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In 2023, employee engagement stagnated and employee well-being declined, according to a 2024 Gallup report. 2024 didn't bring any improvements. The result is that employees all around the globe struggle at work (and at home), leading to direct consequences for organizational productivity.
Gallup estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion — 9% of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Could the right productivity tool be the answer to higher engagement and better outcomes?
Table of Contents
- 10 Best Productivity Apps and Tools for Today’s Digital Workplace
- 1. Sunsama
- 2. Asana
- 3. Jasper
- 4. Miro
- 5. Pictory
- 6. Colossyan
- 7. Platstack
- 8. Doodle
- 9. Zapier
- 10. Typeset
- How to Choose the Right Productivity Tools
- How to Determine if a Productivity Tool Is Working
- Embrace Productivity Tools for a Happier Workplace
10 Best Productivity Apps and Tools for Today’s Digital Workplace
The right tool for you or your team will depend on your work style, role, organization and industry. Here are some of the most popular expert-recommended productivity apps.
1. Sunsama
Put away the notepad — Sunsama is a to-do list app and digital planner that helps you plan your daily routine. This tool's strength lies in its ability to unify tasks from other platforms, like Trello, Asana, Slack, email, Google Calendar and others, to help relieve overwhelmed teams and align daily goals.
Janifer Wheeler, a learning and development consultant, says she uses the platform daily. "For leaders, Sunsama provides a clear overview of team activities, facilitating better management of workloads and deadlines,” she said.
The productivity app also syncs across devices, making it easy to keep track of your tasks and schedule on the go. Other capabilities offered by Sunsama include:
- Auto-scheduling
- Weekly goal reviews
- Analytics
- Focus mode
2. Asana
"Many companies do not effectively manage their projects and provide transparency of project risks, files and activities," said Penny Zenker, business coach and author of "The Reset Mindset." A project management app like Asana is great for tracking progress, assigning tasks, providing transparency and ensuring accountability across departments, she explained.
One of the most popular project management apps on the market, Asana offers key features like:
- Project and task management
- Status updates
- Workflows and automation
- Capacity planning
- Time tracking
- Reporting dashboards
3. Jasper
Some writing tasks require human creativity, but there’s a way to speed up the more routine tasks by turning to an AI writing assistant like Jasper. This tool enhances productivity by generating high-quality content quickly, said Wheeler, and teams can use it to create blog posts, emails, social media content and more. It can also help repurpose content.
"For leaders, Jasper.ai ensures consistent brand voice and style across all communications, while fostering creativity and reducing writer’s block among team members," she continued. But the key to AI is the quality of the prompt. "One great feature of Jasper is that it will help you enhance your prompts for better results, saving so much time!"
4. Miro
Miro could be the ideal productivity app for visual learners in the workplace. Zenker described it as "a collaborative whiteboard platform where teams can brainstorm, map out workflows and visually organize ideas, especially useful for remote teams."
AI is baked into the app, offering up automatic summaries of board changes and comment threads. It can also provide feedback on work and recommendations on how to expand your ideas.
"These tools are great ways to run workshops and collect all team members’ input and quickly group and categorize data to create action plans," Zenker said.
Related Article: Miro Innovation Workspace Is an All-in-One AI-Driven Collaboration Solution
5. Pictory
If you need to speed up and simplify the video creation process, Pictory could be the productivity app to turn to. With it, said Wheeler, "teams can transform written content into videos effortlessly, making it ideal for marketing, training and presentations."
The tool comes with easy-to-use templates and editing features, enabling leaders to convey messages visually and capture audience attention more effectively.
"I really like this tool for making videos from blogs, but it can help you transform any written piece of content into a video," she added. Two great use cases, according to Wheeler? Personal playbooks and employee user guides.
6. Colossyan
Another option when it comes to AI video creation is Colossyan, a platform that positions itself as a tool for workplace learning. Users can create videos with AI avatars from text and translate content into multiple languages.
This app includes capabilities like:
- AI voice selection
- Workspaces for team collaboration
- Brand kits
- Quiz integration
- AI assistance
"It supports workplace productivity by enabling teams to produce diverse content for global audiences without extensive resources," said Wheeler. "Leaders can use Colossyan to enhance training, marketing and communication strategies, ensuring inclusivity and engagement across different linguistic and cultural contexts."
