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7 Benefits of Integrating a Team Planner into the Workplace

The top concern of any project manager is keeping track of what their team is doing at any given time in the project schedule. The second issue lies in quickly resolving problems such as scheduling conflicts, re-assigning of resources etc. With an online team planner, project managers can resolve these issues in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.
Through easy to use drag and drop features, project managers can instantly assign or re-schedule resources according to project needs and upcoming deadlines. This is a quick and painless way of ensuring that you always have the right resources, with the right skill sets assigned to the right projects.

Other common activities such as scheduling a short term substitute for a staff member who has taken an unexpected day off can also become a headache with lengthy Excel spreadsheets. With an online team planner, managers can easily view available resources and their current projects and re-schedule accordingly.

Here are 7 benefits of integrating team planners into the workplace:
 Benefits of Integrating a Team Planner into the Workplace

1. Easy Allocation of Resources


With team planners, plans can be added to the Gantt charts and calendar through the easy to use drag and drop feature. This allows project managers to select available resources and assign tasks accordingly, thereby eliminating chances of daily issues such as scheduling conflicts. In other words, through a team planner project managers can see the right mix of resources and people, and all they have to do is simply drag tasks to plan work for the entire team and project.

Team planners also come with intuitive guidance and analysis tools which can be used to predict and resolve scheduling conflicts based on the tasks and assigned resources. Moreover, resource planning software also alerts managers when they have overbooked resources, and through easy drag and drop features, scheduling conflicts can be instantly resolved.

2. Convenient Access to Team Planners


Team planners which are also available online are easy to access, especially when project managers or even staff members have to work on-site and do not have access to a desktop system. With an online team planner, the project manager along with the entire team can conveniently access details such as project milestones, deadlines or see resource availability and progress at any given time, from anywhere. Basecamp is a popular choice that starts out free, then changes to a paid model. You can learn more about basecamp pricing before making your decision


With mobile applications for multiple platforms including Android and iOS, access to project plans and resource schedules is easier than ever. These mobile apps auto-sync and managers can oversee staff progress for each assigned activity. Employees can also indicate the percentage of task completed along with the time needed to finish the assigned task. These reports can be easily accessed through the Planning Board.

Overall, an online team planner is an excellent way to manage projects and resources, as well as to keep team members updated.

3. Multi-user Options


Another benefit of integrating a multi-user team planner into the workplace is that it can be made available for all the staff members involved in a project. This means that each team member on a specific project can easily make changes, update their work progress and re-schedule as needed. This significantly reduces the time and effort put in by project managers in making lengthy project schedules on Excel and manually updating them on a daily basis.

4. Instant Communication


Communicating project milestones and resource schedules can be very time consuming, especially if the team is not present at one location. With an online team planner, project plans can be created with Gantt Charts, which is automatically updated in the staffs’ calendar and/or mobile app. Hence, with instant communication, staff can be easily kept updated, without the need for lengthy and often confusing conference calls or group e-mails. 

5. Easy to Understand Design


Unlike confusing Excel spreadsheets with multiple tabs and colour coded cells, team planners provide a visual way of presenting project schedules which are easy to understand and edit. As they can be made available to the entire team, staff members can immediately see and easily understand their tasks and deadlines.

Excel has many limitations and is proving to be an outdated method of planning. Update your internal technology today by integrating an online team planner into the workplace for your employees.

6. Collaborative Working


Team planning software can be one of the most effective ways of streamlining project processes and improving communication amongst the staff. This in turn can lead to effective collaborative working, where all team members can see their progress, upcoming deadlines and important milestones. Through an online team planner, team members can get a clear picture of how well they and the overall team are performing on a given project, which can result in increased productivity. This also means that businesses can experience higher profit margins due to reduced delays, better time management and increased customer satisfaction.

7. Enhanced Profit Margins


Most importantly, an online team planner can save project managers considerable effort and time. This is because they do not have to make lengthy and boring Excel sheets which can be a nightmare to update and maintain. Also, team planners in the workplace serve to bring the team together and improve communication and productivity, which in turn leads to enhanced profit margins for the business. If you make life easier for your employees by introducing a team planner, morale will significantly rise. When morale is high, the work becomes easier and deadlines are effortlessly met. So, not only will your team benefit, but your business and clients will too.

Technology is constantly advancing, and it’s important that your business moves along with it. Team planners are quickly becoming a life saver for businesses of all shapes and sizes, so there’s no reason as to why you shouldn’t get on board with the trend too. As the above points show, the benefits of this software are vast and shouldn’t be missed out on. If you want to strengthen your team, improve productivity, impress your clients and ultimately grow your business, integrating a team planner into the workplace is the way to go.

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Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 19th May 2017.

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