Running a grocery store without the best task management software is like writing an essay with a pen and paper instead of a computer. It’s totally possible. It just won’t be as easy and you’re much more likely to make mistakes that can’t be erased. As a grocery store manager, your work is cut out for you every day. Why make your job harder than it has to be? Task management software improves processes, simplifies communication and boosts efficiency and productivity. If your store isn’t using a task management tool, there are countless ways your business could benefit from doing so.
Better Team Communication
No one knows how to keep your store operating at 100% better than you do. You know what needs to be accomplished and how you want it done, but your employees can’t read your mind. Your employees want to do a good job, but a job well done isn’t going to happen without proper communication.
TimeForge’s task management solution is also the ultimate collaboration tool. It simplifies team communication by setting out tasks and checklists, which clearly defines expectations. It also provides employees an easy way to communicate with each other within the software, because its features include commenting on individual tasks. If you’re in charge of multiple locations, use it to simplify communication across multiple locations and keep them all on the same page. You can’t be in two places at once, but your task management tool can.
Upload Images & Files
Communication and problem solving can be much simpler with the help of photos. This is why TimeForge’s task management tool allows users to upload images and files to tasks. For example, say an employee is checking registers in your store and one throws an error code. Unless they know how to fix it, they should document what’s going on by taking pictures and upload them to their task on the software. Doing this will help you solve the register’s problem faster with less back and forth. Think it would be cool to impress your customers with bigger and better product displays? Use this feature to provide photo examples and inspiration for your employees to create impressive displays in your store. Additionally, a platform that gives users the ability to upload photos of a job well done – or not so much – promotes accountability among your staff members.
Save Time & Effort
Better communication means less stepping on toes and fewer wild goose chases. Ever been sent on an important mission only to have someone beat you to the punch? A task management tool helps prevent wasted time and effort and frustration by keeping your to-do list in one convenient place. Tasks can be marked as complete in real time so everyone with access will know the status of a task. Now your staff can spend less time looking for something to do and focus on what still needs to be done.
Mobile & Convenient
One of the best things about task management software is that it’s easy to access and use on a mobile device, so you can ditch the clipboard. Don’t worry about losing your pen or paper checklist, just check things off your list on your mobile device as you go about your business. This can also save you the hassle of misplacing paper checklists or running low on copies. Think of the trees! You can also create new checklists and edit existing checklists anytime or anywhere, because you never know when or where inspiration will strike.
Staff Training & Store Consistency
The best task management software does more than just help make sure tasks are completed. It also helps keep the performance of your staff and stores up to your high standards. Training employees is easier if they have a clear idea of what they’re supposed to do and if it’s getting done right. TimeForge’s task management tool features a rating system that allows the user to give each task performed on a checklist a 1 – 5 star rating and assign a follow-up if something needs to be addressed. It even keeps a running performance average on each rated task so you can track each task’s overall performance and see where there’s room for improvement or cause for celebration.
If ever an employee must transfer to a different location or help cover shifts, getting into the swing of things will be much easier if operations between locations are standardized by a task management system. No two stores operate exactly alike, but your transferred employees will be right in their element and will have an easier time figuring out where they can fill in.
Positive Customer Experiences
Every visit for every customer should be the best it possibly can. This is a great goal for any store, and using a task management tool can make it easier to achieve. Carefully planned checklists make it easy to keep things tidy and well-stocked all day, even on busy days. Your customers will appreciate that your store always looks nice and they can easily find what they’re looking for. On top of that, you can also make a to-do item to spruce up your product placement for impulse buys.
Daily Cleaning
Is your store still using a cleaning checklist template on a piece of paper? Sure, that’s what people have been doing for years, but templates don’t cover everything and why waste paper if you don’t have to? Instead, you can use TimeForge’s task management tool to create cleaning checklists customized specifically for your store. Your checklists can be as detailed and specific as you’d like, and you can set how often they should be completed, which makes it easy to separate daily cleaning from deep cleaning. And yes, you can even print your checklists if you really want to.
Store Maintenance & Upkeep
The freezers, shopping carts, and lights in your grocery store play their role in the background. Even though they’re not usually in the spotlight, the show can’t go on without them. Routine upkeep and maintenance tasks cannot fall through the cracks, even when days are so busy that it’s hard to imagine your staff finding time to do anything that isn’t a daily part of their work. Keep maintenance on a schedule, and don’t fall behind on any chores. Use a task management system to create customized checklists to help you and your staff keep it under control.
Stocking & Inventory
Like cleaning and maintenance, stocking and inventory are eternal processes for a grocery store. They’re also processes that can be improved with a task management tool. Breaking these tasks into categories or departments and putting them on a schedule can make them much more manageable. You will also have more control over when tasks take place, which is ideal. Normally, you don’t want your employees stocking at the same time as your usual daily rush.
Register & Computer Maintenance
Software updates and register maintenance are a must. However, the middle of operating hours isn’t the best time for them to happen. Getting this task on a schedule that works for you is simple. Once you decide on the best time for regular system maintenance, plug it into a checklist. Then, set it on whatever schedule you decide. Here’s a hint in case you don’t already know: don’t schedule this for the night before a Thanksgiving rush! Routinely updating and servicing your systems will keep checkouts running smoothly, which will keep your customers happy.
