Are you a department head or team leader? If so, you’re probably always on the lookout for the best team management software. In this blog post, we list 10 applications you need to be aware of. An investment in any one of them will make you much more productive and efficient.
We have a lot to get to, so let’s just dive in!
What Is Team Management Software?
Team management software is any application that helps a person better collaborate, communicate, and, ultimately, manage a group of people. The best programs also increase productivity and improve the quality of work a team produces.
A few essential team management software features include:
- Team Scheduling: A shared calendar allows team leaders to schedule and assign tasks and monitor progress on them.
- Communication: Successful teams are master collaborators. A quality piece of team management software will allow employees to easily communicate with each other.
- Detailed Reporting: It’s nearly impossible to improve without analyzing performance. Company leaders need access to reports in order to better manage their teams.
Admittedly, none of the team management software programs in this blog post excel at all of the above requirements. Rather, each tool specializes in one specific function. But when a few of these apps are used in conjunction, real magic happens.
With that in mind, let’s get to our list of the top 10 team management software programs.
The Top 10 Team Management Software
This team management software list has been carefully curated. Each program will help you better manage your people in some way. We encourage you to investigate every app mentioned here, take advantage of the free trials, and begin working these tools into your daily workflow.
1. Toggl Plan
Have you ever just forgotten about a project? You didn’t mean to, but with so many things to keep track of, one just slipped through the cracks. Don’t feel too bad, it’s happened to all of us. That’s why Toggl Plan was created.
This timeline-based team management software lets you easily plan projects, assign tasks and monitor employee workloads, and collaborate effectively with your staff. And since the app is highly visual, it’s easy to quickly view your todo items for this week next month, next year even, so that no project is forgotten ever again.
While Toggl Plan is a great app all by itself, it also offers integrations with Slack (mentioned above), Asana (mentioned below), and G Suite (mentioned below) for the ultimate team management experience.
The free plan is perfect for teams of five people or less. For larger organizations, plans start at $8/month per user.
2. Trello
Trello is a project management app that makes scheduling and assigning tasks incredibly easy.
Based on the Kanban system, large projects are broken down into individual tasks and placed on “cards” — visual representations of each task that team members can add comments and attach documents to. Cards can be organized into various columns representing different stages of a project.
For example, a social media manager might create a new Trello board to help manage all the social content needing to be posted during the week. The first column could be labeled “Post Ideas” and contain 20 different cards, each with a different idea for a social post.
The second column might be labeled “To Post” and hold the actual post ideas that are scheduled to go live that week. To make things even more efficient, each idea card could also contain a comment with the exact text for the post, a due date for when the post goes live, and an attached image.
The third column would be named “Posted” and house every social post that has already been posted for that week. As tweets and ‘grams are worked on and go live, cards can easily be moved from one column to the next, keeping your whole team apprised of the progress being made. Make sense?
Trello is great for teams because there’s no limit to how many people can view a board. It doesn’t matter if your team consists of two people, or a thousand. Also, every Trello board works in real time. When a card is moved from one column to the next, everyone’s view is immediately updated and notifications are automatically sent, keeping every team member in the loop at all times.
Trello is free to use, though to gain access to the app’s premium features, you’ll need to subscribe to one of their plans ranging between $10 and $21 per user, per month.
If you’re looking from more than just Kanban boards at a better monthly price, take a look at our list of alternatives to trello.
Trello also integrates with Toggl.
3. Notion
Notion gives users a totally unique team management software experience. Why? Because it’s really like having four different apps in one. The first is a word processor that’s simple and intuitive, yet fully featured enough to replace both Google Docs and Evernote.
Next, users have access to a “knowledge base” application, which allows teams to combine their knowledge and make it easily searchable.
How should blog posts be formatted?
Who is in charge of what projects?
And which clients live in Texas?
Add all this information to your company’s knowledge base inside Notion and let your team quickly find the answers they need.
Thirdly, this team management software app also includes tasks and projects elements, similar to what Trello offers. The Kanban styled calendar allows users to easily create todo lists and assign tasks to specific team members.
Finally, Notion also includes a spreadsheets and data section. Manage employee information, client details, etc. from this screen.
This app packs a serious punch, but fortunately, the price doesn’t. Start with a free plan. When your team needs more features to upgrade to a paid plan starting at just $4 a month.
4. Slack
You’ve heard about Slack, right? The multi-billion dollar company burst onto the scene in 2009 and became one of the fastest growing organizations of all time. We’re not surprised. Their tool is an absolute game changer and makes office communication ridiculously easy.
If you’ve never used this piece of team management software, here’s how it works:
First, you sign up on the Slack website and create a name for your team, “ABC Marketing”, for example. Then you invite the people on your staff to join your group. Once everybody on your team has joined, the real fun begins.
Conversations inside Slack are organized into channels. You can create different channels to discuss different topics, such as a specific project or company initiative. Channels can also be further organized by separating certain conversations into threads.
But this tool is more than just a nifty text messaging service. Users can also send documents to each other and converse via video chat. And because all communication happens inside one hub, everything inside slack — each conversation, attachment, etc. — is easily searchable, so data never gets lost.
