Posted by Dana Larson on March 11, 2010
We’ve discussed how staying connected to your teammates is an important step toward overall business success. We like to make sure everyone on our team can communicate with each other and stay up to date on other’s activity, as this allows us to build on projects, tasks and ideas together.
One main way we at OnePlace stay connected is through Team Pulse. Team Pulse allows us to know what the others are currently working on, and ask questions directly to one person, the members of one workplace or the entire company.
Posted by Steve Kickert on March 10, 2010
One of the first things taught in management courses is the idea of delegating for success. This does not mean passing along all your work so you don’t have to do anything - this means splitting out the work among the appropriate members of the team to enhance the outcome of the project.
Team collaboration is bringing a lot of companies into the next tier of success. This is indicating that those managers know how to organize their team to be most efficient, and team members are working hard together to be the most effective.
Posted by Dana Larson on March 08, 2010
When starting and running a small business, there are times when disorganization can take control. But it’s all how you manage your business people and information that can increase organizational success in your business.
This week we are highlighting some of last week’s blog posts on increasing organization in your business. Here are some of our favorites.
Posted by Dana Larson on March 04, 2010
At OnePlace, we strongly believe that collaboration is the key to business success. Allow everyone an opportunity to participate on a project, and everyone can be proud of the results.
By integrating online team collaboration tools into project management, small business teams are able to keep all communications and projects organized in a centralized location. This can lead to increased task management, increased collaboration on projects and less information lost - allowing your team to be more successful.
Posted by Steve Kickert on March 03, 2010
It’s no surprise that the more communication occurring between a business team, the more connected they feel, the more productive they are and the more successful the business is. And with an increase in communication training for managers and supervisors, the trend and success of increased communication will be continuing into the future of business.
What business teams are also coming to realize is that strong team collaboration is what connects everyone to increase that communication. Identifying ways to bring a business team together on a project is an important step in the direction of increased business success.
So what about communication and collaboration increases business success?
Posted by Dana Larson on March 02, 2010
Something we strongly believe in at OnePlace is the ability to give back whatever we can to the community. Our team members participate in local non-profit organizations, but we always want to do more for others.
It’s because of this that we offer OnePlace free of charge to non-profits, charity organizations and school. We want to help all businesses and organizations increase their small business success, and OnePlace is the solution that can help do that.
Posted by Dana Larson on March 01, 2010
At OnePlace, we believe that companies - large and small - can benefit from online business organization and project management solutions. They are the right tools for encouraging your team to be as successful as they can be.
Here are a few posts published last week that offer some great tips for small and large businesses - highlighting everything from project management tips to ways to keep your employees dedicated to their jobs.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 26, 2010
Last week, we wrote about how file sharing and file versioning within OnePlace can be a great team collaboration solution. This is especially true when many members of a large team need to update one file before a meeting or presentation.
Imagine what would happen if there weren’t a good system for tracking versions of files - how would a team know that all updates and additions were made in the right places across each version of the file? This is exactly what happened to Mark, the manager of a design company who had just landed his first big client.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 25, 2010
Good online project management software will allow users to view detailed reports of the status of a project. This is exactly what OnePlace offers.
OnePlace allows users to view reports for any workplace or project, and be able to visually see the status of that project. Now, project managers will be able to see at a glance how many tasks are completed, how much time has been spent and which team member has been working the most.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 24, 2010
When it comes to running a business, there are some great managers, and also some not-so-great managers. We’ve all had experiences with both, and after a while, we can pick out what traits we like in our managers.
One trait that is becoming more and more important for managers and supervisors are strong communication skills. Gone are the days of the manager barking out orders and hiding away in his office. Now managers are encouraged to meet face-to-face with their team on a very frequent basis and use communication to empower them to increase their success.
So how can you improve your management communication? Here are a few tips to improve your communication skills:
Posted by Dana Larson on February 23, 2010
We love talking with our current and potential customers. Because of this, we are offering a OnePlace Web Demo every Thursday morning for attendees to learn more about OnePlace and how it can make their business even more efficient and effective.
At 11am CST each Thursday morning, join Steve Kickert - CEO and co-founder of OnePlace - as he takes you through using OnePlace to improve your small business organization and communication. You will review the different features of OnePlace, including online project management, team collaboration, discussions and file sharing. You will also learn how OnePlace will empower your people to be successful, so your business is too.
You can register for the OnePlace Web Demo on our homepage at http://www.oneplacehome.com to hear more about how OnePlace can positively impact your business.
See you on Thursday!
Posted by Dana Larson on February 23, 2010
Riverock Technologies, a software development company based in Minnesota, was founded in 2007 with one goal in mind - to provide employees with a balanced life while allowing the team to create small business software that people love to use. Riverock Technologies developed OnePlace to do just that.
OnePlace was created as the solution to effectively manage the complex projects that come with developing software. OnePlace also combines this information with personal organization to increase personal productivity. With OnePlace, users can organize their personal and professional lives in a way that keeps all tasks and projects in a central location and alleviates the stress of not knowing what is on deck for tomorrow.
