How?! 

I get it—staying productive isn’t always easy, especially when we’re constantly facing distractions and our willpower is constantly tested.

Good thing there’s a hack for everything these days! Take a look at these 22 productivity hacks that will help you get more done in less time without sacrificing your focus or energy.

Why Are Productivity Hacks Important?

Productivity simply means how efficient you are in converting your inputs into outputs.

Productivity helps you measure how efficiently you can produce outputs (like your product or service) from many inputs (like money, time, or labor).

It isn’t just about getting more work done; it’s about getting more out of our time. It’s about achieving our goals and doing what we need to do without wasting time on things that don’t matter—which we’re all guilty of at times.

Take a look at some of the most common productivity killers—do any of them apply to you? 

• Too many tools or not enough of them
• Lack of boundaries 
• Poor self-accountability 
• Poor productivity planning and time management
• Sleep debt 
• Distractions
• Burnout 
• Zoom gloom

It can be tough to stay productive when distractions are constantly pulling us in different directions. Between checking our phones, emails, social media accounts, and the endless list of “to-dos,” it’s easy to lose focus on what’s important.

So while we can’t always have full control of our workdays, we can start establishing smart work habits mixed with effective productivity hacks to keep us from getting derailed from getting our important and urgent tasks done and hitting our goals!

22 Best productivity hacks to get you through your workdays

Getting things done seems like an uphill marathon race these days—it burns slow and requires tremendous effort due to all the distractions, endless (so it seems) Zoom meetings, increased incoming emails, and so on. 

If you can relate, then it’s time to explore these productivity hacks to help you get things under control and boost your productivity battery!

Mindset Productivity Hacks

You know that feeling when you’re in the zone? When you’re so focused on what you’re doing that time seems to fly by, and before you know it, you’ve accomplished a lot? That’s the goal we’re striving for here.

The problem is, for some of us, it’s difficult to concentrate and power through every type of task. It can be especially challenging when there are a million things going on at once and deadlines are looming. 

Here are a few tips for hacking your mindset to help you maximize your brainpower and get things done effectively! 

1. Dedicate power working hours and be present

  Blocker: Are you having trouble staying creative and focused on your high-priority tasks?

Solution:

• Batch high-focus and low-focus tasks
• Avoid multitasking to optimize brainpower, attention, and focus
• Turn on the Do Not Disturb or Focus mode on your phone and laptop to pause notifications
• Follow email organization best practices like the OHIO method or setting specific times each day to check email, so it doesn’t distract you all day long

2. Meditation and get some quality sleep

  Blocker: Feeling like your thoughts are tangled in your mind or unable to think clearly (or at all )?

Solution:

• Clear your head before going into work-mode
• Allow time for yourself before the workday begins (self-reflection/alone time to center yourself)
• Get quality sleep and get in tune with your circadian rhythm

3. Change your environment from time to time

  Blocker: Are you having difficulty focusing on the task at hand or doing the task you least enjoy?

Solution:

• Go outside, a different workspace, etc.

The first battle of fully productive mode is getting your mindset in the right space—try these hacks to get your head in the game. And I get it, for others, getting in the right headspace can be challenging, especially when you have ADHD symptoms (like I do).

If that’s relatable to you, check out these tips to help you optimize ClickUp and make it work for you! 

Physical Productivity Hacks

You know that old saying, “move it or lose it?” Well, when it comes to brain power, that’s actually true! 

Recent studies have shown that sitting for long periods of time can actually lead to a decrease in cognitive performance because what we do with our bodies has a direct impact on how well our brains function.

So if you’re like most of us who work in an office, you’ve probably found yourself sitting at your desk for long periods of time with little to no movement besides your fingers typing and hand reaching for your fourth cup of coffee, then it’s time to establish a new habit and get your movement breaks in!

You have to get up and move your body if you want to optimize your brainpower. After all, your brain craves body movement because it’s one of the ways it gets oxygen and promotes the production of brain cells for better cognitive performance, aka your productivity and efficiency.

TL;DR: If you want to be your most productive self, you need to move your body. 

Here are movement hacks to keep your mind and body working in unison to get sh*t done:

4. Exercise first thing in the morning 

  Blocker: Are you lacking motivation and energy to start your workday?

Solution:

• Move your body in the morning before work to spikes brain activity prepares you for mental stresses and complex situations for the rest of the day and increases retention of new information
• For those who aren’t morning people, carve out time to work out in the middle of the day to refuel your brain for the afternoon

5. Get a short movement break in

  Blocker: Lacking the enthusiasm and willpower to complete non-exciting tasks?

Solution:

• Go for a quick walk outside, take a stretch break (or a quick desk dance break?)

6. Use a standing desk

  Blocker: Feeling mentally fatigued due to excessive sitting?

Solution:

• Try using a height-adjustable office desk to break up long periods of sitting and to remind you to move your legs for better blood and oxygen circulation, which powers up our brain!

With our increasing work responsibilities, we often forget to set up our bodies for optimal work efficiency and performance. Exercise is an effective method for boosting cognitive function and tapping into your productive mode by moving your body.

Organization Productivity Hacks

How often have you started working on something and then got sidetracked because of the mess on your desk? How many times have you been unable to find what you need because your digital workspace is scattered and unorganized? 

If you’re like most people, the answer is, “a lot.”

The truth is, if your workspace is cluttered and disorganized, it will be difficult to focus and get anything done.

It’s time to reorganize your workspace—check out these hacks!

7. Use the Eisenhower matrix to organize your task by priority

  Blocker: Having trouble prioritizing tasks? 

Solution:

8. Clean up physical workspace 

  Blocker: Are you easily distracted by things around you?

Solution:

• Keep your desk and office area free of clutter like trash, miscellaneous items, and basically anything that doesn’t have anything to do with the work you’re doing

9. Declutter and organize your digital workspace 

  Blocker: Do you waste time constantly searching for your tasks, documents, etc.?

Solution:

• Create folders, group files, tasks, etc. based on project type and categories for quick searches

• Use a consistent and relevant naming convention for your folders, tasks, documents, etc.
• Do a digital audit every week and move unnecessary files into the trash bin   

The importance of performing a weekly audit of the digital workspace and office space cannot be overstated; don’t let things pile up. Organizing both areas from time to time will help you avoid future distractions, and frustrations, and clear out unnecessary items that may interfere with your flow and concentration.

Workflow and Process Productivity Hacks

When it comes to being productive, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. What works for someone else may not work for you, and that’s okay!

Establishing a routine and creating a system can help you tap into your most productive self mode. 

Take a look at the hacks below to see what you can start implementing in your work life:

10. Plan the following workday before bedtime

  Blocker: Do you become overwhelmed and frantic as soon as you open your laptop in the morning?

Solution:

A productivity hack that improved my work and reduced stress is planning my task before sleeping. 

Before I go to bed, I note down the tasks to do the next day. So when I wake up in the morning, I don’t have to worry or look to do anything new–I already have ‘work’ to do.

It is always a new thing or a surprise that disrupts plans and productivity. You should ignore the updates and focus on your work. You catch up on all the notifications in the evening and plan the next day accordingly. This way, you sleep well knowing what you will do the next day, and the morning feels welcoming. With strategy made the previous night, you left the execution for the morning.

11. Eat the frog method

  Blocker: Feel mentally drained by midday and have trouble completing the rest of your tasks?

Solution:

• This method suggests that you should get your most important and biggest tasks done first thing in the morning to maximize your brain power, and as Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day”

Bonus: Getting big ticketed tasks done early= Dopamine levels =alertness, focus, creativity, concentration, and activates long-term memory

12. Consolidate your work apps

  Blocker: Overwhelmed by the number of apps you have to handle every day?

Solution:

• Reduce toggling time between apps and bring all your work into one place—a centralized hub. You can also take advantage of app integrations to connect all your most-used apps together for a seamless workflow. This will open up more time for important and deep work and clear your way to productivity land

13. Break down tasks into subtasks 

  Blocker: Feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of a project and don’t know where to start?

Solution:

Here’s Daria Maltseva, Head of Product at KeyUA, for more insight into how subtasks can help you get on the productive track:

Instead of giving different tasks individually to your employees, you can try creating a single goal and dividing subtasks among the team members.

This method is more likely to work better as each of them has a specific thing to do, they’ll give their best and better time to complete the tasks. Plus, it won’t feel like a burden when working collaboratively as a team.

Time Management Productivity Hacks

14. Use the Pomodoro Technique

  Blocker: Do you feel as if your attention span is constantly short, or as if you spend too much time focused on one task?

Solution:

• Work in intervals of 25 minutes to maximize attention and focus
• The Pomodoro technique is a time management technique that works great for those who have a hard time focusing on one task at a time, procrastinators, and for self-claimed perfectionists who take too much time revising or thinking about a task

15. Start time blocking

  Blocker: Are you constantly fighting against time? 

Solution:

• This is an effective time management hack that forces you to block out time for specific tasks and focus solely on that task instead of multitasking
• Block out nonnegotiable and uninterrupted time on your schedule to limit distractions, avoid looking at other tasks, and get your mind into your “productive flow state”

16. Block out ‘focus time’ on your calendar

  Blocker: Are Zoom meetings taking up your productive time and leaving you with ‘Zoom gloom’?

Solution:

Take it from Nick Churcher from Scribe:

It’s easy to fall into endless zoom meetings when in remote and hybrid working environments.

The barrier to scheduling a zoom meeting is so low that your calendar quickly fills up with meetings that could easily be carried out asynchronously. Frequently switching between heads down, individual work, and meetings can be highly disruptive to your productivity.

To combat this, block out ‘focus time’ on your calendar to ensure you have sufficient time in the day to get done what you need.

Productivity hacks and ClickTips

17. Get a goal tracking app

Blocker: Have difficulty connecting your tasks to your goals or feeling stuck, unproductive, and uninspired due to a lack of goal structure?

Solution:

• Setting weekly goals with measurable targets will help keep you on track by giving you a structured approach 
• When you can clearly see what your goals are, you’ll be able to align your tasks and schedule your workdays accordingly

Pro Tip: Use ClickUp Goals to stay on track, hit your goals with clear timelines, measure your progress, and more!

18. Utilize task templates

  Blocker: Is your productivity power being blocked by inconsistent processes and wasted time due to rebuilding tasks over and over again? 

Solution:

• Use the task templates in ClickUp to create reusable templates for you and your team. Easily create, save, and edit task templates for bug reports, landing pages, blog posts, and virtually any type of project

19. Automate routine work

  Blocker: Are repetitive and manual tasks taking over your workdays and taking up space in your mind, rent-free? 

Solution:

• ClickUp Automations do the busy work and create consistent processes so you and your team can devote your productive time and energy to other creative and important tasks

20. Label your tasks according to importance

  Blocker: Do you need a clear way to see your urgent tasks and show your team how time-sensitive each task is? 

Solution:

21. Clean up your tabs

  Blocker: Are you keeping too many tabs open (aka tab hoarding) to the point where you have to click on every tab to find the one you’re looking for?

(It’s ok, we’re all guilty of this at some point )

Solution:

Line up and keep your important tasks in your Task Tray to easily jump to and from tasks in ClickUp. This hack will help you stay focused, organized (and sane) when working on multiple tasks within ClickUp. You could even use it as a “Do it now or do it later” system. Can you tell us more about that, Holly?

If I can do it in five minutes or less—I do it and clear the notification.

If it requires a longer set of time or is a bigger project, I put the task in my Task Tray and close it out when all the action items in the tasks have been completed!

22. Remove unnecessary clicks

  Blocker: Are you finding yourself constantly switching to and from pages the same pages in ClickUp? 

Solution:

This feature lets you quickly hop to your most used and popular Workspace locations to help you save time and mental energy. 

Easily create your favorite lineup that is unique to your workflow and preferences and find your favorites in your Sidebar or pinned to the top of your Workspace.

Our ClickUp crew loves this feature. Check out how some of us use it:

I keep the Calendar pinned from the Quick Actions button so that I can quickly view my calendar from anywhere in the platform without having to leave the current page I’m on and go to the Home screen where the calendar lives.

If you’re using pinned favorite views, change their name to an emoji or abbreviation—it allows more favorite views to be visible.

About 90% of my day-to-day ClickUp navigation is through the favorite bar.

Looking for more productivity hacks? Check out our Reddit Productivity Roundup!

‘Productivity’ Hack Your Workdays With ClickUp

There’s always more work to be done than there is time in the day to do it.

We all know that feeling of being overwhelmed by the number of tasks on our plate and the looming sense of dread that comes with them, and it’s easy to get sidetracked (or unmotivated), especially when we’re trying to focus on a task that we don’t find particularly interesting or inspiring. 

It’s a great thing there’s a hack for everything these days!

Try these productivity tips out and use the features in ClickUp to help you work smarter, beat procrastination, train your brain to increase your attention span, and tap into your productive mode—on demand!

The post 22 Productivity Hacks to Get Work Done (+ Expert Tips & Tricks) appeared first on ClickUp.

Success!

You’ve signed a new client to your agency. And now you’re ready to show why they made the best decision investing in your team.

Even though you’ve got them to sign the agreement, you’re still not done winning over these new clients. After the paperwork, you have to ensure the client onboarding process goes one step further to instill trust in your agency by showing them everything (and every step) they can expect.

In fact, a Wyzowl survey found 88% of respondents say they’ll be more loyal to a business that prioritizes onboarding and educational content. While agencies will invest countless hours in pre-onboarding initiatives, it’s not uncommon for them to go dark when finally converting a lead into a customer. 

Sales teams will respond to RFPs, curate a project proposal, answer security questionnaires, and work with legal teams on contracting, but some will stop nurturing the client relationship after. However, there’s a much easier way to prevent this disconnect by providing a complete client onboarding experience.

What is Client Onboarding?

Client onboarding is the process of integrating new clients into a business and establishing a strong and productive working relationship. It is a crucial step in the client-business relationship as it sets the tone for future interactions and helps build trust and mutual understanding. This process helps clients learn all the features and benefits of the product so they get the total value—reducing the chance of churn.

What can agencies do to ensure long-term success with their list of clients? 

Be as invested in their onboarding as they are in their lead generation. First impressions matter. Onboarding is your opportunity to set expectations to prevent scope creep, template customer experiences that reinforce your brand and create a positive client experience to increase profitability.

Why is Client Onboarding Important?

Client onboarding is a vital step in the client-business relationship that helps to establish mutual understanding, improve client satisfaction, increase efficiency, and strengthen the relationship for a successful and long-lasting partnership.

Here are some key reasons why client onboarding is important:

1. Better understanding: Onboarding helps businesses gain a deeper understanding of their client’s needs, expectations, and goals. This information is critical in ensuring that the relationship is productive and successful.
2. Improved client satisfaction: When clients feel welcomed and valued, they are more likely to be satisfied with the services they receive and remain loyal to the business. Onboarding helps to create a positive first impression and foster a sense of belonging.
3. Increased efficiency: A well-structured onboarding process can streamline the process of integrating new clients into the business, reducing confusion and minimizing the risk of errors.
4. Stronger relationships: Onboarding helps to build trust and foster strong, long-lasting relationships between clients and businesses. This, in turn, can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

7-Step Client Onboarding Process 

To help you improve or scale your client onboarding process, we put together seven steps—along with some helpful templates—that are sure to impress your new clients right from the start.

Let’s get started!

1. Set clear expectations around your agency and what will be delivered

You did it! It’s time to celebrate those weeks or months you spent building a relationship with a prospect that has finally become a customer. They’ve felt it, you’ve felt it, and it’s a bright and shiny new opportunity to endear yourself to them. 

A proper onboarding experience should do two things: 

• First, you must confirm to your customer that they made the right choice in working with your agency. 
• Second, you need to remove any uncertainty by clearly outlining what the client can expect from the relationship. 

The former is the fun part and is traditionally done by sending your new customer a token of your appreciation. This can be a bundle of branded swag or some top-shelf scotch, depending on the tone your agency wants to set. 

While it may seem unnecessary, these goodwill gestures elevate your agency to be seen as a partner rather than just another vendor to new clients. The little touches also do wonders to improve your Net Promoter Score (NPS). 

The second part—setting expectations—is best done in an introduction email that clearly outlines what the client can expect from you. It should define the client onboarding process, introduce your points of contact, include a clear timeline of the next steps, and provide a client onboarding checklist. 

This transparency reassures your new clients they made a good investment and bridges the gap between conversion and the onboarding process so they don’t feel like they’re left in limbo. 

PRO TIP
Use ClickUp Automations to keep track of where clients are in the onboarding process, celebrate milestones, and keep them moving forward. For example, your customer ops team should be automatically tagged when you change a lead’s status from “prospect” to “new customer” as a reminder to send a welcome gift.