Pricing starts at just $6.67 a month, per active user, but Slack does provide a free to use option with limited features.
Slack also integrates with Toggl Track.
5. BambooHR
Most of us tend to think of team management software as a kind of general project management or communication tool. Most of the other apps on this list fall into one of those two categories. But BambooHR is different; it’s software specifically designed to help HR professionals.
It all starts with their applicant tracking system (ATS) which makes it easy to find and connect with the right candidates for your open positions. Once your all star talent has been found and accepted a job at your company, onboard them properly with the onboarding suite inside BambooHR.
Studies show that amazing first days greatly increase employee engagement and retention rates. By allowing new hires to complete cumbersome paperwork and introducing them to their coworkers before they first set foot in your company office, you give them the absolute best opportunity to hit the ground running.
Once inside your system, it’s easy to manage employees with the complete HRIS software from BambooHR. What do you need to do? Evaluate team performance? Store and organize employee files? Manage paid time off? It can all be done with this one tool.
After a free trial, prices start at $4.95 per month, per employee. Better manage your team, from an HR standpoint, with BambooHR.
6. Asana
Asana is a team management software with one focus: helping you achieve your goals and grow your company. Inside the app, team leaders can plan and structure work in a way that best fits their needs, assign tasks and set deadlines, and share all relevant details.
Once work has been divvied up amongst your team, it’s a simple process to monitor employee progress and make sure each project stays on track. Easy to digest reports are also available for your analysis, so you’re always in the loop — no matter how many projects you’re currently overseeing.
Asana is an easy tool to both use and pay for. After a free trial, premium plans start at just $9.99 a month, per user.
Asana also integrates with Toggl.
7. Rydoo
Depending on the kind of company you work at or the type of department you run, managing a team might also mean managing employee expenses. If the mention of the term “employee expenses” invokes feelings of dread and long, audible sighs, you definitely need to take a look at Rydoo.
This app makes employee expenses easy for both team managers, finance departments, and the staff members needing to be reimbursed. Here’s how it works:
First, your company’s spending policies are integrated with the Rydoo system. Then, when a team member has a work-related expense, they simply upload a picture of the receipt on their smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Rydoo will automatically assess the expense and alert you if duplicate receipts are detected, when spending limits are exceeded, or if company spending policies are violated. If all purchased comply, team leads can quickly and easily approve them, allowing employees to get reimbursed up to 75% faster than before.
Monthly prices start at $7 per user after a free trial. Take the hassle out of employee expenses with Rydoo.
8. Toggl Hire
Toggl Hire wants to help you find the absolute best talent in the world and hire them to work for your company. How? First they’ll help you intrigue qualified candidates to apply for your open positions by developing a creative hiring campaign for a variety of platforms.
Then their system will run applications through a pre-qualification process. Candidates that don’t meet your requirements are automatically disregarded, meaning you send less time wading through resumes and more time interviewing perfect fits.
It’s an incredibly efficient and streamlined system and companies the world over are taking notice. Brands like Scoro, Monese, and Riotly Social are loyal users of the app.
But we haven’t even mentioned the best part yet: users don’t pay a single cent to use Hire until they start seeing results. Once the applications start pouring in, the cost is $190 a month, but can be canceled at any time.
To properly manage a successful team, you first need to bring in the right people. That’s why Toggl Hire makes our list of top team management software apps.
9. G Suite
G Suite, a collection of cloud-based collaboration and productivity apps from Google, gives you intuitive tools for every occasion. We won’t list each of the 19 individual programs because you already know what they are. Heck, you probably use many of them every single day.
From email and video chat services, to document writing and spreadsheet applications, to their digital storage options, G Suite brings many different team management software programs together and makes them available for just $5 per user, a month.
With prices that low, why wait? Join millions of other companies and get started now. If you don’t end up using any of the apps in the first 14 days, you can easily get your money back.
10. Toggl Track
Last, but certainly not least, we have Toggl Track, a hassle-free time tracking app for both mobile devices and desktop computers. Tell us, were you as productive today as you could have been? If you’re not tracking the time you spend on projects, you really can’t answer that question.
Fortunately, Toggl Track makes the process of monitoring your time so straightforward, you’ll actually do it. Simply click a button and the timer starts. When you need to take a break or decide to move on to a different project, just hit the button again. It’s that easy. But even if you forget to use the app, it will send you friendly reminders so that every second you work is accurately logged.
After a project is completed, you can access the tool’s detailed reports. How much time did you waste? What can you do differently next time to become more productive? Which projects are the most lucrative for your company? Toggl Track has the answers.
Not only is this app great at monitoring time for individuals looking to become more efficient, it can also be used as a digital timesheet alternative. Employees simply clock in and out on the software and it will track their hours. Easy peasy.
Track is a great addition to your team management software suite, but it won’t break the bank. Basic features can be had for free; upgraded capabilities start at just $9 a month, per user. Whichever plan you choose, this app is sure to make you more productive.
Team management software encompasses many different tools. But the 10 apps listed in this blog post are the best of the best. We encourage you to start trying them out.