OnePlace allows the team at Riverock Technologies to manage projects online and follow the agile development practices of the software industry. OnePlace is the main tool used for communication and collaboration between team members, using features such as Discussions and Team Pulse to ask questions and keep the team updated on the status of tasks. And because Riverock Technologies is a virtual company, OnePlace keeps everyone connected, making it feel like the rest of the team is in the next office.
This solution is perfect for the Riverock Technologies team, and has proven to be perfect for other small businesses as well. Read more about how OnePlace has improved business, organization and communication for Riverock Technologies, and sign up for a free 14-day trial of OnePlace to improve your business success.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 22, 2010
All small businesses are looking for more ways to be more efficient and effective. There are online solutions available to increase this effectiveness, many of them inexpensive enough for anyone to use.
Last week, many blog posts were published discussing these tools to increase business efficiency. Here are a few of our favorites:
Posted by Dana Larson on February 19, 2010
This morning I read an article from Candice Arnold called “A Positive Attitude at Work Could Make Tough Times Easier to Bear”. The article struck me as interesting, as I try to stay positive most of the time, and I try not to let the little things get me down.
But this article went ahead to explain that business owners - while trying to make it through the tough economic times - may be putting on a positivity charade in front of their employees. They may be saying that everything is fine; meanwhile their business is crumbling around them.
On the other hand, business owners shouldn’t fall down the negativity rabbit hole either - all that brings is gloom and doom, and no one is encouraged to get any work done because they feel it’s worthless.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 18, 2010
We truly believe that a strong team collaboration solution is the key to a growing small business. Collaboration and communication are the cornerstones for bringing team members together on projects and improving business success.
OnePlace offers many different features that aid teams in working together on projects. One of our more unique team collaboration solutions is our file sharing feature.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 17, 2010
No one wants to work with a Negative Nancy or a Debbie Downer every day. It’s true that when one team member is in a bad mood, they can bring others down around them.
At OnePlace, we like to increase employee productivity with our online small business organization solution. But we also work to make sure everyone on our team is positive most - if not all - of the time. Here are some other ways to keep employees happy in the workplace
Posted by Dana Larson on February 15, 2010
Last week was a busy week for project management with hundreds of blog posts being written about the topic. This is a key indicator to how important a good online project management solution can be.
Here is an overview of some of the more popular project management posts that came out last week.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 11, 2010
In online project management, the ability to track time spent on tasks is almost as important as the ability to manage tasks in the first place. Knowing how long it takes to complete a task or a project aids in project planning and ultimately the team’s success of that project.
For small business project management, effective time tracking can mean the difference between a well-oil machine and an over-worked stressed out team. You want to make sure you are planning appropriately for the capacity of your team, as well as giving yourself enough room to complete quality work in a timely manner.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 10, 2010
A business owner is not the type of person to make snap decisions without merit for their company and employees. If they are, they probably won’t be in business for long!
As you know, it’s important to take the time necessary to evaluate all possible outcomes of the business decision you make. And none of these decisions is more important than choosing a solution for organizing and storing your business information.
When storing important files and documents, you need to make sure you have a safe, secure place to put them. That locked file cabinet in your office works just fine - but takes up a lot of space. And it had better be fire and flood proof, in case the unthinkable happens and your office faces some sort of disaster. And what about your filing system - is it organized well, or are you just haphazardly placing documents in folders and forgetting where they are?
Posted by Dana Larson on February 09, 2010
When you think about it, there aren’t many companies that couldn’t benefit from any type of project and task management system. There are certain small businesses that don’t need this type of solution yet, but if they have any hope of being successful in the future, finalizing processes and getting organized now will definitely help.
Task management software like OnePlace can keep individuals organized, as well as business teams. And for a growing business, strong organization is necessary.
Imagine how you would handle Annie’s situation without a project management system. Annie is a young accounting professional that, after getting her first taste of the corporate world, decided to go out on her own and start a financial virtual assistant company. Annie helps small businesses with their financial needs including accounts payable and receivable and financial forecasting.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 08, 2010
We are starting a new trend every Monday here on our blog, which is to feature blog posts from the past week that we think are informative, educational, interesting or just plain awesome.
Because we at OnePlace focus on increasing small business productivity and employee success, below are some great new blog posts featuring additional ways to improve upon that success.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 04, 2010
When we developed OnePlace a few years ago, we wanted to ensure our solution met the needs of small businesses to increase their business success. One need we saw over and over again was the need for project management within the business.
Online project management allows you and your business team to organize and manage projects and tasks in an efficient and effective way. Keeping track of projects across multiple team members can be a bit challenging without the aid of an online solution. We kept all this in mind when developing OnePlace.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 03, 2010
At OnePlace, we are strong believers in making the individual successful - not just professionally, but in their personal life as well. We understand the lines between work and home life are blurred more than ever, and want to manage that blurred line to keep organized and benefit all facets of life.
We have built our small business organization solution to focus on the individual first. Because of this focus, we help the individuals in any business setting improve their organizational styles and communication techniques. The skills our solution aids in developing are incredibly important workforce skills that increase the productivity and the success of that individual. And you definitely want successful people in your business.
Why? Without good, successful employees, your business doesn’t stand a chance.