2. Design and send a client onboarding questionnaire

You probably conducted a preliminary assessment of the customer during your sales process to ensure you were a good match. Now that the client has signed, though, it’s time to delve a little deeper into what exactly they’re looking for. It’s time for a client onboarding questionnaire. 

An onboarding questionnaire is a crucial step in a good client onboarding process. You can’t even meet (let alone exceed) expectations without knowing what those expectations are and what existing assets the customer has to help you achieve them. That’s what an onboarding questionnaire will help you uncover. 

With the help of ClickUp’s Form View, you can turn survey responses directly into tasks or simply collect the information you need from a client questionnaire. For example, customer onboarding questionnaires vary based on the product or service you provide, but a few questions you could include are:

• What overall goal(s) do you want to achieve with our product/service?
• What KPIs are you targeting over the next six months or in a year?
• How would you like to allocate your budget?
• Do you have any pre-existing resources or assets we can leverage to help you reach your goals?
• What are some examples of [insert service line] that you like?
• Who from your team will be our main point of contact, and who are your key stakeholders?
• What is your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
• How do you hope our product/service will help you convert your ICP into customers?

These questions will help you determine how you can quickly show value based on the customer’s specific needs and goals for the best customer onboarding process.

3. Create a service level agreement (SLA)

If your contract doesn’t specify responsible parties and due dates for work, consider creating a Service Level Agreement. An SLA takes everything you’ve learned from the onboarding questionnaire and applies it to the contracted terms of your engagement with the customer. 

If the contract is the What, explaining your future relationship, the SLA is the Who, When, and How. 

For example, your contract lays out an agreement to provide a marketing strategy for a certain price. The SLA will define how that strategy will be created and delivered, including task owners, timelines, and specific responsibilities of team members.

This ensures both you and your clients are aligned on expectations and have accountability should any part of the agreement not go as planned in your client onboarding process.

4. Host a project kickoff meeting

A kickoff meeting solidifies your working relationship. Sure, you may have spent some time getting to know each other prior to this, but your client onboarding process is your opportunity to define how you will function together. During this client onboarding call, you should:

• Introduce your team
• Determine how everyone prefers to communicate and receive the product or service, such as through Slack or email
• Establish project scope and goals (Use a ClickUp Dashboard!)
• Outline how you’ll collaborate, including the cadence of deliveries and how you’ll receive feedback
• Present your SLA
• Provide resources such as your team’s contact information, project management tool access, and other things your new client needs to know

The kickoff call should reinforce expectations set during the contracting and client onboarding process so you start off on the right foot. This creates an opportunity to confirm both teams are aligned on the strategy and service goals before you start digging into projects.

5. Schedule a post-kickoff internal meeting

The post-kickoff internal meeting is your opportunity to surface any takeaways from the kickoff call, work through foreseeable roadblocks, and answer questions. Just like the project kickoff meeting aligns your team with your client’s, the post-kickoff internal meeting aligns your different internal teams on the project.

A good onboarding process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Instead, use this meeting to collaborate on strategies that will play to each team member’s skills, brief your internal team on the SLA and project scope, and assign each task. This meeting should set internal expectations and roles so you can consistently and effectively deliver to your client.

For example, review the deliverables that will contribute to each part of the strategy. This will help your onboarding process by determining the internal point of contact will be for the account. Also, ask if there is any particular part of the strategy that specific team members are excited about or prefer.

The onboarding process should feel like a dual effort. Aligned team members with clear deliverables and expectations provide the best possible outcomes and transfer that energy to positive client experiences.

The easiest way to align teams is through a centralized productivity platform, like ClickUp. Teams can easily collaborate on every aspect of a project—without ever needing to hop between tools and platforms.

6. Plan routine follow-ups

Regular client communications are part of a healthy and productive relationship—especially in the client onboarding process. However, these communications need to serve a clear purpose; either to make your client’s life easier or your project more valuable.

Scheduling regular monthly client meetings as part of your onboarding process will help your team address any concerns upfront as you work together. 

In these meetings, update clients on strategy developments and report on service outcomes to reinforce the value you are delivering. This helps you stay top of mind for your clients, increasing referrals, providing more opportunities for upsells, and ultimately producing more profits. 

Send a follow-up email summarizing what was discussed and action items for each team so the customer has a concrete takeaway from your meeting in the onboarding process.

In addition to monthly meetings, provide weekly written updates via Slack, email, or the client’s preferred channel. These updates should include planned project deliverables and any outstanding action items from the previous week. 

For example, a content marketing firm might include the following items in its weekly update after the intial onboarding process:

• A list of social media and blog posts that you published for the client in the previous week
• What posts the client can expect to be delivered in the current week
• Outstanding content approvals you need from the client
• Proprietary data or subject matter experts you need access to for upcoming projects

These updates provide an opportunity to lean into customer questions and get ahead of any potential roadblocks for the coming week, as well as reinforce your value.

And, if you need even more transparency and communication between weekly check-ins and monthly meetings, use ClickUp’s Table view feature to log client updates and connect ClickUp Tasks to them.

7. Optimize your onboarding experience

As companies scale, expect some gaps in the onboarding experience. It’s essential to proactively identify these gaps and optimize accordingly. There are two steps to optimizing your onboarding; gathering feedback and collaborating internally to address the feedback. 

Start by gathering new client feedback both formally and informally. A successful client onboarding process will ask clients in each follow-up meeting if they have any questions or concerns and note what types of questions are surfacing on a regular basis. Collect these notes in a collaborative space where your team can sort and analyze them at a later date. 

Next, ask for direct feedback by sending out a new-customer onboarding experience questionnaire after each customer has completed onboarding (typically 120 days after signing). With ClickUp forms, you can easily turn survey responses into actionable tasks for your team to follow up on.

These two forms of feedback will help you uncover what your new client needs and where you’re not meeting the mark in your existing customer success workflow. 

Don’t forget to collaborate internally

Client feedback will tell you where the breakdowns are happening, but now it’s up to your team to come up with a solution. The easiest way to do this is to collect the feedback responses from your new customers on a ClickUp Whiteboard.

Work collaboratively with your internal onboarding team to group responses and identify themes. Once themes are identified, think about where in the customer journey you can provide solutions to these gaps. 

Lewis Norwood, head of client relations at Pharmacy Mentor, explained how his team used ClickUp Whiteboards to successfully identify and solve client onboarding gaps. 

“We literally talked through it, each stage of it we spoke about,” says Norwood. “By the end, we had agreement and alignment on the customer journey and even identified a big gap we never realized.”

3 Client Onboarding Examples

• Virtual Onboarding: With the rise of remote work, many businesses are opting for virtual onboarding to integrate new clients into their operations. This can involve a combination of online presentations, video conferencing, and virtual document sharing to ensure that new clients have all the information they need to get started. Virtual onboarding is particularly useful for businesses with a global client base as it allows for a consistent and streamlined process that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

• In-person Onboarding: This approach involves meeting with new clients in person to walk them through the onboarding process. This can be especially effective for building trust and establishing a personal connection with clients. In-person onboarding can also be a good option for businesses that need to cover complex information or demonstrate physical products.

• Hybrid Onboarding: This approach involves combining elements of digital and in-person onboarding to create a tailored approach that works best for the client and the business. For example, businesses may use digital tools to handle administrative tasks, while reserving in-person meetings for more personal, face-to-face interactions. Hybrid onboarding provides businesses with the flexibility to adjust the process as needed and create a customized experience for each client.

ClickUp: Your Single Solution for Managing Client Onboarding 

Imagine a world where you no longer have to toggle between multiple platforms for your CRM, project management, corresponding documents, and team communications. ClickUp makes that possible. 

Effortlessly manage your clients, deliverables, and teams all in one place. ClickUp centralizes your entire workflow into one CRM and project management platform, from customer onboarding to project completion. 

We believe the most effective client onboarding software and the sales process is one that works across teams and encompasses the entire client journey. ClickUp is built on the core concept of improving productivity for teams, which is why we made it fully customizable.

Because a platform that doesn’t work for your unique needs only hinders productivity. Experience freedom from context switching today and download our free customer onboarding template in ClickUp.

The post 7 Client Onboarding Steps That Reduce Churn (With Templates) appeared first on ClickUp.

Between the Superbowl half-time show, “the slap heard around the world,” and Don’t Worry Darling, it was an excellent year for meme content. So no matter how high inflation soared, we always had something to laugh about—besides our bank accounts.

All this to say, a lot went down this year—enough to keep the conversation fresh at the kids’ table for years to come! But whether you categorized it by the rise and fall of Wordle or Pete Davidson’s dating history, 2022 was one for the history books. 

At ClickUp HQ, 2022 will be remembered as the year we turned five years old and made some serious moves in pursuit of our founding mission. It was a year of maturity, growth, and hyper-focus—guided by our core values and never losing sight of the big picture: saving people time so they can focus on the things that matter most.

From expanding our global presence to forming new partnerships, feature releases, and industry recognition, 2022 was good for us. Now, we’re entering 2023 feeling grateful for all we’ve accomplished in the last 12 months and ready to play an even greater role in our users’ productivity.

Our Year in Numbers—AKA, ClickUp Wrapped

In the whirlwind year that was 2022, we stayed committed to growing 1% every day, both as a team and as a product. And when you add all of those percentages together, the outcome is pretty incredible. 

We didn’t just release ClickUp Whiteboards and Docs 3.0, we never stopped improving them. And based on the 27,935,311 new ClickUp Docs and 1,117,125 Whiteboards created in the last 12 months—we can tell you love them as much as we do.

What sets these features apart from your average document editor and digital whiteboard software is the ability to convert text, shapes, notes, and more into action items. Maybe that’s how our users created over 654 million ClickUp tasks this year.

All that efficiency leads to more time spent away from the desk and back where it belongs—with the ones you love, finishing your passion projects, or playing pickleball!

As cool as it is to see these numbers on paper, our favorite part is knowing what our users were able to accomplish because of them. At ClickUp, we live for the thrill of streamlining new processes and powering through our to-do lists, but finding the balance between work and our personal lives makes it all worthwhile! 

The real question is: Who are these people crushing their tasks and boosting productivity off the charts? 

Nothing inspires us as much as our incredible customers. The wide range of use cases, businesses, and industries ClickUp serves is a testament to our product’s power and potential. Here’s how our customers used ClickUp to take the year by storm:

New Year and a Ton of New Features

Since day one, we’ve promised new features each week and we really delivered on that promise. 

We put a ton of TLC into our Template Library, creating hundreds of new and completely free resources for teams of any size and use case. We also entirely revamped ClickUp University to create a vast course catalog, live training, certifications, and tips to help all of our users master their Platform in record time.

Motivated by our users, we poured everything we had into our community of users to provide the best service all around. This started from within the platform, adding Portuguese, Spanish, and German localization features to reduce language barriers and connect teams from all over the world using ClickUp. 

We then turned to our peers, seeking ways to improve our customer’s experience using ClickUp alongside other tools and devices. This translated into a heap of new partnerships, integrations, and updates including:

• Massive updates to our scalable, resilient, and innovative ClickUp infrastructure
• Hiring seasoned and competitive talent to round out ClickUp’s leadership team
• Furthering our commitment to protecting your data by achieving critical ISO certifications
• The official opening of our second US-based ClickUp office in snowy Salt Lake City
• Multiple new senior hires across our EMEA team to keep up with soaring European demand
• ClickUp task creation and reminders sent to your Apple Watch
• A one-of-a-kind partnership with Hubspot
• A newly upgraded Jira importer
• Acquiring Slapdash to enhance and drive our powerful new search function

Just to name a few.

Proud Mom Moments From 2022

You know you’re doing something right when other people start to notice, and 2022 was a major year for us regarding awards and recognition. 

One of our greatest achievements of the year, we were proud to earn our place on the Forbes Cloud 100 list, the definitive ranking of the top private cloud companies in the world for 2022.

ClickUp also ranked highly among LinkedIn’s Top StartUps for the second year in a row, found a home among the best of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, was recognized on Quartz’s list of Best Places to Work for Remote Teams, and more.

All while climbing to the number one spot on G2 for Strategy and Innovation Roadmapping (Software teams), Marketing Calendar (marketing), and Project and Portfolio Management (PMO). These recognitions mean the world to us because they’re entirely based on your ratings!

We stayed dedicated to the seven core values that guide our work at ClickUp every day—especially, paying it forward with random acts of kindness. With this in mind, ClickUp has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, food, and time to those in need of a helping hand.

Kicking Off 2023 Productive AF

Beyond the Platform, our content is another way we give back to our readers and users—because without you, none of this would be possible! 

Plus, we don’t gatekeep!

There is a wealth of knowledge to tap into with our ever-growing team of dedicated ClickUppers, and our blog and newsletter are two of our favorite ways to share it with you all. P.S., have you subscribed to WriteClick yet?! 

The new year is the time to rethink your short and long-term goals, create personal action plans, and tap into your productivity. It’s also the perfect time to let go of the things that once held you back in order to push forward—and ClickUp has every resource needed to guide you on that front. 

Companies are actively seeking new technology to bring teams together, regardless of whether they work in person, from home, or somewhere in the middle. This puts ClickUp in a unique spot because we’re not just in the business of project management, work management, or collaboration—we’re entirely centered around productivity.

“Work” looks completely different now than it did two years ago, and the only thing we can reliably predict going forward is the ability to pivot at any time. 

We’ve taken this to heart and can’t wait to share what ClickUp has in store for 2023, starting with our third annual productivity conference, LevelUp, happening in February. 

A Heartfelt Thank You

Before we collectively toast our Negroni Sbagliatos in celebration of another productive year at ClickUp, we want to acknowledge that 2022 was an incredible challenge for so many people, on every level. 

As fun as it is to look back on all of the good things that happened as a whole, 2022 was not without its trials and tribulations, many of which continue to plague the world even as we enter 2023. 

In the spirit of the new year, new beginnings, and new opportunities, these hurdles have only reinforced the fact that we are a community. And a strong one, at that! 

We support each other, push each other, and give back to each other. As an industry, we’ve all felt the wave of change, and it may not be over yet, but we will ride the tide together!

Change is the only constant, and at ClickUp, we choose to face it head-on and embrace it each and every day. 

We are entering the new year feeling excited about the future of our product, energized by its momentum, and committed to delivering the best service to our community of productivity junkies. 

Love you, nerds.

The post So Long, 2022: Ringing in a New Era of Productivity appeared first on ClickUp.

Whether due to a kidnapping, a divorce, or maybe even an accidental killing, our protagonists must shoulder what feels like the weight of the world.

Inevitably a rift emerges. 

And the new friends find themselves at odds. But in grand fashion, their friendship is reignited, and the importance of their mission is reaffirmed. In the eleventh hour, with the cards stacked against them, our blundering protagonists manage to outwit or out-muscle the enemy and save the day.

ClickUp looked into the history of buddy movies and highlighted 10 with at least 10,000 votes on IMDb and at least a 7.0 IMDb user rating or a 70 Metascore. They’re listed in alphabetical order. Films in this genre appeal to our human nature: They’re funny, pull at our heartstrings, and the best ones rise to the top of the heap—often thanks to the incredible chemistry between the leading cast members demonstrating the immovable force of friendship. 

The buddy film has been a mainstay in Hollywood since at least as early as the 1930s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the genre evolved to include casting biracial duos. And by the 1990s, more women buddy movies hit the big screen. Still, men have historically dominated roles in this genre—and because of this, films with male leads are overrepresented on this list. Be aware: spoilers ahead.

34 TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR TEAM IN 2023
No matter the group size or level of familiarity with one another, we’ve got the perfect team building activities to help you bond.

1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

• Director: George Roy Hill
• IMDb user rating: 8.0
• Metascore: 66
• Runtime: 110 minutes

“Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford in legendary roles as the leaders of a bank-pilfering criminal organization constantly embattled with authorities. Eventually, a love interest and an increasing police presence convince the duo to clean up their act, and the two drift apart.

Ultimately their new way of life turns out to be no less violent, and the two return to their outlaw ways. Newman and Redford’s characters, based loosely on a true frontier tale, die by each other’s side in a blaze of glory, choosing death and friendship over imprisonment or domestic life.

2. Léon: The Professional (1994)

• Director: Luc Besson
• IMDb user rating: 8.5
• Metascore: 64
• Runtime: 110 minutes

In “Léon: The Professional,” a young girl portrayed by Natalie Portman strikes up an unusual relationship with a hitman. The girl’s family, tangled up in criminal activities, is murdered by a corrupt federal DEA agent (Gary Oldman).

