Being productive is made easy using technology. You don’t need to make that long phone calls anymore to get things done. Employers sometimes end up wasting time explaining a task via a phone call.
An employee might not decode up to 70 percent of the information. Direct audio communication is not trusted. It’s like an air, you loose it. But wait, employers and employees still exchange emails. Are task best delegated via emails? The answer could be yes or no. It depends.
Even if you decide to say your answer is no. Does that make emails irrelevant?, no. Emails still play significant roles in communication. But definitely not the best medium to use when delegating tasks.
The reason is because there are new technologies specifically designed for task management. Email is for general communication system. So they are not the same.
In 2015 I got to know about one of those technologies. On the first day I resumed office as a social media officer. My boss then told me to sign up on Slack. I quickly launched my internet and signed up. It was quick and easy. I also loved the Slack interface.
All tasks were delegated to me through that medium. Once a task is assigned to me I get notifications on my smartphone. I already downloaded the App, so it was pretty easy. I could either acknowledge the task before execution. Or execute the task and acknowledge. Whichever way. As soon as I do any of that, my boss gets notification too.
It was seamless. We never did such via WhatsApp. I get marveled when I see CEOs assign task via WhatsApp. There is no justification for this at all. It looks unprofessional. You might also be sending the wrong signal to your employee.
We never used Slack for more than 3 months. My boss suggested we start using Asana. The Asana app is more detailed, broader and suits the purpose. What is the purpose? Task management. Of course more complex than Slack.
Asana has features that allows you to create task and assign it to a team member. You create the title of the task and provide guidelines. You give deadline to the task. You are notified if the task is completed or not. Whenever the Assigner ( the person who delegates the task) assigns a task. The Assignee gets notified via email.
Anytime am notified, I quickly launch the Asana App. I could like that task if I want to. I could also comment. The App will even inform you that your task deadline is approaching via email. It reminds you and subtly induces you to take action.
If am to market this App. My most important selling point would be that no task is overlooked or slips off. In fact I have a task assigned to me over 8 months ago. That task will continue to be there until I complete it. Of course WhatsApp and emails wouldn’t solve this problem.
