Discover three practical tips to help you save time, stay on top of priorities, and get the most out of the Tasks tool. These strategies work whether you're managing remote virtual assistants or running an in-office team.
Contents
Prerequisites
Know how to create a task.
Reviewing the task list
It's a good idea to update the task list every day.
If the task list isn’t up to date, you or your team could end up wasting time on tasks that are already done or no longer important. Keeping the list current is easy and should be a daily habit, ideally at the start or end of each workday.
Send your team a daily update through your preferred communication tool, like Teams or Slack. Encourage the team to share quick updates too, such as task progress or if someone’s out sick.
Filtering tasks
The Tasks page includes filters to help you narrow down the results. Here are two quick tips for using them effectively.
Some brokers use a bucket approach (see below) to task management. That means tasks do not have a specific person designated as the Assignee. The advantage of this approach is that important tasks sit at the top of the list and can be completed by anyone on the team. If you follow this approach, you'll want to filter the task list by Broker.
Alternatively, some brokers assign stages to teams instead of individuals. If you assign by team, make sure the table displays the Teams field. To customise table display, click the Show Fields tab at the top of the page and toggle on the Teams option.
Assigning tasks ... or not
New or existing tasks can be assigned to a person. That's a great way to clarify workflow and introduce accountability. But what happens if that staff person is away or overwhelmed with other high-priority work? Some unfinished tasks could be left behind even though other staff resources are available.
The bucket approach to one way to prevent tasks from falling through the cracks and to avoid underutilising your team.
When a task is created, the Assignee field is left blank. Each team processor scans the task list and takes responsibility for the next open high-priority task (or perhaps a group of tasks if they are related to the same applicant/client). When a processor takes a task, they add their name to the Assignee field so the rest of the team knows the task is handled. To work well, the bucket approach requires an investment in staff training because every processor needs to know how to perform each different type of task.