The R-rated film oozes violence and features an unconventional, platonic love between the quirky hitman and a brazen young girl who has convinced him to help her exact revenge on the family’s killer.

3. Men in Black (1997)

• Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
• IMDb user rating: 7.3
• Metascore: 71
• Runtime: 98 minutes

“Men In Black” continues the buddy film genre’s penchant for crime-fighting duos—but with an intergalactic twist. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith co-star as an outgoing veteran of the secretive MiB organization and the incoming rookie. 

The curmudgeonly veteran shows a cocky and naive newbie how to police the world’s aliens living disguised among ordinary humans.

Ever at odds with each other, the pair follow known aliens cleaning up their messes, wiping people’s memories with their neutralizers along the way. The duo stumbles across a new cockroach-like alien who threatens to destroy the universe. 

The hardened agents share a tender moment when Smith’s character wipes Jones’ memory before he retires—including all memories of his relationship with Smith.

4. Midnight Run (1988)

• Director: Martin Brest
• IMDb user rating: 7.5
• Metascore: 78
• Runtime: 126 minutes

“Midnight Run” stars Robert DeNiro as a bounty hunter hired to track down an accountant who’s swindled a crime lord out of money. The buddy comedy was written by Martin Brest, who directed the 1980s hit “Beverly Hills Cop.” “Midnight Run” boasts a similar melange of action and suspense.

DeNiro’s character, Jack, is the strongman that keeps his cards close to his chest. He eventually reveals his checkered past to his bounty as the two make their way across the country. When Jack learns his employer has duped him, his attitude shifts. Jack’s relationship with the accountant (Charles Grodin) ultimately blooms into friendship, leaving the viewer with an example of how two people at odds can unite against a common foe.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO COLLABORATION FOR REMOTE AND ON-SITE TEAMS
Collaboration is the glue that holds a team together. Whether your team is on-site or fully remote, ClickUp has created the ultimate guide to team collaboration. 

5. The Nice Guys (2016)

• Director: Shane Black
• IMDb user rating: 7.3
• Metascore: 70
• Runtime: 116 minutes

“The Nice Guys” is a comedy set in the late 1970s that follows two private investigators (Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling) who attempt to solve the case of a kidnapped young girl. Crowe’s character embodies the tough-guy enforcer role, while Gosling portrays the goofy young gun.

The bumbling duo becomes frustrated with each other’s differing approaches to detective work until the case explodes into a much larger conspiracy involving the automotive industry. In the end, the detectives put the culprit behind bars, developing respect for each other’s differences along the way, and ultimately creating their own detective agency.

The film received nominations for several awards, including two Critics’ Choice Awards. It is one of precisely five films Robert Downey Jr. appeared in during the 2010s that was not a Marvel film. The role in which he portrays a dead body is uncredited.

6. The Odd Couple (1968)

• Director: Gene Saks
• IMDb user rating: 7.6
• Metascore: 86
• Runtime: 105 minutes

Released in 1968, “The Odd Couple” is a comedy that follows two divorced men (Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau) as they attempt to keep each other company as roommates after they split with their respective wives.

Lemmon and Matthau’s characters couldn’t be more unlike each other. Felix, portrayed by Lemmon, is a tidy, obsessive personality; Oscar, portrayed by Matthau, is his carefree and lackadaisical counterpart. The two drive each other to the edge, and Felix ultimately moves out, but not before the viewer sees they have picked up valuable lessons from each other’s respective approaches to life.

7. Rain Man (1988)

• Director: Barry Levinson
• IMDb user rating: 8.0
• Metascore: 65
• Runtime: 133 minutes

On its face, “Rain Man” is a road trip movie that follows Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an adult man on the autism spectrum, and his estranged biological brother Charlie (Tom Cruise). As the film develops, it’s Cruise’s eventual on-screen brotherly love with Hoffman’s character that the viewer walks away remembering.

Charlie is a car dealer who learns that his father has left his fortune to Raymond, of whom Charlie has no memory. Throughout their cross-country trip, Charlie’s frustration with Raymond gives way to love, and the two share tender moments—including one in which Cruise patiently tries teaching Hoffman’s character how to dance with a woman.

The film swept at the 1988 Academy Awards and later garnered criticism for Hoffman’s imperfect portrayal of autism and praise for elevating the experiences of people who live on the spectrum.

8. Rush Hour (1998)

• Director: Brett Ratner
• IMDb user rating: 7.0
• Metascore: 60
• Runtime: 98 minutes

In “Rush Hour,” the Los Angeles Police Department’s worst detective (Chris Tucker) is tasked by the FBI with keeping a watch on a foreign detective (Jackie Chan), who the LAPD doesn’t want interfering in a high-profile kidnapping case.

Ultimately, Tucker and Chan’s characters overcome the things that set them apart—race, nationality, and temperament—to pursue the goal of saving a diplomat’s young daughter from a criminal syndicate.

The film has remained a part of popular culture through nostalgia for the duo’s on-screen chemistry and fan debates over whether the characters’ racially charged jokes were harmless ribbing or simply racist.

9. Thelma and Louise (1991)

• Director: Ridley Scott
• IMDb user rating: 7.5
• Metascore: 88
• Runtime: 130 minutes

Among director Ridley Scott’s earliest films is “Thelma and Louise,” a star-studded, female-led road trip flick that revolutionized the buddy comedy genre.

In the movie, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are friends in very different eras of their lives who find themselves running from the authorities after killing a man who attempted to rape one of them. 

The two have very different ideas on moving forward after the incident and ultimately criss-cross the country in a hilarious crime spree.

In this movie, you’ll see Brad Pitt in one of his earliest roles, along with Harvey Keitel. Sarandon and Davis were both nominated for best actress in the 1991 Academy Awards.

WHAT IS REAL-TIME COLLABORATION, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 
In an increasingly remote, global, and the asynchronous world, a place must be made for real-time collaboration. ClickUp has looked into what real-time collaboration is, why it’s important, and how to foster it on your team.

10. Withnail and I (1987)

• Director: Bruce Robinson
• IMDb user rating: 7.6
• Metascore: 84
• Runtime: 107 minutes

In “Withnail and I,” the buddies are a pair of unemployed actors who habitually abuse various substances. The film follows them as they head out on a vacation that puts the roommates’ relationship through the wringer.

The unnamed character Paul McGann portrays learns he’s been offered a role. But his success is not shared by Withnail, performed by Richard E. Grant, and the two go their separate ways.

A dark comedy and a cult classic, “Withnail and I” leaves the viewer with a picture of two down-on-their-luck men who eventually learn they may have taken each other for granted. The film’s source material is an even darker, unpublished novel that ends in suicide, which the director, Robinson, chose to alter for the screen.

Buddy Up and Accomplish More Together

Teamwork will always be an essential component for success regardless of your goal or industry.

The beauty of teamwork is that it provides multiple perspectives that can facilitate innovation and help solve complex problems quicker. Strong team collaboration also encourages open communication and fosters trust between members, which helps build strong relationships over time.

And by leveraging each other’s strengths and pooling resources together to achieve greatness, teams can accomplish amazing feats together—feats that would never be possible if each person went alone!

So if you want your organization to thrive now and as your business scales, you need to embrace the power of teamwork. One way to set your dream team up for success is to use an all-in-one project management tool and fully customizable platform like ClickUp. It’s built for teams of all sizes across different industries and offers team collaboration features to enhance your brainstorming sessions, improve team efficiency, support remote and hybrid work, and keep your team focused on their goals.

With ClickUp, your team will have access to hundreds of features, including a built-in messaging feature called Chat view, digital ClickUp Whiteboards and ClickUp Docs with collaboration detection, multiple assignees, and so much more. Use these features to give your team the resources and competitive edge they need to keep winning and thriving together no matter when and where they work.

Guest Writer:

Dom DiFurio

The post 10 of the Best Buddy Movies—and What They Can Teach About Teamwork appeared first on ClickUp.

Chances are you spend a lot of time thinking about how you communicate or if you’re even doing it well. No surprise there. Effective communication is the bedrock of a healthy team dynamic after all.

Studies have highlighted the importance of communicating too, including findings like:

• Well-connected teams experience a 20-25% productivity boost
• Unproductive meetings as a result of poor communication cost big US businesses upward of $100 million each year
• A whopping 97% of employees believe how they communicate impacts how efficient they are in the workplace

To create an effective communication strategy for the workplace, leaders need to understand and consider the types of communication skills that best the given situation. While some modes of communicating may seem obvious, the devil’s in the details with how you apply each approach and start learning body language hints.

To help you fine-tune how your team communicates, consider 12 communication strategies that come with plenty of upsides no matter the size of your team.

Why is Workplace Communication Important?

While it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why communication strategies for the workplace are so important, the benefits are worth highlighting. 

• Distribute must-have knowledge better: Creating open channels for effective communication in the workplace, such as regularly scheduled meetings, company newsletters, and performance reviews will arm employees with the knowledge necessary to understand their roles and how to manage their responsibilities. An open communication strategy gives teams better opportunities to hit their KPIs.
• Encourage collaborative problem-solving: Fostering an environment of team collaboration and problem-solving in the workplace by encouraging employees to brainstorm and find solutions together.
• Hold only effective and necessary meetings: One of the more common forms of team communication is through a meeting. But unnecessary and unproductive meetings are detrimental to effective communication. That’s why you must only focus on the critical talking points, which you need to outline before the call or gathering.
• Encourage alignment: A major issue for remote teams is misalignment because of the various time zones. Your communication strategy must consider ways to strengthen team relationships—whether they’re remote team members or not—by regularly aligning everyone.
• Build trust and maintain transparency: Transparency is key to any communication strategy when managing a team. Establish an environment of active listening so you build trust.

Types of Communication Strategies

Generally, there are four core communication strategies to consider when working with your team. Let’s detail each communication strategy so you know what would work best for your situation or role:

Verbal communication

When employees use verbal language to exchange information they’re using verbal communication. Whether it’s a face-to-face conversation, presentation, or Zoom meeting, your goal is to communicate effectively through verbal interactions.

For the best one-to-one communication, you have to consider your verbal skills like effectively explaining ideas, getting to the point, and keeping listeners engaged.

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is when employees convey messages without the use of words. This includes body language, facial expressions, gestures, or even eye contact. Out of all the communication strategies, this is often the most crucial to understand.

Nonverbal communication provides context to the verbal message. And it ultimately helps you pick up on nonverbal cues from employees. Not everyone will want to communicate directly through a conversation.

With the rise of virtual communication, it can be a lot more challenging to pick up on body language, tone of voice, and other non-verbal cues that are easier to see in person.

It’s why cameras are encouraged to be on when you’re on a team Zoom call. Understanding non-verbal communication is important to communicating remotely because it helps provide context and minimizes the risks of misunderstandings.

Written communication

Emails, memos, newsletters, notes, and even symbols are all perfect examples of written communication. A lot goes into effective communication strategies simply through writing—everything from the words you choose, your sentence structure, and how your writing is organized counts when communicating this way. 

In the workplace, employees exchange information through written documents that take many forms. This type of communication is beneficial because it allows for a permanent record of the conversation so everyone can easily reference and review it.

Having a single knowledge base system to work from makes it easier to share with multiple colleagues and eliminates the potential for misinterpretations. This communication strategy is also an excellent way for managers to delegate tasks and responsibilities.

Visual communication

Visuals such as diagrams, charts, videos, photographs, and more are used to convey messages through visual communication. Of the most effective communication strategies, this one is beneficial because it helps break down complex concepts and make them easier to understand.

Visuals—like ClickUp Whiteboards—help add context to the message, making it easier to comprehend. It’s why picture books exist. Plus, this type of communication strategy lets you explain complex concepts, make faster decisions, increase engagement in meetings, and is easily referenceable.

12 Communication Strategies

Without clear team communication, projects don’t cross the finish line, and growth stalls. That’s why knowing and implementing the communication strategies that work best for your team is critical to its success.

Let’s dive into our top 12 communication strategies you can start using for your team right away:

1. Use multiple types of communication

Your team should have multiple ways to communicate, including in-person conversations, email, phone calls, video calls, and chat tools. Using a variety of methods makes it so that everyone on the team is on the same page and has access to the information they need.

For example, if you use team communication solutions like ClickUp with the ability to tag and mention your team members within tasks, docs, and more, you enable your team to communicate as they work. This lessens context switching, which smooths out the process of getting work done. 

2. Set communication ground rules

Set guidelines for how and when team members should communicate. This could include expected response times, how to use different communication platforms, and who should be CC’d on certain emails.

This also extends to meetings too, arguably one of the workplace tasks that take up a big part of your team’s resources. Consider setting ground rules for verbal communication and how members should communicate within meetings (i.e. detail any expectations for prep work ahead of time). 

3. Eliminate communication silos

Making sure everyone on the team is included in the communication loop is hard when you don’t have the digital tools that make that easy. This is especially true if you’re working with hybrid teams—meaning some team members work remotely and in the office.

No one should be left out of the conversation, which is why good communication eliminates silos. Your communication strategy should involve a small selection of communication tools so you don’t spread yourself thin with too many business tools.

4. Have a designated facilitator

Designating one person to facilitate the communication process and ensure everyone gets their point across in a timely manner. Always aim to keep meetings productive and on task.

But if you want to take it a step further, assign responsibility to someone on the team to keep communication in check beyond meetings. A designated facilitator helps with task ownership and fill in the gaps.

5. Use real-time collaboration tools

Communicate easily with Whiteboard’s many built-in project tools perfect for brainstorming and exchanging ideas. 

Real-time collaboration tools, such as ClickUp Mind Maps, Whiteboards , and Docs, offer a great way for teams to communicate with each other and work on projects simultaneously. 

Think of Whiteboards as a sandbox where teams use visual and written communication types to share and refine ideas. The best part is that Whiteboard’s tools are easy to use and customizable enough for teams to reference and edit as they go. 

6. Set clear team goals

Having clear and measurable goals is essential for teams to stay on track and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. ClickUp’s Goals features make it easy to set, track, and achieve team goals with plenty of visibility.

Create trackable goals connected to your work tasks so you can measure targets and visualize timelines. In terms of communication styles, it uses both written and visual communication to keep your team connected on goals. 

7. Encourage two-way communication

For effective communication, it has to be a two-way street. When they say, “It takes two to tango” that goes for communicating in the workplace too.

Encourage team members to ask questions and share their ideas openly. This helps build a more unified team that works from the same ideas and feedback.

8. Use screen-sharing apps

Screen-sharing apps like ClickUp’s Clip tool are extremely useful for remote teams. They allow team members to share their work in real time while ensuring everyone is aligned and can collaborate.

Of course, there are also tools like Zoom that enable teams to share their screen in real-time too.

It’s a matter of finding what mix of tools smooths out any hiccups in a team’s workflow. This way the information handoff becomes a breeze and change management happens effectively. 

9. Break down complex topics

Break complex topics down into smaller chunks to make them easier to understand. This includes dissecting issues into smaller, more manageable tasks so you can focus on one aspect at a time.

Presentations, docs, templates, matrices, and tools like Whiteboards are all helpful in breaking down complex tasks and project timelines so nothing falls through the cracks.

An upside of using these tools is that they all make your breakdown efforts referenceable, so teams stay up to speed at all times. 

10. Centralize your communication efforts

Centralize, centralize, centralize. Often, team communication efforts are squandered because of a few errors in team management. This can happen from a variety of things like:

• A disjointed tech stack
• No referenceable framework for how projects should be approached
• Disconnected documents living on too many separate platforms

When communication is centralized, teams keep better track of their conversations, tasks, and projects in one space. This cuts down on task and context switching and helps keep your team focused on what matters.

It’s important to keep in mind that communication strategies—when used well—help teams make progress on the work itself rather than getting lost in managerial tasks. A big step in that direction starts with centralizing how you communicate and share information.  

11. Hold regular team meetings

Holding regular team meetings is a great way to ensure that everyone is up to date on their tasks and in sync with each other. Team meetings also provide a great opportunity for open discussion and collaboration.

Anything that isn’t obvious is clarified and teams are allowed to bring up any and all potential issues. Regular team meetings are mostly verbal, but you shouldn’t forget to add visual and written communication to get your points across. 

12. Prioritize 1-on-1 communication

Team leads shouldn’t forget to prioritize one-on-one communication. To reap the benefits of these meetings, you need strong communication skills in your workplace.

Start by scheduling regular meetings with team members to discuss specific topics. Use this time to give regular positive feedback so team members feel safe and appreciated. Here, you’ll begin to learn body language cues and other non-verbal communication.

