solution for companies with many deadline-driven singular tasks they expect employees to complete. Through ClickUp, managers can quickly set up workflows and assign them to the appropriate team members. Once workers finish their part of the task, they can submit it to the next team member involved in the process.
Each ClickUp task includes file and document-sharing functionality, eliminating the need for lots of emails. All employees involved in a project can share comments on their task cards, ensuring everyone remains on the same page.
It includes other helpful features like goal tracking, wiki and event setup, email, and chat. Plus, ClickUp offers thousands of integrations with other popular software tools, like Slack, Dropbox, Zoom, Twilio, Google Drive, and GitHub. Administrators can create their own customizable integrations with the help of its API.
While ClickUp boasts extensive functionality, its user interface isn’t the easiest to understand. There is a learning curve that administrators should be aware of before implementing the app.
Key Features
- Customizable views, including list, calendar, activity, and board options
- Create custom spaces for multiple team members to share
- Color coordination for simple, easy-to-understand status updates
- Supports project workflows
Pros
- Sleek interface
- Multiple template options
Cons
- Takes time to set up
- Employees may need training to make the most of ClickUp
4. FunctionFox – Best for Graphic Designers
FunctionFox is an ideal solution for creative teams that want to maximize employee productivity and collaboration. With FunctionFox, you can easily track the time spent on various tasks and projects. It also includes expense tracking, allowing managers to determine the profitability associated with each project and identify where budget overruns are likely to occur.
Organizations that purchase the FunctionFox Premier solution will gain access to powerful project scheduling and Gantt chart solutions, allowing them to assign individual tasks among team members and set deadlines. Administrators can quickly view the status of open projects and set up email alerts that notify them when a project is falling behind or once it’s completed. Managers can also observe the current work status of their team and assign tasks to available employees.
FunctionFox includes capabilities for internal communication boards, which help save critical documents and how-to’s in one convenient place. Internal communication boards are accessible anytime, so employees don’t need to worry about digging through shared drives or email to find the files they need.
Key Features
- Project estimates and budget tracking
- Extensive reporting options
- Internal board perfect for sharing key documents and news
- Email notifications
- Track project time with a clock option
Pros
- Comprehensive customer service
- Free solution for solopreneurs
Cons
- Requires time to set up
- Few integrations
5. Ravetree – Best for Marketing Teams
Ravetree offers a comprehensive team management tool perfect for executives or high-level managers who need help managing team projects. Through Ravetree, managers can quickly assign tasks based on worker and team availability, helping to keep a balanced workload among their employees and departments.
The project management dashboards provide an agile and waterfall look at open projects, identifying current project backlog and active tasks. Administrators can view recent activity and deadlines for upcoming assignments. They can also track projects according to projected time and expenses, avoiding cost overruns that can quickly turn a task from profitable to unprofitable.
One stand-out feature of Ravetree is its integrated CRM, making it the perfect solution for marketing and sales teams. Through it, administrators can track client interactions, including proposals and demonstrations. All information updates in real-time, eliminating the need for excess communication between team members.
It includes a built-in file approval system, allowing employees to submit files across multiple management layers before they arrive to executives. The file approval system improves accountability among staff.
There are several integrations for Ravetree, including Google Drive, Gmail, One Drive, HubSpot, and DropBox. However, Ravetree does not include a public API.
Key Features
- In-app CRM option
- Track client billing and expenses
- Powerful project management tools
- Intuitive dashboards
- File approval system
Pros
- Supportive customer service team
Cons
- Few integrations
- Not easy to set up
- Lacks stability; may crash
What Are Team Management Apps?
Team management apps help employers track tasks and projects in an all-in-one interface. Rather than relying on email, calendars, and phone calls, managers can assign individual tasks to employees and track their status through the app. Most team management apps include options for file-sharing and communication, allowing team members to work entirely within the tool. The result is improved collaboration and productivity that keeps tasks from falling through the cracks.
What Are the Benefits of Team Management Apps?
Often, one of the biggest problems facing teams is too much clutter. Organizations often have multiple tasks their teams are working on simultaneously, which can be difficult to track via spreadsheets or email alone.
With a team management app, managers find it much easier to monitor progress and deadlines. Other key benefits of team management apps included improved coordination, transparency, communication, and scheduling efficiency. Some team management apps also have time-tracking, which can help simplify the payroll process.
