Trello is a team collaboration and project management tool that helps individuals and businesses organize what’s going on in their workspace. You can use it to present a company overview, manage team projects, track recruitment, schedule business meetings, and even keep on top of personal to-do lists—among so many other possibilities.
How Trello Works
Imagine a whiteboard full of sticky notes. The whiteboard represents your marketing campaign, while the sticky notes indicate each task needed to complete the project. You create columns on the whiteboard to mark every step in the workflow, e.g. design, review, completed, etc. Every time a task is needed, you add another sticky note to the board. When it’s completed, you move it along the pipeline until it’s finished.
Trello works just like that, except you can have multiple whiteboards (called Boards), pack each sticky note (called Cards) with tons of information such as task assignment, checklists, and comments. You can also customize the pipeline (like the checklists, called Lists) based on your team’s workflow—all of which you can access through your laptop or smartphone for an instant glance.
It’s a simple tool, which is why so many businesses and managers choose Trello over similar apps.
That said, Trello also has additional features that make project management easier to visualize and understand such as:
- Customizable labels
- Automation tools
- App integration (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
- Search
Trello is also free and allows unlimited storage and members in the basic option. But their Business Class and Enterprise versions pack additional features (e.g. advanced checklists, automated commands, view choices, etc.) that can be extra helpful for large teams with multiple departments and projects.
How to Use Trello
There are hundreds of creative ways businesses and workspaces can use Trello. If you’re on the fence about trying out the tool to improve productivity, here are some ideas to get you started:
Project Management
Companies rarely have just one project moving at a time—this is where Trello becomes helpful. You can create Boards for each project and stay on top of every moving part. Track each task’s progress: see what’s needed and who’s assigned to it, give feedback and ask for comments, add deadlines, etc.
Roadmaps
Trello can bring a product roadmap to life, making it more visual and easily digestible for stakeholders. You can use Lists to map progress, releases, and plans. Use the Cards within the Lists to provide relevant information about the why’s and how’s of what your company is doing.
Finance Management
You can also use Trello to manage company budgets and finances. Use the Lists to track bills, payments, and receipts, all anchored on one main Card that shows balances.
It won’t automatically compute things for you, but it works for finance managers who’d rather be hands-on about money. Plus, if placed on a Team Workspace, it promotes transparency about the team’s cash flow.
Team Meetings
Team Meetings can be organized and collaborative using Trello. You can turn Lists into meeting dates and add Cards with agenda items.
Then, you can assign people and checklists to make sure that everything is discussed and ticked off. You can also make sure that there are no lulls that cause a 15-minute meeting to last three times longer than it should.
Recruitment Pipeline
The hiring process can be complicated, especially if you have multiple hiring managers and candidates for several different positions. Organizing the pipeline in Trello helps track jobs to be posted, opened positions, and filled roles. You can also assign hiring managers and keep a list of candidates being considered.
Company Overview
Trello doesn’t always have to have moving parts. For example, you can use it to create a company overview that lists important information such as vision and mission, company guidelines, team and workflow information, request processes, and the like.
A Company Overview Board like this can be especially helpful for human resources managers, as well as new hires who need to learn about the company.
Why Use Trello
Trello’s ease of use and flexibility makes it a great project management and collaboration tool. Using it can help make your team more productive and efficient in finishing tasks, as well as more open to communicating with each other.
It also helps business owners, employers, and managers keep on top of what’s happening in their company and within their teams at just one glance. You can use it in several different ways and even customize it based on what your company or your team needs to be a well-oiled machine. If you’re interested in alternatives for project management, Jira is another option. Learn more about how long it takes to create an app.