One-on-one meetings give team members a chance to ask questions, share ideas, and get on caught up on any issues. Regularly hold these meetings and be sure to set clear communication ground rules. 

If you need help getting a one-on-one meeting cadence off the ground, you can use a ClickUp template to get you started faster! Easily set up and track your 1-on-1 meetings with the ClickUp 1-on-1 template!

Improve Team Communication With ClickUp

Using the right tools, strategies, and communication methods will help improve team communication and collaboration. The goal is to ensure everyone is working toward the same objectives and that’s best done through a solid communication strategy.

Better yet, using real-time collaboration tools to centralize team communication will ensure everyone has access to the information they need. ClickUp offers a wide range of features to do just that!

Use ClickUp’s real-time collaboration tools, goal-tracking feature, screen-recording extension, and meeting templates to help teams stay aligned and remain productive.

Hone in on your communication strategy with ClickUp! Get started for free today!

The post 12 Examples of Communication Strategies for the Workplace appeared first on ClickUp.

They’re brilliant at work, productivity is their middle name, and they’re the ones who unveiled the secrets to the best workplace habit. 

You look at them and wonder… are productive people for real? 

If you want to escape from the rut of mediocrity and learn ways to build a better work habit, we’re here to help.

In this article, we’ll highlight ten powerful work habits that most successful people swear by. And as a bonus, we’ve decoded a quick way to bring a habit into practice. 

Thank us later! 

Ready to adopt a good work habit? Let’s go!

10 Powerful Work Habits for 2023

Good or bad, we all are defined by our habits. 

And sometimes, the bad habits can be blown out of proportion at your workplace. In fact, you could be the most charming or the most annoying coworker just based on your working habits.

But before we dive into successful work habits, let’s start with what are good work habits and why you should develop them in the first place. 

The working habits definition states good work habits as behavioral patterns of an employee that contribute to their job performance. They’re success drivers that help boost your productivity, reliability, teamwork, and job satisfaction.

Some essential work habits examples include:

• Punctuality
• Proactiveness
• Strong communication skills
• Strict adherence to deadlines

Most successful people practice these work mantras one way or the other. They also career coach others to adopt the same!

To help you out, here are ten positive work habits that you need for a successful career:

1. Be punctual and professional at the workplace

Being on time for work is a no-brainer. 

However, being tardy can be one of the toughest bad habits to overcome. 

And trust us. 

Nothing drives a boss crazier than you being constantly late for the job.

If you don’t want to be in their bad books, aim to log in 10 minutes early at your workplace. This will help you map out your day and be ready when the official hours start. 

Now, it can be harder to stick to good workplace habits, like punctuality, while engaged in remote working. 

After all, watching over your neighbor’s cat is a legit distraction.

But you should still try to log in on time and be available for team calls or meetings. 

Additionally, don’t be rigid about your work routine. 

Sometimes it’s okay if an important task requires you to stay back, as long as it doesn’t affect your work life balance. 

Punctuality and commitment to your work speak volumes about your professionalism.
And the best way to inculcate this good work habit is to plan your day or office hours. 

You could:

• Create a schedule for yourself
• Set up reminders for meetings 
• Give yourself a time cushion to deal with unexpected events

2. Respect and achieve deadlines

Sticking to deadlines is a positive habit and trademark of successful people. Completing work on time shows that you’re accountable and can nail tasks efficiently.

But if you struggle to follow through, you could set short-term goal for yourself and your team. This can serve as an action plan to help you better focus on the task at hand.

Additionally, knocking down and celebrating those small wins will set the momentum for bigger success.

You should also communicate with your managers about your workload and project progress to ensure you have realistic deadlines.  

And if you suffer from Monday blues (we feel you), have a to-do list ready before the week and plan out your work to better deal with deadlines. 

3. Manage time for a healthy work life balance

Time management is a healthy habit that can make you stand out. 

If you take a long lunch break, indulge in gossip, or discuss personal problems at work, it leads to good office hours wasted.

And if you’ve been bit by the social media bug, only you can save yourself from landing into trouble at work. 

Time goes poof when you’re watching cute dog videos, right?

You can also lose focus and may have to work late, throwing your work-life balance out the window.

To develop a better work habit, you should:

• Prioritize your tasks 
• Avoid multitasking  
• Reduce distractions around your workspace

You could also use a time tracker or project management tool to determine how you spend time on tasks and projects. Especially handy for a remote worker, as these apps can also help boost your deep work skill and let you manage personal tasks efficiently.

4. Take criticism well 

Don’t frown at every criticism that comes your way. 

No one’s perfect.

Giving or receiving negative feedback is important for growth, and it’s something you need from time to time. 

You should treat your employer as your career coach and learn to de-personalize the message.
The feedback from an employee or your boss is to help you focus and become a better version of yourself.

Consider it a blessing in disguise. 

How well you handle criticism also depends on your emotional intelligence.

Some easy ways to deal with negative feedback are holding back your initial reaction, asking questions, and showing appreciation. With a positive attitude, you’ll naturally become more gracious about constructive criticism.

5. Ask relevant questions

No matter how skilled you are, you could get stuck at some point. 

Ask for help when you need it. It’s a healthy habit.

Sometimes asking questions also facilitates discussions which can benefit everyone.

However, try to strike a balance between curiosity and annoyance. If you ask too many questions, especially the same ones, it can quickly become a bad work habit. 

The point is, don’t annoy your fellow workers with “where’s the coffee machine?” kind of questions. 

Instead, be a go-getter and follow the mocha scent.

6. Be ​organized

You don’t have to be the ‘go big or go home’ type of organizer at your job. 

Start small with things like:

• Color-coding your calendar
• Taking relevant notes
• Creating a checklist 
• Taking short, regular breaks during work

And continue to make progress from here.

A cluttered work desk and a messed-up daily schedule is also a big no-no. You don’t want to be under the spotlight for such bad work habits.

You could also use a task management tool to organize tasks and help you build this positive work habit. From tracking deadlines to visualizing tasks, these tools can help you stay organized. 

7. Communicate effectively 

Whether you perform in-office or remote work, always communicate clearly with your employer or fellow workers. 

You don’t need the thesaurus to draft a response. 

Be simple yet effective.

And don’t forget to update your boss about the project’s progress regularly. They appreciate it when you keep them in the loop.

However, you shouldn’t be the only person who talks. 

Productive people are also active listeners. It’s a good habit and an excellent soft skill to have.

To be an active listener, here’s what you could do: 

• Don’t interrupt when a coworker speaks
• Observe the speaker’s body language and take hints from non-verbal cues 
• Ask relevant questions or follow-ups
• Paraphrase the ideas in your own words to ensure you understood them clearly

8. Take initiatives and learn a skill proactively

If all you do is sit and admire productive people, you won’t taste success. 

To do good work and climb the success ladder fast, you must upskill. 

Take note of skills you don’t have, and attend workshops or professional certification courses to fill those knowledge gaps. 

You should also aim for managerial roles and go to a career coach if needed. 

Additionally, don’t wait for your boss to delegate tasks, especially if you do remote work. Instead, ask for projects proactively.

Take the initiative for more work, even if it’s not in your job description. This will make you shine bright like a diamond among your peers.

But don’t overburden yourself if you already have enough on your plate. You don’t want to take up an important task and leave it unfinished.

Pro Tip: Avoid burnout and plan out your day by time blocking your busy schedule!

9. Say no to procrastination 

Chances are, you’d rather scroll through social media feeds during office hours than complete a project you dislike. 

However, when you postpone important stuff, it only makes things worse. 

And before you know it… kaboom. You’re way past the deadline. 

But don’t let the fear of deadlines get the better of you. 

If a task bothers you too much, you might as well get it over with. It’s also a healthy habit to commit to the task at hand and always finish what you started.

10. Use a habit management app 

No longer confused about the “what are work habits” question?

Awesome!

But developing good work habits takes time, and bad habits are difficult to let go of. In fact, if you ask most habit coaches, they’ll probably say it’ll take you about 21 days to form a habit. 

Then how do you stay on track?
This is where habit tracking or productivity apps like ClickUp come into the picture. 

ClickUp is one of the most popular and highest-rated habit management apps used by productive teams across all domains. It’s an all-in-one app that lets you set, manage, and track your personal projects and professional goals with ease.

And the best part?
ClickUp’s got a wide variety of habit management features for free! 

Here’s a sneak peek into how ClickUp can help transform you into a workplace rockstar:

• Goals: break down your Goals into smaller measurable Targets for easy management. You can also set clear timelines and auto-track progress to crush your Goals in time
• Reminders: want to keep tabs on what you need to do? ClickUp can be your savior
• Dates and Times: assign start dates and due dates to stay on track with your tasks
• Recurring Tasks: from weekly meetings to personal routine work, stay on top of recurring tasks efficiently   
• Notepad: write down your ideas, questions, action items, or meeting notes on the go
• Docs: maintain a working habits journal to write down your daily achievements. You can also use it to create a knowledge base of new skills you acquire
• Priorities: use colored flags to set Priorities and manage time better at the workplace 
• Views: visualize your tasks across Lists, Calendar, Kanban Board, and more to track them quickly
• Templates: use a wide variety of attractive templates to start on the right foot
• Custom Notifications: don’t want to suffer from notification overload? Choose how and when you want to be notified about task activity 
• Apps: use ClickUp across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and other devices to never go off track from your workplace habit 

Ready to Practice Healthy Work Habits?

Developing work habits that’ll change your life won’t happen overnight. 

But once you put your mind to it, you can surely master the craft of perfect work habits. 

And while you have an assortment of workplace habits you could follow, it could remain a distant dream if you don’t have a habit tracking system like ClickUp in place. 

Whether you want to develop a better work habit, organize all your Goals in one place, or track your progress, ClickUp can be your one-stop shop for effective habit management.

Join ClickUp for free and become the employee everyone looks up to!

The post 10 Effective Work Habits – Examples and Tips for a Successful Career appeared first on ClickUp.

Like you’re always constantly behind and not getting enough done?

If so, then it might be time to create a productivity plan. A productivity plan can help you tackle your to-do list, get organized, and maintain your productivity levels, all without creating additional burnout. It’s your key to getting more done in less time without sacrificing your well-being.

But what does a productivity plan look like, and how do you create one? 

In this article, we’ll explore the concept of productivity planning and provide seven steps for creating your own productivity plan that works for you, similar to how the Pomodoro Technique was created in the first place. 

By the end, you’ll have a solid map that will guide you to better efficiency and less burnout.

What is a Productivity Plan?

When most people are overwhelmed, they tackle their to-do lists without much thought or planning. This can work for a short period of time, but eventually, it will lead to burnout.

Research from CNBC found 50% of workers are burnt out and believe productivity paranoia creates extra stress for employees.

This is where a productivity plan can help.

A productivity plan is a document that outlines the steps you’ll take to complete your to-do list and incorporates strategic planning with time management and organizational skills to ensure all your daily tasks and overall goals are achieved.

It’ll require you to map everything you need to work on, address any potential roadblocks, and then devise a strategy for tackling each item. It also prioritizes your tasks and works with your natural productivity rhythms to ensure that you’re getting the most important things done.

While a business plan focuses your company’s efforts, an organizational productivity plan addresses all areas that may affect your overall productivity, including tactical, operational, and strategic planning.

Everyone can benefit from creating productivity plans. Whether you’re a business owner, a student, a busy parent, or a professional, a productivity plan can help improve your timeliness, energy, and focus, and become more efficient and productive without sacrificing your well-being.

Let’s explore all the benefits you’ll experience once you create a solid productivity plan.

The Benefits of Productivity Planning

Productivity planning can lead to better focus and concentration, reduce stress, and increase awareness of your working habits.

Additionally, creating a productivity plan requires you to slow down and think about your work. This can lead to more thoughtful approaches and better problem-solving skills.

As a result, you’ll not only be able to get more done, but you’ll also be able to do it better. 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these benefits.

Better focus and concentration

When you’re overwhelmed and unorganized, it’s difficult to focus on any one task. Your mind is racing, and you’re constantly jumping from one thing to the next. This can lead to mistakes, poor-quality work, and wasted time.

Productivity planning helps you avoid this by providing a roadmap for your tasks by mapping out what needs to be done and when you can focus your attention on one thing at a time. This leads to better focus, concentration, and overall quality of work.

Less stress

The chaos of an unorganized to-do list can be stressful and can leave you feeling behind and worrying about forgetting something important. This type of stress can lead to anxiety, sleeplessness, and even physical health problems.

Productivity planning helps to reduce stress by providing a clear system for managing your tasks. When you have a plan, you’ll feel more in control and less anxious about what needs to get done.

You can also avoid last-minute rushes and the associated stress by batching similar tasks together and completing them in one sitting.

Increased self-awareness

Another benefit of productivity planning is that it helps you to become more aware of your working habits. This process will require you to track your time, analyze your productivity patterns, and develop strategies for improving your efficiency. As you do this, you’ll gain valuable insights into your working habits.

This self-awareness can help you to identify any areas that need improvement. For instance, you might realize that you’re spending too much time on social media or that you’re more productive in the morning than in the evening. Once you identify these patterns, you can make changes to your productivity plan accordingly.

7 Steps for Creating a Productivity Plan

Now that you know all the benefits of productivity planning, it’s time to learn how to create your own productivity plan. Productivity planning is not difficult, but it does require some time and effort. Follow these six steps to create a productivity plan that works for you.

Step 1: List out all your tasks and obligations

The first step is to make an action list of all your tasks and obligations. Many people make the mistake of keeping their to-do list in their heads and don’t bother to write it down or organize it, causing them to forget or feel overwhelmed.

It’s time to work smarter and create better systems. Take the time to sit down and write out everything you need to do, be sure to include both big and small tasks, and note any deadlines or time-sensitive items as well. Once it’s all written down, you can start organizing accordingly.

Using a task management tool like ClickUp can help you manage and keep track of all your tasks in one place. It offers multiple ways to list and view your ClickUp Tasks, such as List, Board, Calendar, and Timeline view, to help you see your task most efficiently and effectively.

You can also take advantage of ClickUp’s Daily To-Do List Template—a simple routine planner tracker to help you build your habit and get your plans on track.

Step 2: Note your obstacles and challenges

Now that you have a list of all your tasks, it’s time to take a closer look at each one. For each task, note any potential obstacles or challenges you might face. This can include things like a lack of resources, challenging deadlines, or difficult collaborators. Even a lack of motivation should be noted, as it can impact your productivity significantly.

By taking the time to anticipate these challenges ahead of time, you can develop strategies for overcoming them. For instance, if you know you’ll be facing a difficult deadline, you can plan to start working on the task sooner. Or, if you know you’ll be lacking motivation, you can break the task down into smaller, more manageable steps.

Before sketching out your productivity plan, you need to have a clear understanding of how you’re currently spending your time. To do this, you’ll need to track your time for at least a week. Track the time of every essential task you complete in a day, including both work and personal tasks.

Step 3: Track your time

It’s also a good idea to track the time of any time-wasting activities you partake in, such as using social media. This will help you to get a better understanding of your productivity patterns and give you insight into how to use your time wisely.

There are a few different ways you can track your time. You can use a simple pen and paper method by writing down the time you started or use a productivity tool with a timer to simplify, automate, and keep the process consistent at all times.

ClickUp’s Global Time Tracker is a great option as it’s easy to use and saves reports of the time you tracked.

Step 4: Analyze where your time goes

How much time are you spending on these activities? Is there a way you can limit or eliminate them from your day?

Once you’ve tracked your time for a week, it’s time to analyze the information. Look at how much time you spend on each task and how that time is distributed throughout the day. This will give you a good idea of your current productivity patterns, including any time-wasting activities and behaviors.

You should also look for any productivity lulls you have during the day. Do you tend to lose focus in the afternoon? If so, can you move any tasks to be completed during this time to another part of the day?

Step 5: Develop a strategy

Now that you have a good understanding of your productivity patterns, it’s time to start developing a strategy to improve your productivity. There are many methods you can use to do this, so it’s important to find one that works best for you.

For some, their strategy simply might be to focus on one task at a time or do all their work at a particular time of day. For others, it includes incorporating a time management technique or a project management tool.

Pomodoro Technique

One of the most popular time management methods is the Pomodoro Technique. This technique involves working on a task for 25 minutes and then taking a five-minute break. After four Pomodoro sessions, you take a longer break of 20-30 minutes. The idea behind this technique is that by taking regular breaks, you can stay focused and avoid burnout.

To use this technique, you’ll need a timer to keep track of your work and break periods. There are many Pomodoro timers available online, or you can use a simple kitchen timer.

Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is a productivity technique that helps you to prioritize your tasks by their level of importance and urgency. This technique was developed by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and is also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix. It was popularized by productivity expert Stephen Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and has been utilized by millions of people since.

To use this technique, you need to first identify your tasks. Once you’ve done that, you can categorize them into one of the following quadrants:

Quadrant 1: Urgent and important (Do)

These tasks need to be completed immediately and are of the utmost importance. Examples of tasks that would fall into this category are meeting deadlines, putting out fires, etc.

Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent (Decide)

These are important tasks but don’t need to be completed immediately. These are the types of tasks that you should be focusing on as they can help you to avoid crises in the future. Examples of tasks that fall into this category are planning, strategizing, etc.

Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important (Delegate)

These are tasks that need to be completed immediately but aren’t important. These are generally distractions that can wait and shouldn’t take up a lot of your time. Examples of tasks that fall into this category are checking email, taking phone calls, etc.

Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important (Delete)

These are tasks that aren’t urgent and aren’t important. These generally can be eliminated from your to-do list altogether. Examples of tasks that fall into this category are browsing the internet, watching TV, etc.

Ivy Lee Method

The Ivy Lee Method is a productivity technique that was developed in the early 20th century by efficiency expert Ivy Lee. It’s a very simple but effective technique that involves writing down your six most important tasks for the day and then focusing on one task at a time until it’s completed.

To use this technique, you simply need to write down your six most important tasks for the day before going to bed. Then, when you wake up, start working on the first task and don’t move on to the next task until the first one is completed.

This may seem like a simple technique, but it’s actually very effective in helping you to focus and get things done. You can practice this method in ClickUp; use ClickUp’s Get Things Done Template to give you a framework to start with and customize it to fit your working style and personal preferences.

Step 6: Experiment and revise as needed

No matter what technique you try, it’s important to experiment and revise as needed until you find one that works best for you. You probably won’t pick the perfect strategy immediately, so it’s important to be patient and keep trying new things until you find a productivity plan that works best for you.

Be patient, be persistent, and keep experimenting until you find a strategy that boosts your efficiency and brings more balance to your life.

Step 7: Use project management tools to keep your tasks visible and organized at all times

Luckily, these days we can utilize project management tools to improve our productivity. One of the best productivity tools is ClickUp. ClickUp can help you with all six previous steps, from action list organization to time tracking.

Project management tools are essential for keeping track of your tasks and ensuring that you’re staying on top of everything.  By using a tool like ClickUp, you can ensure that your tasks are always visible and organized, which will make it easier for you to stay productive. Now that you know how to be more productive, it’s time to put your knowledge into action. 

For example, you can create a 2×2 productivity matrix in ClickUp to help you prioritize and organize tasks. So if you’re struggling to develop or stick to your productivity plan, consider utilizing ClickUp’s productivity tools to help you out.

Create a Productivity Plan Today

Creating a productivity plan is a great way to boost your efficiency and get more done in less time. By taking the time to develop a productivity plan, you can increase your focus, reduce your stress levels, and learn more about who you are as a worker.

It can take some time and experimentation to find a to-do list system that works for you, but once you find and apply a productivity technique that works best, it’ll help you feel more prepared, balanced, and in control of your days.

And with the help of the right task management tools and to-do list software like ClickUp, you’ll get access to free templates to help you get started and improve productivity, as well as hundreds of customizable features to let you configure the platform in a way that best supports your workflow. Tools like ClickUp can help you create effective productivity plans, manage daily tasks, and improve operational planning—the list goes on.

So don’t give up, keep trying new things, and eventually, you’ll find a productivity plan that works best for you.

Guest Writer:

Dave Lavinsky is the president and co-founder of Growthink. Over the past 20 years, Growthink has helped over 500,000 entrepreneurs and business owners start, grow and exit their companies through our business plan template and consulting services.

The post Create an Effective Productivity Plan in 7 Steps (+Tips and Tools) appeared first on ClickUp.

Some of the best ideas happen when teams collaborate. 

But whether your team is working remotely or on-site, it’s challenging to foster a truly collaborative work environment that leads to awesome results. 

Sure, onboarding collaboration tools help. But is this enough to harness your team’s creativity for maximum impact? What’s a creative team with lots of ideas to do?

We give you the lowdown below. 

What is Team Collaboration?

Team collaboration happens when teams of two or more people work together to accomplish a common goal. This process requires a high level of communication, trust, and respect among each team member. And when it’s done right, it leads to some pretty amazing results.

Why is team collaboration important?

There are many reasons why encouraging team collaboration is critical. For starters, it helps teams:

• Solve problems more efficiently
• Brainstorm better ideas
• Avoid duplicate work
• Hold each other accountable
• Share knowledge and expertise
• Give and receive feedback

In other words, successful team collaboration is a must-have because it sets up employees to be more productive and creative.

Benefits of Effective Team Collaboration

When people work together, they share ideas and come up with solutions faster. It gives way for teams to solve problems creatively and produce higher-quality work. 

Successful team collaboration also helps your team members feel more engaged and invested in their work. If you’ve ever been part of a team, you know it’s easier to get motivated and focus on a shared goal. 

And the most impactful benefits you’ll see from effective team collaboration include: 

Increased productivity

A no-brainer, right? Still, it bears repeating. When team members are able to collaborate with fewer roadblocks in the way, they get more work done in less time. This ultimately leads to elevated levels of productivity for the entire team.

Improved communication

Team collaboration ensures everyone involved is on the same page. Any project misalignment is handled quickly, and you deal with fewer misunderstandings that slow down results. 

Added flexibility

Collaborative tools and software can give team members the ability to work from anywhere at any time—which results in a more flexible schedule for team members to collaborate asynchronously or in real time.

Improved decision making

Who doesn’t like to make better decisions?

When team members collaborate more effectively, they align different points of view, skills, and data for better decisions that lead to better results. 

The list of benefits that come from real team collaboration is long. However, an important aspect of ensuring team collaboration is equipping each team member with the right tools to succeed. 

10 Team Collaboration Tips and Tools For Better Outcomes

1. Use team collaboration software

You’ll need a top-notch team collaboration tool to really level up. Thankfully, ClickUp is the tool to do it. Check out these resources and features to manage your teamwork.

To start, check out this handy Getting Started tutorial that will outline everything you need to know about ClickUp.

Here’s a quick rundown of ClickUp’s key collaboration features: 

• Hierarchy: How you create your Spaces, Folders, and Lists is the first step to boosting team collaboration
• Projects and Lists: Other platforms lack the organization required for great work. Sure, you can start off in a good spot, but as your tasks increase, things get out of control. Projects and Lists give you more flexibility and control over how to do your work
• Checklists and Templates: Never miss a step of a task, and knock them out one by one. This works well for tasks with multiple steps that have to be done by different people on your team. You can also save the checklists as templates to use again and again
• Multiple assignees: Collaboration means working together! And sometimes it takes more than one person to finish a task. With ClickUp, you can always assign a task to more than one person, and even assign comments
• ClickUp Notepad: Jot down reminders and action items that you want to share with others later

2. Build cross-functional teams

Traditionally, most teams take an assembly line approach, with each worker contributing to their assigned tasks in the production line.

But there’s another way: Combine team members with different skills, talents, and interests so they can work together to create a product faster. 

The beauty of cross-functional teams is that they can tackle a particular problem with more efficiency and fewer steps in between. Add automation to the mix and features like Goal tracking in ClickUp and you’re off to the races. 

3. Focus on team efficiency

What in fact, makes an effective team? Whether you think it’s all about culture, or setting better goals, here are some quick ways to improve your team’s effectiveness:

• Send a note of encouragement if something isn’t going to plan
• Point out what’s going well rather than only pointing out team failures
• Schedule a brainstorming session for that nagging problem
• Use your project management tool
• Pursue feedback from your team leaders
• Set clear personal and work goals

4. Have focused meetings

We’ve all sat through meetings that didn’t seem worth it with no end in sight. In fact, you may not even know what the point of the meeting was in the first place. 

This happens more often than most of us would like, which erodes team morale and energy levels. In short: Don’t zap your team’s energy with pointless rambling. Optimize your meetings. 

Related resources:

• 12 tips on how to plan a meeting
• Manage your meetings with ClickUp
• How to use ClickUp for agendas
• How to conduct great kickoff meetings

5. Prioritize team inspiration

While your team may be pumped to cross tasks off their list and take in the feedback from their managers one day, they can very well come into work with zero inspiration the next. 

What can you do? Consider using gamification as a way to keep team members motivated. For example, awarding karma points to team members that they can stack and redeem for worthwhile prizes. 

If you want to take things further, find creative ways to encourage rest to reduce burnout. Your team will thank you and will be better equipped to collaborate in the long run. 

6. Set team norms for better team performance

What standards does your team need to create a better collaborative culture?

What rules of engagement should your leadership use with your employees? Team norms are just the first set of standards for decorum in the workplace. 

It takes the guesswork out of what it takes to move projects along between every team member when things aren’t going as expected.

7. Use the right mix of collaboration tools

Don’t miss out on tons of amazing software tools specifically designed to make work faster and easier.

To start, this collaboration tools list will help you out. It’s jam-packed with everything a collaborative team might need. Even if your team is already ahead of the curve, you’re bound to find something to help you. 

Want even more? Review these digital and analog tools to keep you organized.

Bonus: Best Buddy Movies for Teamwork

8. Add reusable templates to your workflow

If you’re asking your team to do similar tasks every day, every week, or every month, then it’s time to store the details, info, and checklists in a reusable template. Thankfully, there is a ClickUp Template for every type of use case!

Take your templates a step further and connect your tasks with recurring due dates and you’ll get a reminder, too. Hands down, templates save time and spare your team the inevitable busy work that comes with collaborating. 

9. Improve your team communication

It’s never a bad day to be prepared with ways to communicate with your team more effectively.

Without implementing better communication strategies, you’re bound to deal with problems that bleed into other areas of work:

• Failing to meet deadlines
• Dropping the ball on tasks
• Asking for additional time
• Asking for time off

Consider being constant about meeting with your team jointly as well as one-on-one. It’s a way to stay in the know of what’s happening from an individual as well as a group perspective. 

10. Break down your biggest silos

Silos are a collaborative team’s biggest hurdle.

Unless you want to encourage poor decision-making, lower project visibility, and make work more painful than it needs to be, doing the work of breaking down team collaboration silos is crucial to a sustainably productive team.

Here’s what you can do: 

• Set shared goals and make them super visible to every member of your team
• Template processes and systems that are used constantly
• Uphold accountability across the team around sharing progress and data
• Unify all your project data and project history in one accessible platform
• Encourage visibility with group-oriented tools

What Tools Do You Need for Successful Team Collaboration?

The first step to creating a collaborative work environment? Make sure you have the right collaboration tools in place. 

Here are some of the must-have tools:

Project management tool: A productivity platform like ClickUp helps your team keep track of tasks, deadlines, and progress while centralizing everything they need to move a project forward.

Team chat tool: Chat tools like Slack are essential for keeping team members connected and facilitating communication. Though a team leader can also use built-in chat features that many tools like ClickUp provide. 

File sharing tool: A file-sharing tool like Google Drive enables your entire team to share key documents, images, and other files quickly and easily. That’s why ClickUp Docs is an awesome feature to centralize documents, assign tasks to those docs, and easily share with members of your team.  

Video conferencing tool: A video conferencing tool like Zoom enables your team to stay connected even when they’re working remotely and in different time zones. 

Digital whiteboard: The ClickUp Whiteboard equips teams with all the visual collaboration tools they’d use to brainstorm, refine projects, and come up with their best ideas.

Cross-Team Collaboration vs. Team Collaboration

It’s important to remember the difference between these two terms because they’re often confused with each other despite being slightly different. 

Cross-team collaboration is when individual team members from different departments or functions work together to accomplish a shared goal. This can be done using collaboration tools and software. For example, a marketing team can cross-collaborate with the sales team to ensure their go-to-market strategies align before launching joint campaigns. 

Team collaboration is when team members within the same team work together to accomplish a shared goal. For example, a sales team might collaborate in a doc where they share their best cold-calling ideas. 

On-Site Team Collaboration

On-site collaboration happens differently from remote collaboration, though the end goal is still the same. Consider a few tips that’ll help you level up your on-site collab sessions. 

Eliminate roadblocks

If amazing team collaboration is the goal, you won’t be able to make it too far without first taking the time to eliminate any roadblocks that may stand in the way. This means you need to provide your team with the best team collaboration software so they’re able to connect, edit, question, and log ideas.

For example, features that eliminate roadblocks in a collaborative tool like ClickUp include: 

• Built-in document creation tools to map out processes and timelines
• Automated reminders to ensure teams communicate on schedule
• Time tracking features to get a high-level overview of where your team’s time is spent
• Custom form creation tools for idea intake and organization

Create a collaborative culture

Fostering an environment where people feel comfortable working together and sharing ideas takes setting the tone. One way to do this is to have regular team meetings where everyone is encouraged to participate by those in leadership positions. 

You can also create a team chat channel where people can freely ask questions and share ideas on their own time.

Strengthen open communication

This looks like creating an environment where people feel comfortable voicing initial opinions, ideas, rebuttals, and doubts about anything needing discussion. 

Chats, docs, role assignments, tasks, mark-up history, and forms all help to enable a continuous communication process.

Remote Team Collaboration

On-site collaboration was the traditional way to move projects forward and make better decisions. But now, remote work is the new norm for many teams today. 

This is why it’s important to find reliable ways for remote teams to communicate just as effectively as if they were in the office exchanging ideas face-to-face.

Here’s how to encourage team members to collaborate productively.

Get everyone up to speed

When everyone is aware of the team’s goals, they’re more likely to stay aligned and hit their milestones on schedule. Make sure everyone is on the same page by holding regular team meetings (virtually, of course) and keeping communication open.

Promote transparency 

Encourage transparency by setting up a virtual “water cooler” where team members can chat casually. Or hold regular check-ins where everyone can share what they’re working on through a live Zoom chat. 

Cadence matters here. While you don’t have to bog down your team with tons of Zoom meetings, you can schedule a recurring meeting every few weeks where teams can share feedback constructively. 

Centralize, centralize, centralize

Siloed team resources are the worst. Information gets lost in the shuffle and visibility is nowhere to be found. But there are a number of great tools out there like ClickUp that help remote teams stay connected and centralize both the tools and the resources remote teams need to execute projects.

Encourage social interaction

Just because your team is remote doesn’t mean they can’t socialize with one another. In fact, social interaction can be a great way to encourage collaboration. 

Hold virtual happy hours or coffee breaks, or set up a virtual book club where team members can discuss what they’re reading.

Celebrate successes jointly

When your team achieves a goal, make sure to celebrate together. This will help team members feel like they’re part of a cohesive unit, and it will encourage them to work together toward future success.

Learn more ways to build effective teamwork!

Team Collaboration Can Be Productive

Whoever said team collaboration is hard probably didn’t read this guide. Kidding, mostly. But the verdict is in: Team collaboration is possible and can be productive. Even more so when you have the right tools in tow. 

Take your team collaboration strategy from novice to world-class connoisseur with ClickUp!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Team Collaboration For Remote and On-Site Teams appeared first on ClickUp.

That dreaded moment when we are invited to play a team building game.

Why dreaded? 

Well, because more often than not, such exercises feel forced and awkward (even if the organizer is super enthusiastic). 

Fortunately, there’s a right way to engage in team building activities that will boost employee engagement and forge an unstoppable crew. 

This involves ditching the ‘between-the-legs balloon passes’ and rethinking established methods.

Don’t worry, we’ve done all the rethinking for you.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about team building, and we’ll take a look at 34 excellent team building ideas.

Got your game face on? 

Let’s play.

34 Effective Team Building Exercises

In this section, there are five icebreaker games for new teams in which members are just getting to know each other. 

Once your team is ready to jump out of their comfort zone, we’ve provided step-by-step directions for 24 team-building exercises that are exciting, insightful, and fun. 

Lastly, there are five thrilling virtual team building exercises that will make your remote team feel like the distance doesn’t even exist!

This list contains both outdoor and indoor team building activities that will boost employee engagement.

While some of these team building games may work best for a smaller team, most of these ideas are suitable for large groups and small groups.

About Group Size

Every game below includes a ‘group size.’ 

This does not refer to the total number of people participating in a team building session. 

If you have a large group, you can break up that group into smaller ones. For example, if you have 20 people, you can break up this larger group into 5 smaller groups.

All these smaller groups can participate in a team building game simultaneously. 

That’s how all corporate training programs are organized!

