Setting and assigning tasks to the team. The most convenient way to do this is with tools designed specifically for project management. Take the Asana program as an example, the program helps to visualize what needs to be done and when, makes it possible to break a large task into subtasks and divide them between team members.

It also gives an idea of the tasks and projects that other team members are working on. The program has the ability to mark the “status” of the task: to do, in progress, completed. Or other necessary phases of your work. Tasks can be prioritized. By doing them gradually, concentrating on one. In addition, such programs have a calendar, a separate “to do list”. Reminders that are emailed, as well as synchronization of tasks between projects. Very convenient, simple and visually pleasing to use.

The free version is suitable for small teams: it includes the ability to create up to 1000 tasks per team, with no time limit. Paid version from 10.99 per user. Asana integrates with all popular services: Google Drive, Teams, Gmail, Dropbox, Zapier, Zoom, Jira, Slack, Outlook etc. Analogs of the program: Wrike, Trello, Click Up, Confluence, Scoro, Acello and Jira,Teamwork.com, Basecamp. In our opinion, the most popular tool from this list is Jira.

Communication within the team. Of course, if there are only two of you, you can use Skype or Telegram chat. But when your team starts to grow (How to hire your first employee – read here), personal contacts get mixed with work issues, and Skype starts to glitch and one “fast” video call takes about 30 minutes; it’s time to think about the messenger in which all work correspondence and funny pictures will be located.

As with project management software, choose the one that works best for you. Let’s take the well-known Slack program as an example.

According to the company as of June 2015, Slack has 1.1 million daily users. Slack collects discussions about common topics (chats) in one window.

Slack collects in one window: discussions in general topics (chats), private groups and private messages; has its own hosting, image preview mode and allows you to search among all messages at once. In addition, Slack supports integration with nearly 100 third-party services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, GitHub, Google Docs, Google Hangouts, Twitter, Trello, MailChimp., Heroku, Jira, Asana etc. In the free version, Slack supports unlimited users, integration with 10 external services, and archive search for up to 10,000 messages. In paid plans – $ 6.25 (Standard) and $ 12.5 (Plus) per user per month – restrictions are removed and additional options appear for managing access rights.

As a result, you get an easy-to-use program for quick and easy transfer of information that integrates with all sorts of servers and programs. Analogues: RocketChat, Google Hangout, Chanty, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Mettermost, Flosck, Ryver etc.

Well-chosen tools for communication and setting tasks within your team will help you save time and keep abreast of the affairs and tasks of employees. There are a lot of similar programs: paid, free, in English, Russian or any other language. There are plenty to choose from. One of the main advantages of such programs is that communication between team members takes place within the framework of one specific issue (task), which helps to avoid a mess and loss of essence in the discussion. The tasks set through the program cannot be forgotten or lost on a “cluttered” desk.

In addition, you can always track the history of changes (versions) and find a solution, even after a long time. Very often, materials and tasks from previous projects are needed after a while in another project. Correspondence avoids misunderstandings, everything is clearly written and you can always reread. Even if you are a small start-up, think about communication in your team from the very beginning, it will simplify your life as the company grows.   Which programs are more convenient for you to use?