Needless to say, this impacted a lot of businesses too. While the ones which could manage, engaged in WFH task management through the usage of task management apps, others had to either shut shops or facilitate infrastructure transfer.

Multiple individuals had to face the brunt of the situation too. While they were all resourceful and prolific back at the office, setting up the entire environment at their homes became a challenge. If we come to think of it, it’s a real confront because most people who travel to work are already acquainted with routines that they are used to and working from home is a real routine breaker. However, none of it is something that cannot be managed.

With Slack, Asana, Evernote, Todoist and many more such task management apps, life can become easy once one gets accustomed to them. The COVID-19 situation has given most of the organisations ample time to pilot with the idea of WFH task management. It has gone down well with many of these organisations too, so much that some of them like TCS are thinking to shift to working from home for a lot of their workforce. 

Needless to say, the task management mobile app market is bound to grow immensely because of this. In this blog, we explore some aspects of that!

What Are Task Management Apps?

Task management apps are the typical mobile apps which help one systematize, plan, and make sure that the tasks get done on time. In short, they are the tools for productivity enhancement. So, they are like a supervisor who is friendly They help you in becoming more systematic with your approach and hence ensure that you keep on track thus reducing your stress too

According to reports by 2022 annual mobile app survey, mobile app downloads are estimated to reach 258 billion of which roughly 30% would be in the form of some or the other task management app or productivity solution. 

Task management apps have become a very important part of almost every industry division – education, banking, healthcare, leisure, production & manufacturing, etc. In the next section, let us explore some of the WFH task management options which have become especially popular among the masses 

Advantages of Task Management Apps

Task management apps are an organized and orchestrated method of identifying, monitoring & managing the various activities performed by different members of a team in an organization. They are a management apparatus to have a unified and seamless flow of information among various hierarchies and departments to ensure quality control and delivery on time.

Task Management apps also facilitate planning resources, project estimation, setting milestones, delegation, and distribution of functions, etc. Consequently, they help in quality control by comparing the actual performance with set standards and thus finding out deviations, if any. Another important aspect of the same is the flow of information among the employees of a particular team, providing for a pragmatic way of working through technology, despite being absent from an office setup.

Task Management apps have many advantages. Some of them have been mentioned below

Understanding Requirement and managing task

The primary objective of the task management app is to manage everything under a single umbrella by understanding the requirement of the project and thereby providing for a pragmatic framework for proper functioning and communication among various team members. A typical task management team allows the team members to access all necessary information, as and when required, that eases the way of working and decision-making. It provides for scalability and flexibility of creation and customization to meet business and market requirements.

Prioritizing task

Task Management apps help in setting precedence to various jobs and tasks, according to the need of the client, which results in the efficient delivery of projects to the clients. It helps in prioritizing and differentiating various job roles to be delegated among various team members to ensure increased productivity and proper functioning of the team.

Tracking Progress

As each task has a dedicated space in the task management app, tracking of performance and progress becomes easier. The performance can be compared against the predetermined standards of operations and any deviation from the same can be mitigated through the same. Each member of the team can go back to the previous chats or conversation to keep a track of oneself and the entire team.

Delegation of work

Delegation of work is an indispensable function to ensure the successful management of tasks in a short period. Task management apps assist the user to assign the right task to the right person and also facilitate in monitoring the performance of the same. This feature assists the user to use his/her team efficiently, instead of letting them sit idle, while others are overburdened.

Reduce Waste

Redundant information or unnecessary thought as to how to proceed further can be eliminated with the help of task management apps. Given that an average task management app allows for the room to brainstorm, a lot of futile ideas can be avoided in the very beginning. Notes for the same can then be adequately maintained in the form of a minutes-of-meeting section, created well within the app.

Since there is hardly any room for error, this software facilitates in reducing the time of reworking tasks, that were not completed correctly in the first place. 

Example of Task Management Apps

The primary aim of task management apps is to understand the requirement and management of a task within the team, to ensure the proper flow of information and increase in productivity of the team.

Some of the top-rated Task management apps are as under :

Clickup

One of the best Task Management apps, used by tech giants like Google, is Clickup. An easy to use interface and also features that help to shoot up productivity in various facets of business, make this application a coveted one. It is equipped with templates to save tasks for future projects and also provide for recurring tasks. It also helps to prioritize tasks with a ‘color coordinated system’.

Keeping a track of deliverable becomes easier with its powerful reminders by synchronizing it to various platforms like Email inbox, desktop, or mobile. It also has multiple view options such as Board View, List-view, Calendar View, etc.

Asana

No this isn’t about yoga. This is another type of task management app that helps in various business processes. The primary goal of this software is to help in meeting the task deadlines and determining their priority. With its simple and straightforward interface, it is very user-friendly. It provides for the integration of various time management solutions by sharing files, assigning tasks, and tracking the progress of various tasks. Here the various business units are segregated into smaller teams and Asana helps in monitoring individual components of wider projects assigned to these teams.