5 Icebreaker Games

Icebreakers are short games that help people get to know each other in an informal setting. 

They build that initial rapport that’s essential to set the stage for a more involved team session.

Icebreakers are essential for both in-house and distributed teams.

1. Two Truths and a Lie

Time: 15–30 minutes

Group size: 4–6 

Objective: Build affinity

In this game, team members get to act as human lie detectors!

Start off by letting each person tell two truths and one fabricated statement about themselves in a random sequence.

Then ask other team members to figure out which are the truths and what’s the lie. The speaker can then reveal which fact is indeed false.

 2. What’s My Name

Time: 15–20 minutes

Group size: <20

Objective: Build rapport

Get your team to sit in a circle and take turns saying their names. 

Next, throw a tennis ball at one person. They must toss the ball to another teammate while saying his or her name.

To ramp up the challenge, create a rule that members can’t throw the ball to the same person twice in a row.

 3. Building a Storyline 

Time: 30 minutes

Group size: Varies

Objective: Listening, collaboration, teamwork

For this icebreaker team building activity, arrange the participants in a circle. 

One team member starts narrating a story but stops with an incomplete sentence such as, “John was excited. On his first day as a professional artist, he wanted to …” The next person finishes the sentence and adds another incomplete sentence. 

For example, “Marshall experienced a spark of creativity and decided to …” This continues until the last member in the circle is reached, and an entirely coherent story has been formed. 

This experience ensures that the entire group listens to one another and remains engaged in the activity, leading to better collaboration and improved listening skills. 

You’ll quickly discover that listening is crucial to business growth!

For more challenge and extra creative thinking, throw in random words that people must include in the story.

Bonus: Best Buddy Movies for Teamwork

 4. Form the Order

Time: 20 minutes

Group size: <20

Objective: Communication, collaboration

Instruct members to line themselves up based on specific criteria such as age, height, birthday, or shoe size. 

The challenge? 

All teamwork and communication needed to organize themselves must be conducted through non-verbal communication. 

As people move around the room to complete the task, you will see the emergence of natural leaders and innovative communication means.

 5. Show and Tell

Time: 30–60 minutes

Group size: 10–15

Objective: Build trust

This icebreaker works fantastically for remote workers.

Ask every team member to share something they love with the rest of the team.

 It could be a hobby, an award, a pet, or something completely unexpected.

Give each team member one minute to show and talk about their special something and then allow others to ask questions.

Remember, the objective here is to build trust by sharing personal information.

24 Team Building Activities

Here are 24 team building games:

6. Life’s Best Moments

Time: 30–45 minutes

Group size: 15–20

Objective: Build rapport, trust

This team building activity requires participants to move out of their comfort zones. 

1. Instruct your team to spend a few minutes contemplating the best moments of their lives. 
2. Then ask them to decide which 30 seconds of their life they would relive again if they had the chance. 
3. Now, ask each team member to share their memory out loud. 

If you are a senior team member running the activity, do share your own memory too. 

Your participation goes a long way towards breaking down barriers between levels and creating more trust.

This activity is excellent for pulling members out of their comfort zones and creating meaningful working relationships.

7. Survivor

Time: 30 minutes

Group size: 4–6 

Objective: Problem solving, collaboration, creativity

In this fun activity, give your team a fictional emergency scenario, such as being stranded on a desert island or in the middle of the Arctic. 

Your employees will have to choose items that they’ll take with them to survive.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Give them an imaginary list of ten items, of which they can choose five. Include items such as a handful of seeds, a small pocket knife, a sword from the 1700s, 200 feet of cloth string or rope, a bedsheet, a two-liter bucket, one-liter of kerosene, a flint spark lighter, and so on. 
2. Divide the team into groups and have them collaborate on which items they will choose to survive. 
3. Then have them present their decisions to the entire group and have everyone decide on which team’s strategy is the best. 

8. Game of Possibilities

Time: 10 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Problem-solving, communication, creativity

Give an object to each small group. Participants must take turns acting out a unique use of that object, and teammates have to guess what that use is. 

For example, using chopsticks as knitting needles.

Let the innovation and creative thinking begin!

 9. The Common Factor

Time: 5 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Build rapport, overcome bias

In this quick team building activity, instruct each group to find one thing they all have in common. 

For example, one group discovers that they all love hiking.

Instruct the group of people to take on a hiker stereotype for the rest of the meeting. 

Maybe throughout the meeting, those members will use terms like “natural,” “peaceful,” or “rad” to identify with the stereotype. 

At the end of the meeting, discuss how stereotyping and passing judgment on a person’s qualities and preferences is ridiculous and blinding. 

To take it a step further, have each person end with one quality about themselves that typically lies outside of the stereotype of the common quality. 

Maybe one of the hikers loves designer handbags and shoes!

 10. A Team-Made Puzzle

Time: 20 minutes

Group size: 8 

Objective: Collaboration

Print out an image and then cut it into eight perfect squares. 

Give each member of the group a square and a full-sized square sheet of paper. Instruct them to draw their pieces at scale. 

In the end, all participants will put their puzzle pieces together to identify the picture. 

This activity aims to demonstrate how each member contributes to the larger picture.

Psst… the pun was definitely intended. 

11. Simulated Problems

Time: 45–60 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Collaboration, problem solving

This fun game requires some creative problem solving.

Give members a fictional problem that relates to work. 

For example, if you manage a marketing team, create a scenario that the company has released a marketing campaign that many people found to be distasteful and discriminatory. 

Instruct them to brainstorm ideas and create a plan for a public apology and strategies for moving forward.

What will future ads contain? 

How will your people work to gain back the company’s good reputation and credibility? 

Problem solving activities allow members to recognize mistakes before they take place in real life. 

They also enable companies to put processes in place to deal with such scenarios if they actually happen.

12. A Scavenger Hunt

Time: > 60 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Collaboration, problem solving, build rapport

A scavenger hunt is a classic event but can take a decent amount of time. 

It’s also the perfect time for your employees to channel their inner detectives!

Use your creativity to organize a list of clues and even trivia questions that lead team members to different items/locations.

If the company is located in Chicago, for example, Cloud Gate (or as most people know it: the giant bean statue) can be described on the list as the “place where people go to look at their curvy reflections.

Instruct participants to get a team photo at each location. The first team to return with the proof/items wins. 

Outdoor activities can be a fun way to let team members engage with each other outside of the workplace. 

Note: A scavenger hunt can also be an organized team event indoors around the office.

 13. Pencil Precision

Time: 20 minutes

Group size: 2

Objective: Collaboration, build rapport

Tie the ends of two long pieces of string or thin rope around the eraser-side of a pencil. 

Then instruct pairs of teammates to tie the other end of the pieces around their waists. 

Each team must stand back to back and work together to lower the pencil into an empty water bottle between them. 

The first pair to complete this goal wins.

 14. Human Knot

Time: 20 minutes

Group size: 8–15

Objective: Collaboration, building rapport, problem-solving, communication

Instruct participants to stand in a circle facing one another, shoulder to shoulder.

Have each member reach out with one hand and grab the hand of someone across the circle. 

Repeat this with the other hand. Set a time limit and instruct the team to un-knot themselves without releasing their hands.

 15. A Look at the Future

Time: 10 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Collaboration, build a vision

This game is all about embracing the future.

First, hand out newspapers to each small group and instruct them to mark down 10 fictional headlines of what the company will be doing in the future. 

Then, allow each group to share their headlines aloud. 

This team building activity helps teams contemplate long-term goals and establish a common goal amongst team members. 

This experience is also great for analyzing where each team member sees the company going.

16. Guess Who?

Time: 15 minutes

Group size: 5–10

Objective: Problem solving, communication

Keep masking tape or post-it notes on hand for this activity. 

Write a series of names on sheets of paper or sticky notes, such as celebrities or historical figures. 

Then, arrange the groups into circles. 

Each employee must tape one of the names to their forehead without looking at it. 

Participants will then go around the circle asking questions to find out clues of who they are. 

Only “yes” or “no” questions are allowed. If someone gets a “yes,” they are allowed another question.

 17. Frostbite

Time: 30–60 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Communication, collaboration, problem solving, build trust

This activity needs each group to leave their comfort zone.  

Gather the materials needed for this problem solving activity, such as building blocks, chairs, blindfolds, and sheets. 

Instruct groups to imagine that they are stranded in the Arctic. The objective is to elect a leader to build a shelter to survive. 

The challenge? 

The team leader has suffered from frostbite and therefore is unable to build the shelter. 

The second challenge? 

The other team members have been blinded by the snow and are wearing blindfolds. 

The team leader must give verbal instructions to their blind team members on how to build the shelter.

18. All Tied Up

Time: 10 minutes

Group size: 2–4

Objective: Collaboration, communication, problem-solving

Ready for some hands-on learning?

Instruct pairs or small groups to stand in a tight circle facing one another. 

Use string or rope to tie their hands together. 

Teams must then accomplish a goal while tied together, such as completing a board game or jigsaw puzzle, making a sandwich, tying each of their shoes, acting out charades, or racing other teams across a finish line. 

19. Blind Drawing 

Time: 10–15 minutes

Group size: 2

Objective: Build trust, communication, collaboration

Instruct pairs to sit back to back. 

One team member will have a pencil and a piece of paper, and the other will have an object or picture. 

The team member with the picture/object must instruct their teammate to draw what’s in their hands without saying what it is. 

They can describe its properties, color, etc. but not precisely state what the object is.

Such a team building event will push participants to trust and listen to one another. 

20. Seemingly Nothing in Common

Time: 10 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Collaboration, problem-solving

For this fun team building activity, lay out a series of random objects with seemingly nothing in common. 

Then, ask each small team to pile the objects into categories. 

Have each group write down their answers. Once the time limit is over, each group will share their categories aloud and explain why they grouped them this way. 

Perhaps your team will see that they have things in common as well.

21. River Crossing

Time: 15–30 minutes

Group size: 10–20

Objective: Collaboration, communication, building trust, problem-solving

This team building event is great for identifying your team’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Demarcate an area in your conference room or on the lawn (if outdoors) to be the river. 

This could be done by placing two long carpets head to head or putting paper sheets or rope to mark the river’s beginning and end.

Instruct your teams that this river is full of toxic waste, and they need to cross without touching the ‘water’ with hands or feet.

Provide cardboard squares as footholds that can be placed on the ‘river’ to cross. 

These cardboard squares can be moved as a person goes across the river. (Ensure that all the cardboard squares put head to head do not cover the entire length of the river).

If anyone in the team ‘falls’ into the river, for example, losing balance when trying to place your foot on the cardboard square, the entire team has to start over. 

The goal is not only to cross the river safely but also to assist your teammates in crossing.

22. Perfect Vacation

Time: 10–20 minutes

Group size: 2 

Objective: Listening

This exercise is all about your employees’ listening skills.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Group members into pairs

2. Each person in a pair reveals to their partner what their ideal vacation would be (if time and money were no constraints)

3. After each pair has exchanged their plans, the other person must describe their partner’s trip as best they can

23. Sculpture Peek

Time: 30 minutes

Group size: 4–6

Objective: Communication, problem-solving, strategy 

This hands-on learning activity will require a large bucket of Lego building blocks or Jenga blocks. 

Start by building a model using the Lego blocks and hide it from the group. 

Then allow one team leader from each group to sneak a 10-second look at it.

Next, the team leader must relay what they have seen to their teammates to build the free-standing structure based on memory. 

After about one minute of trying to recreate the model, ask another member to come up for a “sneak peek” before going back to their team and telling them how to recreate the sculpture.

The goal? 

The first team to achieve an exact replica wins.

As this is a memory team activity, your team will also create some fantastic memories while playing it!

24. Electric Fence

Time: 20 minutes

Group size: 10–15

Objective: Collaboration, communication, building trust, problem-solving, building rapport

In this experiential team building event, create a waist-high ‘electric fence.’

You can do this by tying a string between two chairs kept at a distance from each other.

Each team member must cross the fence without touching it. 

Easy, right? 

Well, not exactly.

Participants must be touching one team member with a hand at all times and cannot go under the fence. This includes the rest of the team on either side of the fence. 

Fun activities and building events like this lead to a great combination of teamwork skills!

25. Team Jigsaw 

Time: 30 minutes

Group size: 8–20

Objective: Team collaboration, problem solving, communication

This game’s a simple one.

A team of 8–20 people (divided into two teams) has to complete a jigsaw puzzle within a specific timeframe.

So, what’s the catch?

Well, let’s just say there are some missing pieces to this puzzle.

Literally.

Both teams will soon realize that they have a few pieces of a different jigsaw puzzle and that the opposing team has the pieces they need!

Both teams have to communicate clearly with each other to solve the problem.

Team members also have to be patient since they can only exchange one puzzle piece at a time.

To make this game even more difficult, you can keep the two teams in different rooms.

26. Build Bridges, Not Walls

Time: 60 minutes

Group size: 8–20

Objective: Creative thinking, communication, collaboration, problem solving 

This building activity is about collaboration and architecture!

Two teams must build separate halves of a bridge using the material they are given. Once their halves are done, they’ll have to figure out how to make the halves fit.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Divide the participants into two even teams

2. Collect materials that can be used to build a bride (straws, lego, cardboard, and other materials to build with)

3. Make sure that both teams are far away from each other

4. Teams can exchange ideas about their bridges but can’t see what each team is building

5. Give each team 10 minutes to come up with a concept design

6. Give teams 30 minutes to build the bridge

7. Ask both teams to try to combine their bridges with the remaining time

While your employees build a bridge, they’ll also break down the walls between them, hence the name of the game.

Additionally, this building activity is similar to the real work environment since teams need to ensure that their projects and team goals align with the bigger picture.

27. Code Of Conduct

Time: 30+ minutes

Group size: 10–30 

Objective: Build mutual trust, establish group values

This activity helps teams communicate their values by listing what matters most to them on a whiteboard. 

It’s a great team building activity to have before the start of a workshop.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Write down ‘Meaningful and “Pleasant” on a whiteboard

2. Ask everyone what they think would make the workshop meaningful and pleasant.

3. Ask everyone to write their ideas on post-it notes

4. Collate everyone’s opinions on a mind map.

5. Make sure every participant understands the idea. If they don’t, then you need to change the idea until you reach a consensus

6. Once everyone agrees on the ideas, those ideas will make up the code of conduct for the group throughout the workshop

The agreed-upon values will help the workshop run smoothly.

28. Marshmallow Challenge

Time: 18–30 minutes

Group size: 2–40+

Objective: Communication, team collaboration, problem solving

This team building activity requires teams to use 20 spaghetti sticks, one meter of tape, one meter of string, and… yes, you guessed it; one marshmallow.

Teams must build the tallest free-standing structure within the time limit using the above materials with the marshmallow on top.

The Marshmallow challenge also encourages teams to communicate effectively; while leaving room for innovation and creativity.

It also teaches teams about risk management and assessment, which is applicable in the real work environment.

29. Company Outing

Time: > 60 minutes

Group size: Entire team

Objective: Communication, building rapport

Though this event is the most expensive team building event, it makes the entire team feel extremely valued. 

This is a fantastic corporate team building exercise and works best if you have people in different departments who do not interact daily.

The idea is to invite the entire team to an exciting event like a cooking class or even karaoke!

It could also be a fun outing experience that involves a golf game and allows for some relaxation. 

Engaging with each other outside of the workplace can also make team members feel relaxed and at ease. 

This helps them to open up and bond naturally.

This is a fantastic team building event for large groups and small groups alike. 

The best part? 

You can use this team building program as an opportunity for a lunch-and-learn!

Employee training out of the conference room can be both a useful and fun experience! 

5 Virtual Team Building Activities

A recent case study by ClickUp found that 51% of American workers feel as though they lose at least an hour/day being inefficient at work from something as simple as feeling disconnected from the team.

Employees who are continually doing remote work hardly get to see their teammates let alone bond with them!

So here are five remote team building exercises that will make your virtual team feel closer than ever:

30. Virtual game show

Time: 60 minutes

Group size: 4–500

Objective: Problem solving, creative thinking, and teamwork

Virtual game shows are a fun way to energize your remote team.

Many websites offer different versions of this virtual team building game. They’ll even provide your virtual team with a game host and organize your Zoom meeting for you.

There are also tons of fun games to play:

• Multiple Choice
• Survey Says
• Team Face-Off
• Spin and Solve
• Match Up Wars

These virtual team building game shows are designed to give your remote team the classic game show experience.

31. Virtual happy hour

Time: 60 minutes+

Group size: Entire team

Objective: Improve relationships

Virtual happy hour is a team building activity held over video conferencing tools like Zoom. 