Related Article: Work Processing: The Tools We Use to Think, Write, Remember
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7. Platstack
Platstack is a cloud-based platform that allows teams to save, organize and share any type of digital content from the web.
"It allows users to group their projects or frequently used apps, sites and links into categorized collections called 'stacks,'" said Zenker. "It allows you to close all windows when you move on to another task and then open them all up again when you come back to the project. These stacks can be shared with others, making it easier to collaborate on projects, share knowledge or recommend resources."
8. Doodle
Doodle is a tool that can help you schedule meetings via polls. Users can select the days and times that work best for them, give participants several options, gather a list of suggestions and schedule the meeting based on the poll results.
This productivity tool "helps groups quickly find a common meeting time, reducing the back-and-forth emails usually required for scheduling," said Zenker. Plus, she added, you can involve participants from various organizations that aren't able to share calendar events.
9. Zapier
Nothing can tank productivity quite like having dozens of platforms and apps that you have to toggle between. Productivity tools like Zapier can help calm the chaos. Zapier offers "robust automation tools that allow users to connect apps, transfer data and automate processes in an intuitive way," explained Zenker.
The platform, which offers a free version to get started, allows users to automate workflows on their own, without the need to hire a developer or create an IT ticket and hope for a response.
This tool integrates with more than 7,000 apps, including:
- Google Apps and Google Workspace
- Slack
- Mail Chimp
- Calendly (and other calendar apps)
- HubSpot
- ChatGPT
10. Typeset
Typeset is a tool for workplace productivity that offers teams and leaders the ability to streamline content creation and improve communication, said Wheeler.
"In the workplace, Typeset can be used to create engaging presentations for meetings, effortlessly turning raw ideas into polished slides that captivate audiences," she added. "Marketing teams can utilize the platform to quickly design professional-quality materials, reducing the time spent on production while maintaining a high standard of creativity."
Typeset use cases include:
- Slide decks: Create onboarding or training presentations, sales pitches and board meetings.
- Ebooks: Develop a branded ebook and transform it into additional content, like social media posts.
- Social media: Generate ads and posts, such as Instagram banners and Youtube thumbnails.
- Reports: Use the AI report generator to produce reports for business presentations, interdepartmental communication and more.
Related Article: Multi-Tasking Is a Myth: How to Reclaim Focus and Productivity
How to Choose the Right Productivity Tools
You can browse productivity platforms all day, from note-taking apps to time tracking software to to-do list generators. But which one is best for you or your team?
"If possible, I recommend forming a small group of employees from ALL teams and departments who can weigh in on the tool and help you implement it," said Wheeler. She recalls in a previous role, the group developed a rubric for evaluation while exploring software demos and free trials. "I highly recommend not making productivity tools decisions in a vacuum."
This same group also helped with implementation, she added. "Once we chose the tool, we trained each of our campus leads first so that they could coach and troubleshoot."
How to Determine if a Productivity Tool Is Working
You've selected the productivity tool or tools to implement, but how do you know if they're actually making a difference in the workplace?
Wheeler and Zenker offered up several key performance indicators that leadership can track:
- User Adoption Rate: Wheeler recommends companies track how quickly and extensively the tool is being used by the team. High adoption rates often correlate with perceived usefulness and user-friendliness.
- Task Completion Rate: Measure the rate at which tasks or projects are completed before and after tool implementation, said Zenker. An increase in on-time task completion is a good indicator of improved productivity."
- Time Savings: Measure the amount of time saved in processes or meetings. Tools that effectively reduce time spent on routine tasks can significantly enhance productivity. Prior to the rollout, said Wheeler, choose 2-3 of the most important tasks you want to track. Determine how long it takes to complete. After the rollout is complete, do the same and compare."
- Employee Feedback: Regular surveys or feedback sessions can reveal whether employees find the tool valuable and easy to use, said Zenker. Plus, it's also helpful if you're working with an outside vendor, as these tools can often be tweaked or customized to meet specific needs, added Wheeler.
- Error Rate: For process-related tools, Zenker noted, measuring the reduction in errors, missed deadlines or the need for rework can demonstrate improvements in quality and output.
Related Article: Mastering Asynchronous Collaboration in the Digital Workplace
Embrace Productivity Tools for a Happier Workplace
By embracing these productivity apps and approaches, leaders can cultivate a more joyful and productive workplace, said Wheeler. "Remember, the key is to empower your team with the right resources and support to thrive."