Slack

Slack is another popular task management app used by various business organizations. It is predominantly an internal team messaging application that ensures integration and proper flow of information among the various team members. It facilitates proper and easier collaboration with people, which ensure to uphold productivity in the system. The interface can also be used to go back to searchable history for cross-referencing. It requires the user to send an invite to various users who want to join the room and thus help in the free flow of information. Individuals can also directly message each other, whilst in a meeting with the rest. Slack can also be integrated with various other applications such as DropBox, Asana,  etc.

Todoist

Todoist is an easy hassle-free task management app that helps in controlling operations across individuals or teams. It has a simple, no-frills interface, built around a classic design that makes it very user friendly. It is intended to cater to the needs of small business houses and start-ups and a is a great option for individuals too. In Todoist, users get notification of recurring due dates, subtasks, prioritizing the tasks, automated backups, and email notifications.

Flow

Modern task managers are fond of this tool. Flow is a task-tracking app that facilitates quality control by tracing back to the prior functions performed. Most of the projects are color coordinated which helps people to quickly navigate between individuals tasks and projects in the workflow. It is a paid software and does not have any free version. It has a ‘drag and drop’ timeline feature, which facilitates navigation and also a list of tasks with card views.

Quire

This tool emphasizes one of the important features of task management, which is ‘task prioritizing ’. Quire breaks down the task management into its smallest possible portions and thus scans the tasks that require immediate attention i,e, prioritize. It helps you start the task and then add or break them into smaller tasks as it proceeds. It also provides progress reports and recurring tasks.  

Task Management Apps and Automation

There is no denying that in today’s day and age, technology and automation almost dictate the way of life to be conducted by humans. Be it Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Data Analytics, Machine learning or anything, every new technology is being funded and innovated upon just so that it can automate the usual manual work. The same has touched the task management apps too. Though the impact isn’t much and a lot of innovation and integration needs to be done yet, yet the very basic reminders are a form of automation too.

If we talk of the future though, there is a possibility that with the help of AI and Big Data Analytics integration, an average task management app will be able to determine and tell the time taken per task too. Maybe these apps will also give suggestions about how the employees need to speed up or what part of interaction is futile and hence can be avoided later.

However, for now, all of this is fantasy but then, how long does it take for a fantasy to turn into reality in a world like that of today!

Management Adaptability for the Future

The changing dynamics of the current business scenario reiterates the Darwin Theory of “Survival of the Fittest”. The most pivotal characteristic to possess at this time of the hour for all the business houses is ‘adaptability’. Scalability and flexibility of operations given any situation is the key to the survival of most businesses. When the Great Depression hit in 1930, companies found themselves indebted and unable to run productive operations, which in turn led to significant layoffs. The current pandemic situation also resonates with the same scar in the world economy.

According to a survey conducted by Westmonroe.com, where they inquired 250 US business leaders, regarding their ability to foresee the ability of their organization to respond to change and volatility, it was found that they are aware of the importance of WFH task management as an option in preparing for the future, but as we have seen in the recent times already, it isn’t a cakewalk. 

Conclusion

We are still in the phase when the pandemic impact hasn’t subsided yet. Multiple jobs are being lost every day and many businesses are finding it hard to survive. The startup ecosystem is hit majorly because most of them were running on secured funding. However, the point is not that. The point is that to survive through this strenuous scenario, one will have to indulge in extensive cost-cutting. A major part of that cost-cutting would also be in the form of infrastructural cost-cutting. As many of the IT firms have claimed already, we feel that work from home is going to be the norm for some time now. Needless to say, work from home task management will be a major operational issue to handle and hence task management apps and solutions will see a major push in the sale.

The point is, which of the applications will do the best and why? Well, that is something only time will be able to tell!

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Now, for easier reference in this blog, how do we define a consulting app per se? So, a consulting mobile app is one which provides a platform where people could discuss their concerns and have experts answering them. Quora could be considered to be similar to a consulting mobile app but it is more of a discussion platform. The closest that the Indian nation has come to one would be the medical consulting apps such as mfine or Docsapp.

Some Examples For Better Perspective

Other than these, there are some good financial consulting apps such as  FinaQA which aims at helping people with their financial queries by putting them across with CA, CS or other financial advisors. Once one logs into the app, they can type out the query and request assistance from an expert. The app helps with putting across the right consultant for the query.

Another app belonging to a different sector (education here) would be Atlasso which helps people consult with experts for taking the right courses for their career path. Unlike static websites like Shiksha.com or Pagal guy, Atlasso puts one across with an expert for a real time consult. 

The third and final example for this blog would be the most common doctor consultation apps. These apps like mfine or Docsapp assist by allowing one to book an appointment with the doctor of their choice. The consultation then can be made via a video call.

How do the Mobile Consulting Apps Work

A consulting app works by the standard process whereby the requester puts up a request on the consulting app platform, which is then transmitted through the administrator to the expert and then answered. Now, an administrator could either be a person who transfers the request or it could be an algorithm which identifies the category of the request and pushes it to the category experts.