The point of virtual happy hour is to strengthen virtual team relationships and get to know each team member better.

You can also include fun games to strengthen the team bond.

32. Pictionary

Time: 30 minutes

Group size: 6+

Objective: Creative thinking, team collaboration

This virtual team building game requires a digital whiteboard that every employee can use simultaneously, for example, ClickUp’s Whiteboard or the whiteboard feature in Zoom. 

You’ll also need to select a facilitator to be the scorekeeper and timekeeper. 

The facilitator should also think of a way to select a team to go first.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Download a random word generator

2. Create two teams 

3. Have each team select a drawer

4. The drawer has to draw pictures that the random word generator selects (in 60 seconds)

3. The team that guesses correctly first gets the point

4. The team that guessed correctly gets to go next

Got some introverts in your team?

Pictionary is an excellent team building activity that encourages every teammate to participate. This way, even the most introverted remote workers feel comfortable playing!

33. A peek into each other’s homes

Time: 20–30minutes

Group size: 4+

Objective: Build rapport, enhance team relationships

Yep, that’s right.

In this virtual team building activity, you get to welcome your virtual team to your crib!

You can take a short video of your home and list some of your favorite things about it, and then share the video on your screen on Zoom.

Or you can do it live over any video conferencing collaboration tool.

This can be a weekly event where one team member shows off their home.

This activity is a fun way to learn more about your teammates!

34. Virtual escape room

Time: 60 minutes

Group size: 4+

Objective: Problem solving, team collaboration, creative thinking

There are sites like The Escape Game that offer virtual escape rooms for remote workers.

All you need are a video conferencing tool and a digital dashboard to play.

Here’s how it works:

1. There will be a live camera feed

2. Your team will have a game host who will provide information and instructions

3. Your team will also have a game guide who will be your eyes, ears, hands, and feet in the room

4. Your team can direct the game guide to find clues 

5. Keep your clues and progress organized in your digital whiteboard

The point of this team building activity is to help teams open doors to improved teamwork.

Looking for more virtual activities? Here is a list of 40 more virtual team building ideas for your remote team.

10 Benefits of Corporate Team Building Activities

Here are the 10 top benefits that you can reap through team-building activities:

1. Communicate a shared vision throughout the team
2. Build a more effective and enjoyable company culture
3. Bridge the gap between different departments
4. Prevent and discourage dysfunctional behavior through bonding, teamwork, and communication
5. Improve collaborative decision making
6. Nurture trust, familiarity, and understanding
7. Boosts employee engagement
8. Enhance team communication skills, leadership skills, and team dynamics
9. Promote healthy company pride, playful competition, and employee motivation
10. Make employees feel valued

Let’s Get Team Building!

There are tons of other team building activities that you could choose from, like the egg drop, the barter puzzle, company treasure hunts, and office trivia. 

The ones listed here are just a few of our favorites. We use them regularly to boost employee morale and bond with our teammates.

Once you have completed a couple of team building activities, consider creating a memory wall at work of photos and memories from your team’s experiential learning process. 

In doing so, you will improve the company culture, and teams are reminded of their progress!

Want more tips on creating a great team? Hone in on your team norms with 9 Team Norms To Help You Create a High-Performing Team.

The post 34 Team Building Activities for Work in 2023 appeared first on ClickUp.

• Is product management for you?
• How can you say product management is for you?
• If it is for you, how can you transition from your current role to that of a product manager?

Finding the answer to these questions can be difficult with so much conflicting information out there. How do you know which piece of information will help you get answers to these questions? 

After spending some time online, you will discover that product managers need multiple skills to succeed in their jobs. It’s a little overwhelming and intimidating.

How do you even know if you have these skills and can be a product manager? Follow along as we break down six important product management skills you need to succeed in your role!

What Are the Most Important Product Management Skills?

You may be thinking, what skills do you need to start a career in product management? Or what are hiring managers really looking for?

To answer this question, our team from Upraised analyzed more than 200 product manager job descriptions (JDs) and identified 300 of the most common skills. We then clustered them into six skills that are really the core of an entry product manager role.

We also consulted experts in the product management field, which helped us gather the key skills employers want when they shortlist candidates early in their careers.

The most important six skills that can help you transition into a product manager role are: 

1. Product sense
2. Communication skill
3. Technical understanding
4. Problem-solving
5. Data-driven and strategic thinking 
6. Result oriented 

Here’s how the proficiency in these six PM skills differs between top product managers from average product managers:

Here’s a product management glossary for you to know everything about product management before you read further.

How do these skills help increase your chances of getting hired?

Product management is a fascinating career path. To be a successful product manager, you need to develop skills to help you lead cross-functional collaborations between engineers, marketing and sales teams, firm executives, and users.

Now let’s understand how these skills contribute to making you a better product manager. The two types of skills that product managers need to excel in this field:

• Hard skills (i.e., technical skills)
• Soft skills (i.e., analytical skills, interpersonal skills)

Both hard and soft skills are important when looking for a job. As a potential job seeker, know there will be certain soft skills and hard skills needed that you acquired in past experience.

These skills are called transferable skills. They indicate your ability to do the job, even if your profile does not match the job description 100%. Such skills make you an invaluable asset to any company. 

Hard skills for product managers

Hard skills are acquired via formal education, training programs, or on the job. These are the hard skill needed to be a successful product manager:

Product sense

Product sense is a product manager’s ability to understand the problem and identify all possible solutions and know which solutions to pick given the constraints like time, resources, budget, and user segment.

This is especially critical for technical expertise product managers. The deeper the domain knowledge, the better you can understand the universe of solution space for a given problem statement. It’s a skill that one can pick up and hone with time.

Technical understanding

As a product manager, you don’t need to learn to code, but you do need a basic knowledge of how products are built. It’s why you also should understand how to take care of your projects as they move through the product life cycle.

Additionally, know how to conduct market research to learn the market or industry trends. Conducting market research will help you write product requirements, define edge cases, and effectively work with the engineering team.

This lets you understand which requests are feasible and the amount of effort needed to build a feature for better prioritization. As a product manager, it’s critical to familiarize yourself with several product management tools like ClickUp.

Learning specific processes within these tools allow you to define product requirements and understand their shortcomings. 

Soft skills for product managers

Soft skills are an individual’s ability to interact and relate with other people. Successful product managers possess the following core product management skills:

Interpersonal skills

A product manager needs to get stakeholder buy-in for plans and projects. Having strong communication skills lets you influence and better communicate with others—including the sales team.

It also helps you manage and streamline product documentation. Communicating critical information allows all stakeholders to know the product development process is on track.

Problem-solving

Problem-solving is the ability to break a complex problem into chunks and help identify the root cause.

As a product manager, you need to identify the right problem to solve before jumping into the solution. More often than not, you’ll deal with confusing and complex issues.

That’s why problem-solving skills are sought after for this type of role. Product managers are often in charge of transforming the problem into a clear problem statement that the rest of the business can understand.

Data-driven and strategic thinking

Data is the new oil that fuels a customer-centric approach in every organization. Given how everything revolves around data, this skill allows you to regularly be open to new learnings.

This lets you know what’s working and what’s not. It is one of the important skills for product managers because data helps you answer questions like:

• Who is your customer?
• Why do they use your product?
• What do they think about it?

Being data-driven makes for a better trade-off between urgent and non-urgent tasks. This skill allows you to fine-tune your strategic thinking and prioritization skills.

And in the meantime, you become more confident with actual informed decisions with your data.

Result oriented

At the end of the day, it’s the result that matters.

Being result-oriented helps prioritize tasks that add the most value for the amount of time invested in completing them. You need to make the best use of available resources and complete tasks within the stipulated time, indicating you are result oriented.

How Do You Know Product Management is for You?

The first step is to understand your proficiency level in each of these skills.

Start out by using the KYS (Know Your Self) test to see if you could become a product manager. This competency test reveals your behavioral and attitude traits based on a set of 49 questions. It will help you learn more about your strengths and blind spots across these six core product manager skills!

If you score above 50 without any product background—that’s great! This means you have some of the skills in your current role to succeed as a product manager. But for those who score below 50, no worries!

That score simply means you need to work on your skills and the test will tell you about your blind spots to help. So how can you develop your skills to become a successful and competent product manager?

Developing Your Product Management Skills

Whether you are someone who hails from a non-technical or technical background, there’s a course that can help you develop these skills. Career Accelerator Program by Upraised is curated just for aspiring product managers like you who dream of working in product-first companies.  

This is a 16-week curriculum that gives you practical training and prepares you for the role of a product manager. Here’s how Upraised course preps you for a product manager role:

• Organized learning journey
• Case studies and assignments
• Interview readiness

Once you’ve learned more about product management, use a project management tool like ClickUp to help you map your product vision, build product roadmaps, align team resources, and so much more.

ClickUp offers hundreds of features and a fully customizable platform to help you manage your work more efficiently and become a seasoned product manager. You can also take advantage of the learning tools and resources they offer, including product management blogs, a ClickUp guide for product managers, and webinars to help you manage your product lifecycle.

And if you’d like to get a solid framework to start with, ClickUp has product management templates ready for you to use.

So whether you’re looking into transitioning into a product management role internally, or starting a junior role for you, taking the time to level your skills and using the right tools like ClickUp and Upraised can help give you the edge you need to become a successful and competitive product manager.

Best of luck!

Guest Writer:

Janvee Menghrajani is a Content and SEO Specialist at Upraised.

The post 6 Product Management Skills Every Product Manager Should Own appeared first on ClickUp.

It feels like only yesterday we were joking about pairing our sweatpants with button-downs for the company All Hands. But that was back when virtual meetings were the exception! 

We’ve since attended more online discussions, happy hours, baby showers, and brainstorming sessions than we can count—to the point where virtual meetings are the new norm. 

Particularly in professional settings, most meetings will be held online unless the invite states otherwise. And with this new standard comes a virtual code of conduct to make sure everyone on the call feels heard, engaged, and can properly participate in meaningful conversations. 

No matter how comfortable and casual your team is during your regular sprint review meetings, virtual meeting etiquette is vital to boost productivity, put your best foot forward, and build professional relationships. 

Read along as we dive into the fundamental rules of modern meeting manners including what virtual meeting etiquette is, its benefits, and 10 essential rules for any professional online setting. 

What is Virtual Meeting Etiquette?

Remember that saying: treat others the way you want to be treated? Well, meeting etiquette follows a similar train of thought.  

Virtual meeting etiquette sets the bar for how teams and leaders are to conduct themselves and treat others during online meetings. Think of it like a standardized set of guidelines to uphold professionalism across the board.

If a company wants all of its employees to follow a specific protocol when connecting with other departments, leading project kickoff meetings, or attending formal settings, we suggest providing a resource documenting exactly what’s expected. In this case, you might tie your online meeting etiquette back to your company’s core values, philosophies, or goals.

And if your company doesn’t have its expectations readily accessible—no problem! Any of the following tips are good rules of thumb to make a lasting and positive impression on whoever you meet. More on that in a bit, though.

Keep in mind that mutual respect and general business etiquette are nothing new! But there are some major differences between virtual and in-person meetings that you must consider in order to stay on track, on time, and informed. 

Why is Virtual Meeting Etiquette Important?

In short, virtual meeting etiquette is important because our time is important! 

It also sets the tone for the meeting and fosters strong working relationships by adhering to a consistent degree of professionalism.

It’s easy to wrack up valuable minutes or even hours of your week in front of a “could have been an email” meeting—where some members of the team are astral projecting into space while others guide the discussion off-topic.

The time spent waiting for others to join, engage in conversation, or catch up on missed talking points really adds up. And as nice as it is to see our team members through the screen, there are more intentional ways for us all to spend our time.

Beyond your daily calendar, there are other significant benefits to maintaining proper virtual meeting etiquette—starting with respect for your peers.

Almost every aspect of business meeting etiquette ties back to simply being prepared. 

Dedicating time, thought, and effort to a meeting before it takes place shows your team, leaders, and potential clients that you respect them. Plus, it keeps your meetings running smoothly by setting up and guiding the conversation to improve overall collaboration, productivity, and team communication!

Thoughtful virtual meeting etiquette leaves plenty of time to listen, think, and respond to each other. This not only establishes trust among attendees, but sets everyone up for success by letting them know what they can expect from you, and what you expect from them in return. 

10 Virtual Meeting Etiquette Rules

Even if you feel like you generally embody proper virtual meeting etiquette, the little details make all of the difference. 

When it comes down to it, the person who applies that 1% of extra effort to that daily scrum meeting will always be the one to leave a lasting impact. Being on time, polite, and attentive is not enough to show your peers and organizers exactly how much work or knowledge you’ve put into a meeting. 

But no need to worry! We’ve got you covered with 10 virtual meeting etiquette rules for any online business setting. Treat these rules as your personal etiquette SOP, share them with the team, or check your current conduct against them to see where your efforts excel and where they could be improved. 

Plus, tons of resources, templates, and tips lie ahead for even more support as you master this new skill—just in time for your next Agile meeting.

1. Know your meeting platform

Similar to the way you’d visit classrooms before the first day of school or locate the conference room on your tour of a new office, it’s important to know the platform you’re using for virtual meetings. 

If you’re hosting the meeting, establish yourself as an expert on your virtual meeting platform by being confident in your use of the software. If you’re using a tool that people aren’t familiar with, be prepared to answer questions quickly and help them focus on the meeting by not having to focus on the technical experience. 

And while we’re on the topic…if it’s up to you to choose the meeting platform, pick one that people are likely to have used before or will catch onto quickly like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. 

Another big part of knowing your virtual meeting platform is knowing its features. If your meeting requires the ability to create break-out rooms, screen sharing, or collaboration on a shared resource, make sure the platform supports it. 

Using dynamic meeting management software like ClickUp is a great way to make sure your experience using video conferencing tools like Zoom is seamless and productive every time.

ClickUp’s Zoom integration helps you command your virtual meeting space better, follow through on your agenda, and lead discussions without having to navigate away from your Workspace. 

Start Zoom meetings, watch the recording later on, or review the meeting summary—all from within your ClickUp task! And if your meeting is already in progress, ClickUp will automatically post a comment with the link for everyone involved to join ASAP. 

2. Come prepared with a meeting agenda

We’ve mentioned it before and we cannot stress it enough—prepare, prepare, prepare!

Have a plan for the meeting before it starts and create an agenda to give your discussion a clear direction from start to finish. For top-notch virtual team meetings, share your meeting agenda with participants well before the meeting so they have time to look over it, know what to expect, and add anything necessary. 

If there are any materials your attendees need to read or respond to ahead of time in order to participate in the discussion, treat your agenda like a set of directions and give attendees the proper amount of time and resources to prepare on their end.

The best way to make sure you’re ready for any meeting is with a customizable meeting agenda template that covers all of your bases. ClickUp’s vast template library is full of free resources for every use case—including this one! 

Come prepared with an agenda that is specific to your situation using this All Hands Meeting Template by ClickUp or the Committee Report Template to communicate clear objectives. 

Both templates promote transparency across your team or organization and align members on key goals or targets using features like ClickUp Docs, custom statuses, and multiple project views to establish clarity and encourage collaboration.

Another way to prepare for the meeting? Know what’s on your screen before you share it. Having 1,000 tabs open isn’t a good look. And while It wouldn’t be the first time someone accidentally shared sensitive company information, a private Slack conversation, or their Spotify Wrapped playlist—you don’t want it to happen to you. 

3. Be respectful of each other’s time

First of all, be on time.

As a meeting host, it’s never good virtual meeting etiquette to keep your team waiting and especially not potential clients. 

But the same rule applies to meeting attendees—don’t keep your host waiting! Your host is most likely one of your teammates, a member from another department, or a manager. You probably work with them on a daily basis or even have a friendship with them. Treat them with the respect we all deserve by showing up ready to start the meeting at the planned time.

If you’re someone who sometimes struggles with daily time management, use ClickUp to set a Reminder! Your future self will thank you for the heads up.

Plus, we all have busy schedules, but resources like this interactive Team Schedule Template by ClickUp will make sure every member is in the loop on when and what meetings to expect in the coming weeks. As a leader, you’ll also see how your team’s itinerary is filling up so you can make strategic decisions about the best use of their time!

4. Dress for success

We might joke about the sweatpants and button-down combo, but you should still follow it for all virtual meetings.

Whether in the office or online, dressing appropriately is so important. Proper etiquette suggests that you wear to your video conference what you would to an in-person work environment. But the good news is there’s some leeway with virtual meetings since the screen is cropped well above the wast—meaning, yes, you can wear those Uggs!

