We talk a lot about business processes and workflows; they tend to go hand in hand when thinking about efficiency and productivity. A lot of financial planning practices that we speak to find it challenging to keep track of tasks and progress, and it’s usually due to one of these reasons:
- The task distribution is not automated.
- There is no formal process around the tasks.
Without a structured process, you will inevitably end up with an imbalance; some team members will find themselves completing more tasks than others, production will be slow, and client satisfaction will decrease. Not only can this cause tension, but it’s also nearly impossible to keep track of who is doing what.
What do the stats show?
According to reclaim.ai’s 2022 Task Management Trends Report, of the 2,000 professionals surveyed, only 16.8% of teams in an organisation will accomplish more than 70% of their planned tasks every week. Only 29.3% of team members defended their work week for productive, heads-down work. The report also showed that an average manager/leader spends 5 hours a week assigning, prioritising, and reprioritising work for their team, equivalent to 12.4% of their work week. As a result, only 26.9% of managers/leaders average more than 4 hours daily on their own tasks. Furthermore, managers/leaders average 1.82 hours daily on unproductive work like sifting through task lists.
This survey is based on users of 5 different task management platforms. The stats do not highlight the inefficiencies of using a task management system; they show that we live in an era of larger task loads, more meetings, competing priorities, and less time to complete them. Throw a pandemic into the mix, and we’re facing unprecedented strain in the workplace.
So how do you identify inefficiencies in your process? There are always signs, and here are the most common ones to look out for:
A task management system will not solve all your problems, but using a central system to automate, delegate and manage your workflows will be indispensable when it comes to increasing productivity and managing change.
I did mention that we’re facing unprecedented strain in the workplace. However, we’re also living in an era of technology and innovation, which means access to task management platforms and CRMs is better than ever. Regardless of the platform you choose, here are the benefits of using a good task management system/CRM:
- You can manage all your client-related activity from a single place.
- Repetitive tasks can be automated and prioritized.
- Managers/leaders can track multiple workflows and delegate various tasks easily.
- It is a central file-sharing area that reduces miscommunication and time wasted searching for data.
- Some CRMs will also have an inbuilt client portal which makes file sharing and communication with your client even easier. For more information about client portals, we recommend reading “Five benefits of a client portal for advisers” by Stuart Alsop from Intelliflo.
- A central system can bridge the gap between teams and improve collaboration.
- You can track the time spent on tasks which can help you to identify common roadblocks and help your team to achieve their KPIs more efficiently.
If you would like to discuss task management systems, business processes, or workflows, please contact us. We are here to help!
