Task management for teams or to do list?

[HoosierBuff]

Hi All

I have a specific need, and wondering what software you might suggest for this:

1). As the face of the company, I get a lot of emails about requests and such. I think people like sending things to me directly, and that is fine.
2). A lot of these are small things, like "add a pixel", "add this user to the reports list" etc. I end up doing many, but, I'm trying to do less
3). I'd like to put these all in one place, and have my team pull down these and work on them. Not neccesarily assigning them to any one person, but, putting them out there for them to work on, and whomever has bandwith can work on them.
4. Zendesk seems like an obvious solution, but, also seems like overkill. There is so much there I don't need. I also don't love giving people an impersonal email to make a request (and the way clients ask for things, I like to edit their requests so my team does the task correctly).

Is there anything less than zendesk I can put these in? EDIT: Let me also add, maybe structurally I'm thinking about this problem incorrectly, so if there is another way to structure this business wise, I'm all ears.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

We use Asana for managing tasks. They have an awesome free version as well as paid versions.

 

[Tim Colling]

We use Freedcamp for project management and their free version would handle this quite nicely.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@HoosierBuff, my helpers and I use Asana. It's great for us. Maybe two-thirds of clients like it, though I think that's probably the case with any task-management program.

 

[HoosierBuff]

thanks guys! I'm going to look in to both Asana and Freedcamp!

 

[Chris_Gregory]

We use a combination of Basecamp and Trello for assigning tasks but mainly Basecamp. Those of you who are using Asana, can you hide certain files / discussions from the client or do they have full access to the entire project. Basecamp has this functionality which we really like.

 

[Monica Simpson]

Our team finds Asana beautifully simple

 

[CarrieHill]

I am a beta for Gryffin App - which is being built by someone in our industry - Marcela DeVivo. It's rough right now - and is slowly improving - but I'd keep it on your radar for the future. Also she's very open an approachable for feedback (not an investor, don't get paid - just liking the direction and the ability to give her feedback and see my suggestions made real.)

I like Trello for simplicity and integration with other things as well!

 

[Chris_Gregory]

Our team finds Asana beautifully simple

Do you invite your clients to the project or do you use it for just internal project management?

 

[Chris_Gregory]

I am a beta for Gryffin App - which is being built by someone in our industry - Marcela DeVivo. It's rough right now - and is slowly improving - but I'd keep it on your radar for the future. Also she's very open an approachable for feedback (not an investor, don't get paid - just liking the direction and the ability to give her feedback and see my suggestions made real.)

I like Trello for simplicity and integration with other things as well!

I've been reviewing this tool as well. Looks like it's off to a good start.

 

[Digitaldar]

I would suggest not giving your clients access to your project management software but rather integrate a task manager. You want to be able to notify the client that the request has been received, is being worked on, expected due date, etc. I don't have a suggestion as I am using Teamwork and don't provide my clients with access

 

[HoosierBuff]

For those that use Trello. I use trello to keep track of where this particular client stands in the month. So bucket 1 is "SEO work begun", bucket 2 is "analytics completed", bucket 3 is "report in review" bucket 4 is "ready to send" and then 5 is "report sent".

How do you manage individual tasks within trello? LIke for example, client asks you to update a google post? This is kind of thing that kills me, because it comes in my email inbox, and then, I can forward it to someone on my team, or I can just spend the 3 minutes and post the google post (which inevitably takes longer because I want to mess with formatting etc.).

 

[Digitaldar]

While I don't work with Trello I wanted to share some ideas that could help with efficiency:
- when a client sends a request, you could establish with the client upfront that you will work on their business Tuesday afternoons for example. On Tuesdays, you start with your task list for the client and then move to your inbox and scan for their requests.

I work with a consultant who devotes 2 entire days per week to a client (and spends the day at their site); when I send something to her, I know that she will deal with it on a specific day.

 

[Jen Currier]

For a simplified to-do list, I recommend checking out the workflowy app. I am a List fanatic and this really helps me with organizing thoughts & tasks. Our team uses a combination of Google Suite, Hubspot, & Teamwork to keep up with project management and productivity. This year we are looking for a system that allows us to do more in one place. I will definitely be checking out Asana after reading these recommendations.

 

[Digitaldar]

Jen could you expand by what you mean to do more in one place?
How do you use Hubspot?

For a simplified to-do list, I recommend checking out the workflowy app. I am a List fanatic and this really helps me with organizing thoughts & tasks. Our team uses a combination of Google Suite, Hubspot, & Teamwork to keep up with project management and productivity. This year we are looking for a system that allows us to do more in one place. I will definitely be checking out Asana after reading these recommendations.

 

[EfrenCP]

I was just going through this process last week and have been very impressed with Monday.com. They seem to be able to combine the simplicity of Trello with the organizational features of Basecamp. Though I just started testing it (also testing Asana and Plutio, currently working with Trello and Basecamp), I'm really liking what you can do with it.

 

[Adam Potaznik]

I've just started a new role which involves creating systems and processes. Trello is awesome. There are lots of little tips and tricks to learn (did you know if you click on the coloured labels, they will expand and you can read their titles?)

I am looking to build a basic Trello board on how to optimise a GMB listing as a business owner with dashboard access, which is how I found this thread (searching for Trello).

If anyone wants to help contribute to this GMB optimisation board with me, they are more than welcome to PM me and eventually I will share it on here.

Here are some boards I have found as a starting point for both understanding the power of Trello, and for valuable resources in themselves:
FREE Online /Inbound Marketing Resources: Trello
Local SEO Audit (2014): Trello
A little GMB checklist: Trello
Local SEO - Template - $997: Trello
Local Business SEO Blueprint: Trello
SEO (and SEM) for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs: Trello
Small Business SEO Marketing Toolkit: Trello

I've tried Asana and few others in the past, also Process.st. but my boss needed a clear answer straight away and so I said "Trello" and being paid to learn how to learn new software is cool, so I spent all day yesterday deep-diving and am now intermediate in my Trello knowledge.

Firstly, it's very powerful for being free. The card / Kanban system takes some practice, but it is really practical as both a project manager and a to-do list, which is what I need:



It is better than Asana, as this video shows:

Some good one hour webinars to get you started:





I have created a new hire onboarding board, a to-do list board with our projects and tasks, a software training board (where these videos I inserted here came from)....

The great thing is that there are so many Trello inspiration and public boards which means you aren't just staring at a blank page. There are Website dev/UI/UX boards, content calendar boards and so much more online.

I have installed a connection between Microsoft Teams and Trello, so the boards are accessible from inside Teams (a Slack competitor), also in Outlook, I convert emails into Trello cards on the to-do list. This way, I action emails straight away - every email is converted to a task, or archived and I can achieve inbox zero. I am forcing my new team to use Teams chat instead of email internally, and it's a big difference already, with a side project I also have, the manager is sending me new emails for a single sentence, because she is too busy to setup Teams herself.

My Software stack at the moment is:

• Project Managent - Trello
• To Do List - Trello
• Internal Chat - MS Teams
• External Comms - MS Outlook
• Notetaking - MS Onenote
• Files - Sharepoint (via Teams) and OneDrive (Personal and initial drafts)
• CRM - ActiveCampaign
• Helpdesk - Freshdesk
• Accounting - Xero
• Field Sales - TBA

As I said, I need a basic GMB board to train sales reps on how to optimise a GMB and what to look for, so I'll share that and if someone wants to help, let me know.

If you want to use my referral link (if I am allowed to post it) - I get a month of Trello Gold: Trello

 

[chadkimball]

we use activecollab