Beyond just looking nice, your virtual meeting wardrobe should align with the tone of the meeting itself. Avoid distracting jewelry, patterns that won’t translate well on video, or graphic tees that others may not understand. 

5. Avoid distractions

Avoiding distractions includes avoiding the urge to multitask. Stay focused on the meeting at hand! if your host prepared and shared the agenda ahead of time, you can assume that each talking point is intentional and pertinent to the conversation. Before the meeting, remember to…

• Put your phone away
• Turn off the TV or music
• Mute any notifications
• Close your extra tabs

And please, for the love of all things good and productive, do not eat on the call. 

Chaotic backgrounds are another common focus-killer during virtual meetings. If you’re at a coffee shop, have the kids for the day, or share an office space with your partner, choose an alternative background or use a blurring effect to keep yourself and all other meeting attendees dialed into the session. 

Look for something clean, minimalistic, and neutral. Then, you can focus on finding the spot in your house with the best lighting instead of the most aesthetically pleasing wall.

No need to scour the web for one of these perfect backgrounds, though!

Click the images below to save these free backgrounds and avoid the distraction of others walking through the back of your big presentation.

6. Know when to speak and when to listen

Active listeners not only give every individual the chance to speak but show that you care about what they have to say. 

The meeting host and participants must find the balance between speaking, listening, and asking questions to understand someone—not tear them down. This will help everyone involved get more out of the conversation by promoting open-mindedness as well as open communication! 

Here are a few more ways to incorporate virtual meeting etiquette into your discussion style:

• Speak with confidence, but keep it concise
• Avoid repeating yourself or driving the point home too hard
• Keep your mic on mute unless you’re told otherwise or speaking
• Save questions for the end of the discussion unless the host asks for them

Another issue we’ve all run into during virtual meetings is the dreaded audio lag.

No matter how strong your wifi is, the connection still drops sometimes during online meetings! To avoid speaking over someone or disrupting the flow of conversation, use the raised hand feature on your platform if possible, or express your interest to speak in the chat.

7. Keep note-taking to a minimum

Even though your intentions are in the right place, avoid taking detailed meeting notes unless you’re instructed to do so. Instead, stick to the key conversation points and review the meeting minutes later on if there are any glaring holes in your notes. 

A major benefit of virtual meetings is the ability to record the entire meeting or create a meeting summary. Lean on those features to make the meeting itself as strong as possible—frequent pauses in the conversation disrupt the flow of information, slows your agenda, and waste precious time. 

As a meeting host, designate a member of your team to take meeting minutes and let your participants know that they’ll be distributed promptly after the meeting ends. This helps you and your attendees stay present and will keep you from having to repeat yourself!

Meeting minutes summarize the framework and key takeaways from important meetings. They’re shared with everyone involved and keep your progress top of mind to execute follow-ups and action items faster.

Resources like this Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Template and the Meeting Minutes Template by ClickUp make this process more organized and efficient with customizable, pre-built pages to manage teams, notes, and details in a collaborative ClickUp Doc!

Want to learn more about how minutes can improve your productivity in meetings? Check out this how-to guide for writing effective meeting minutes every time! 

8. Long meeting? Schedule breaks

If you just know the meeting is going to be a doozy, schedule time in the agenda for a quick break. 

Let yourself and your peers take moment to step away from the screen, grab a snack, or have a stretch. It won’t hinder the conversation—it will vastly improve it! Brief breaks will help everyone stay in good spirits without fighting fatigue or headaches. 

It doesn’t have to be long, just set your timer in ClickUp for five minutes and pop open that soda water because you deserve it.

And if the meeting you’re attending doesn’t state whether breaks will be offered, leave a quick “brb!” in the chat if you need a breather, simple as that.

9. Leave space for questions

Build the Q&A portion of your meeting into the agenda so your peers have the proper time to mentally prepare questions, voice their opinions, or offer suggestions. 

…If you took all of these virtual meeting etiquette rules to heart, you probably just finished a hefty and engaging conversation—expect that people will have something to say about it.

Pro tip: encourage your meeting participants to reach out with questions, ideas, or comments even after the meeting has come to a close. 

10. Make a closing remark

You know that panicked feeling before taking a picture that makes you blurt out “what do I do with my hands?!” Well, cutting off a virtual meeting without a closing statement is the professional equivalent of that. 

Before your peers sign off, briefly go over the immediate next steps, how and when you will follow up, any deliverables, and the timeline going forward. 

Pro tip: ClickUp can help you delegate action items from Docs, Whiteboards, comments, and more, so you can get the jump on these tasks without skipping a beat! Turn text, screen recordings, and objects into tasks connected directly to your workflows to increase efficiency and keep the meeting momentum moving. 

Then—and most importantly—thank your team for their time! You all did great work today.

Modern Virtual Meetings Start in ClickUp

No matter how formal or frequent your meetings are, these 10 virtual meeting etiquette rules will ensure you’re sending the right message. Your effort will show through to everyone involved, and whether you’re a guest or the host, the time you applied to your professionalism will be appreciated and reciprocated ten-fold! 

All by simply being respectful of your peers.

Lean on the ClickUp resources accessible in this blog to enhance your overall productivity and set the standard for the virtual meeting etiquette you and the team should uphold every time. 

Sign up for ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan to access all of the templates linked above, tons of collaborative meeting management features, over 1,000 integrations, and so much more! All for no cost.  

The post 10 Virtual Meeting Etiquette Rules for Work appeared first on ClickUp.

Giving your employees a performance review and regular feedback is an essential part of any good performance review program.

Aside from helping keep employees engaged, motivated, and proactive, reviews are ideal for collecting actionable feedback and setting realistic project goals. It’s a way to show them that you’re paying attention and that you care about their development. Not to mention, it can help them understand where they need to improve and give them the tools they need to do so.

But we get it—the thought of conducting reviews for all your employees might feel a little overwhelming, but don’t worry; it’s not as hard as it seems. In fact, using a template can make the process much easier and more uniform across your organization.

Here are 15 free employee performance review templates for you to use as a starting point in creating your own program. Take a look at these templates and start using them to run an engaging and effective review process with your team!

What is a Performance Review?

A performance review, evaluation, or appraisal formally assesses an employee’s performance. The objective is identifying an employee’s strengths and weaknesses, providing actionable feedback, and setting clear objectives for self-improvement.

In the past, annual performance reviews were the go-to appraisal method for most organizations. However, 92% of employees actually favor detailed feedback from higher-ups more than once a year.

Besides, annual appraisals can be unfair since an employee’s productivity fluctuates several times a year. What works for them now may not work six months from now.

The good thing is that alternative performance evaluation techniques have emerged. For example, you can do a quarterly, bi-annual, or role-based review. The review period can vary from company to company—you’ll have to determine the best approach for your organization.

What matters is that you get the best out of your employees by using reviews to set attainable targets for them.

What makes a good employee performance review template?

A performance appraisal template should include a range of details about the employee and a standardized rating scale for:

• Self-evaluation
• Quality of work
• Work ethic
• Accomplishments
• And other key metrics that reveal their job performance

Moreover, performance review templates should facilitate effective communication between management and their direct reports, encouraging them to work together to set individual and shared goals and keep the process consistent and fair across all employees.

15 Free Performance Review Templates

While most performance review templates are ideal for quarterly, bi-annual, and annual performance reviews, other templates are helpful for employee onboarding, streamlining career paths, and competency development.

Take a look at each one and see how you can use them to improve your performance review process!

1. ClickUp Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Quarterly, bi-annually, or annually

If you’re looking for a simple performance review template that allows you and your employees to compare assessment notes, then this is for you!

This Doc template in ClickUp includes sections where both managers and direct reports can comment on their job understanding, job skills, growth, performance, achievements, and so on.

It also comes with performance measurement codes such as unsatisfactory, fair, good, excellent, and not applicable to give you help you establish a rating scale.

The ClickUp Performance Review Template also breaks up tasks and deliverables in terms of priority and provides room for feedback. So, if you’re looking for a performance review template that adequately assesses employees’ strengths and weaknesses, provides actionable feedback, and sets clear objectives for self-improvement, then you should go for this option.

2. ClickUp Corrective Action Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Monthly or quarterly

This template is suitable for managers looking for an alternative method of improving an employee’s workplace behavior or performance. The template features six major themes: areas for improvement, problems and root causes, possible solutions, the measure of success, task owners, and timeline.

Think of this as a step-by-step performance improvement plan to help give your employee actionable steps to meet performance expectations. The ClickUp Corrective Action Plan Template helps create room for remedial action and provides a visually appealing Whiteboard where you can record all the relevant information and follow up on actions in concrete steps.

3. ClickUp Employee Evaluation Form Template

Review frequency: Weekly or bi-monthly

This simple ClickUp form helps you evaluate employee performance based on the job title and description. This is ideal for setting weekly goals or carrying out bi-monthly appraisals where not many details need to be entered. 

The ClickUp Employee Evaluation Form Template contains these Custom Fields, including awards and milestones received, total hours rendered, job title, areas to improve, works well with a team, technical skills, evaluation date, pending tasks, the number of tasks completed, and communication skills.

4. ClickUp 30-60-90 Day Plan Template

Review frequency: After one, two, and three months

The ClickUp 30-60-90 Day Plan Template is great for onboarding your new hires and establishing professional development plans from the start.

Since a full performance assessment isn’t ideal for new hires, managers can take the 30-60-90 approach to check in and assess their performance after the first, second, and third months to evaluate the new hire’s performance with on-the-job expectations.

Use this template to access an onboarding board, onboarding plan, onboarding progress, calendar, chat, and references section.

This approach and template can help you understand whether new hires have adjusted their focus areas, priorities, and expectations, as well as if more training or other actions are needed to get them acclimated to their role.

5. ClickUp Career Path Template

Review frequency: Bi-annually or annually

The Career Path Template lets you match an employee’s career expectations with your company vision. With this template, you can visualize endless career pathways for an employee on a digital whiteboard.

Think of it as a “career mind map” that allows you to create different professional development scenarios for an employee.

You can operate multiple frameworks and templates to manage information related to their growth, career opportunities, learning outcomes, and benefits. The template also features attractive visualizations, such as smart formatting, color themes, shapes, and connectors. 

6. ClickUp Employee Weekly Report Template

Review frequency: Weekly

With weekly reports, employees can discuss their achievements and areas of opportunities for the past week and set reasonable goals for the coming week.

Map out your expectations and note urgent activities that employees should undertake with the Employee Weekly Report Template. Use this weekly report template to improve accountability across teams and empower them to take ownership of their time and work.

The benefit here is that you can track progress, celebrate wins, and determine bottlenecks and roadblocks every week. Understanding wins and areas opportunities can boost employee morale and better plan for the upcoming weeks.

7. Microsoft Word Employee Evaluation Template

Review frequency: Monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually

This Microsoft Word template allows managers to evaluate their workers’ performance levels and wage structures. You can customize the template as you wish and use a rating system to assess an employee’s performance.

The rating system focuses on areas such as accountability, punctuality, attendance, flexibility, completion of assignments, quality of work, organizational skills, confidentiality, conflict resolution, and willingness to develop skills. The template has 37 focus areas, although you can always add or remove some to fit your company’s needs and structure.

Managers can look at the current wage per hour in the wage review section and recommend a new one based on the overall performance score. If you wish to cut down the wages of nonperforming employees or reward top performers, this template is ideal for you. 

8. Excel Project Performance Report Template

Review frequency: Bi-annually or annually

You can use this Excel template to examine the performance of high-priority projects within the organization. This template is particularly important since you can collaborate with the accounting or finance departments to determine the efficiency of specific organizational programs. Some key areas of focus are how the budget has been used, the actual costs of items involved, cost variances, and schedule variances.

With the template, you can rest assured that the company’s resources are being utilized as expected. Performance reporting is important because it involves gathering project data and then using it to communicate progress.

Managers can use project performance review templates to analyze how employees have contributed to project success or failure.

9. Someka Excel Annual Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Annually

The Excel annual performance review template also has a rating system that helps you evaluate employee performance. Managers can fill in employees’ basic information and backgrounds on the template’s first tab. The next tab gives you a performance rating system—you can rate an employee’s performance in a specific area as poor, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. However, you can only rate a single performance factor below each of the three rating metrics.

Overall, the Excel annual performance review template has an easy-to-fill professional design and is print ready. You also need not install it on your Mac or Windows systems.

Furthermore, you can alter the rating system and the metrics to suit your preferences.

10. Google Sheets Objectives & Outcomes Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Annually

The Google Sheets Objectives and Outcomes Performance Review template combines an employee self-assessment area with a manager’s assessment section. The template allows companies to evaluate whether employees have achieved the predetermined goals and objectives. There’s even room for managers to examine how well an employee’s behavior aligns with the company’s values. 

What makes this template unique is the need to give written responses so that employees can receive their performance ratings. This way, there can be no bias since employees can review your comments before appending their signatures at the bottom.

The easy-to-use format also makes it less challenging for employees to understand managers’ thought processes that led to the performance ratings. It is also easy to identify what they can do to meet goals and objectives in the coming year.

11. PeopleGoal Google Sheets Employee Competency Performance Review

Review frequency: Annually

While the Google Sheets Objectives and Outcomes Performance Review template focuses on employees’ annual performance and how they align with company values, this one rates their core competencies. The template uses organizational seniority by ranking employees based on job roles and is ideal for hierarchical organizations. 

With each job role, there is a list of core competencies, a rating tab, a weighting tab, and a comments section. For example, if an employee is an analyst, you can focus on competencies such as technical ability and team communication. This gives you an overview of potential areas for improvement.

The five weightings are top performer, exceeds expectations, meets expectations, needs improvement, and significantly underperforms. However, you won’t be locked into the rating scale above. You can customize the competency weightings as you like based on what is vital for your organization.

12. GooDocs Google Docs Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Quarterly, bi-annually, or annually

This simple, single-page performance review template lets you comment on an employee’s overall performance, goals achieved, areas for improvement, and core values.

Think of it as a condensed performance appraisal form that integrates all important areas of concern without going into too much detail. If you’re a small business owner, then this template is ideal for your organization. 

Besides its easy-to-fill formatting, the Google Docs performance review template is also visually appealing. There is a blend of gray and purple colors that augments the beauty of its layout. You can additionally edit the document to fit your needs and preferences and print it out at no cost.

13. Template.net Microsoft Word Restaurant Employee Performance Review Form Template

Review frequency: Quarterly, bi-annually, or annually

This evaluation template is ideal for assessing the performance of restaurant employees. It focuses on highlighting the workers’ achievements and potential areas for improvement. The rating system has five metrics: outstanding, above average, average, below average, and very poor. 

The template also gives a side-by-side rating: the employee’s self-rating and a manager’s rating. Ratings are given for specific competencies, such as creativity, honesty, and work ethic. On the second page, you can write down whether the predetermined goals have been attained, which should match the ratings in the first section. 

As this is a downloadable Word document, you can always edit the tables, the rating system, and the core competencies to suit your organizational needs.

14. Microsoft Word Employee Development Template

Review frequency: Annually

This annual performance review template is a six-page document that helps collect information for creating employees’ Individual Development Plans (IDPs). The aim is to help each employee in their personal and career development. The template provides a blueprint that managers can follow towards creating these development plans by going into detail regarding the key areas.

15. Template.net Employee Performance Review Template

Review frequency: Bi-annually and annually

The last example in our list of 15 free employee performance review templates is this employee performance review document that covers all the important prerequisites on a single page. The template contains four main areas for review: employee information, performance evaluation, opportunities for development, and reviewer comments.

The performance evaluation section focuses on core competencies, such as cooperation, enthusiasm, attitude, punctuality, job knowledge, and communication skills.

Regardless of your organization or industry, you can customize this condensed document to suit your preferences. It also comes in Google Docs and Microsoft Word formats, meaning that you can edit or print it at your convenience.

Improve Your Performance Review Process with Templates

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of any workplace. It helps us grow, learn, and improve our skills. However, it can be hard to know where to start, what to include, and how to make the process more engaging for everyone involved.

That’s why we’ve created this library of free performance review templates. Use these 15 templates to help you improve your next performance review and create an effective and engaging performance review program to help your business and your people thrive.

The best thing about the ClickUp’s HR templates is that they’re customizable and free to use—simply download and configure them to fit your needs.

And because ClickUp is an all-in-one project management tool that works for every team, you can create, edit, and store your performance review alongside your work. Connect your review templates to your tasks, employee directory, and other important files, then track progress using our powerful tools like Goals and Dashboards. Yep. It’s that simple.

The post 15 Free Employee Performance Review Templates (Plus Tips) appeared first on ClickUp.