Based on these considerations and also the kind of consulting interface being used, a consulting mobile app can be divided into three categories:

Content Based Models

These models are pretty similar to Quora only unlike Quora, they are directed for specific people to answer. Such apps can be either industry specific or industry agnostic. An app like this will require a user to put up a question in one among the selected categories which the app caters too. The question will then be forwarded to through an administrator or simply showed through an online algorithm to people who have marked themselves as the experts in the categories. Once the answers are received, to make sure that the requester gets the best answer, either the consulting app firm could have it vetted through an in-house expert or simply ask for a public vote and then showcase the answers in the order of their popularity and accuracy.

That being said, there can be better ways too in which a final and more accurate vetting of the answer could be done.

Call Centre Assistance (Misters.in)

A recently started business by Suhas Misra (co-founder Paperboat), Misters.in would be a good example to understand this concern. Misters.in is a startup aimed at the rarely discussed topic of Men’s sexual wellness. For now, Misters.in is a web and call only platform but an app version of it would make sense enough. Suppose Misters has an app, the process would involve people putting up their query on the platform. This query is then transferred to an expert who answers it. Alternatively, the app can have an in-call functionality connecting the user directly to the expert.

Video Call Assistance

Finally the model where one could interact on a video and feel more at home. Most of the healthcare apps follow this model. The person/user is first required to book an appointment with the doctor and then, they can discuss their concerns on a live chat. 

While we have, until now explained the basic functionalities of a consulting mobile app, let us now look at the reasons as to why the online consulting mobile apps are gaining advantage over the traditional offline models.

The issues with offline consultation & How Consulting Apps Score

One has to go out!

The very first and probably the biggest one for millennials or the upcoming target segments- everything needs to be delivered at the comfort of the home. Most of the new age generation doesn’t want to go out for utilities. There are so many apps which provide almost all the services at the tap of a button. In such a scenario, it is only obvious that consultation should be at the tap of a button too.

The amount of time that gets wasted

The lives today are fast paced and taking time out can be tough. And consultation isn’t always about consulting with a doctor. Sometimes, we need consultation about a new app we are building or how one should plan a startup or simply about some course we would be wanting to take. In such a case, going and meeting an expert doesn’t really make sense. However, getting on a phone or video call over an app would make a lot of sense and will also help with time management. So, while one is taking a break, they can simply log in and engage or fix a time as per their schedule.

May not be happy after the consultation

Now, it isn’t always guaranteed that the consultation would be up to the expectations. Sometimes we expect more and sometimes the consultant himself/herself isn’t up to the mark. In such a case, giving feedback to an offline consultant could be tough. However, with an online consulting app or a similar relevant portal, one can give feedback easily. Such a feedback will result in the consultants improving their overall consult quality which would help not just the users but them as well. There are few apps which refund the consultation fees in case if clients are unhappy.

Round the clock availability

Usually an offline consultation requires one to book an appointment prior to the consultation. Now, that particular consultant might not be available all the time. Plus, since we are focusing on just one consultant, we will have to clock our schedule around them. If however, this discussion or consultation happens over an app, not only would one be able to choose a better consultant amongst the pool of multiple but also plan the schedule as per their time.

Too expensive

No explanation would be required here because we all know how expensive offline consultation gets. The online ones however, since they offer the consultants a pool of prospects too, are usually way cheaper.

The Offline Consult Issues & Online Mobile App Solutions for Businesses

Last minute cancellation

It is not uncommon that people cancel at the last minute. This results in a huge loss for the business, both in terms of the opportunity lost in terms of the client who didn’t come but also loss of the other clients which they had to turn down. An online consulting app however solves this issue. This is because an online model works in tandem with an offline one and hence, the entire schedule can be planned accordingly. Also, if the online slot for the consultant gets opened, another person can be fit into that.

Lower and erratic turn out

One can not guarantee the number of footfalls one can have daily but one can definitely make up for that on online apps because a lot of them is analytics and data interpretation. Thus, for the business types which have erratic user turnouts, they may as well use up their idle time to consult on apps and provide solutions to those who might not necessarily visit. This could be a great source for making up the revenue targets.

Combating the Excess Competition

Most of the online consulting apps provide for better visibility to those who perform well or have better feedback for their work. Thus, instead of spending huge amounts of money on digital marketing or offline promotions, a decent marketing strategy built around a consulting app would help get larger chunk of the market share. The faster one does it, the better the results would be.

The days are long gone where people used to depend upon other people for the information. Now, is the age of the internet where almost everything is just a tap on the screen away. The internet is full of relevant information and there are so many experts who could consult across border too. 

In such a situation it is only a matter of time before someone leverages this benefit and creates an app for consultative selling.

At Vibeosys, we help you conceptualize and then develop your consulting app in just the manner you would want to have it. All you need to do is to come up with an idea, the development and execution is what we will do for you

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