How can a project management software help you? First, these programs organize your work schedules and projects in a way that keeps things easy to follow, no matter if you have a staff of 5 or a team that numbers well over 100. These programs encourage collaboration, putting all team members on the same board where they can comment, brainstorm, share ideas, photos, and videos. You can organize the tasks by urgency, team member, or any other categories of your choosing. You can also sync the software with your email, making it even easier to stay on top of things.
Two of the biggest names in project management software are monday.com and Wrike. Let’s put them head to head and see what they offer.
Which communication tools does it offer?
You don’t need us to tell you: communicating with your team can be confusing at times. One team member sends out an email about a major change to a task, meanwhile, the person who needed to see the email wasn’t looped in, and before you know it, hours of work go down the drain. With project management software, you can put all of the relevant communication about a specific task in one spot. Think of it as a central station that funnels all communication, making sure that everyone’s on the same page.
monday.com: On this program, you set up all of your tasks on a series of boards or “pulses.” With this canvas you can see who is working on which task at all times, and whenever you need to reach out to the team member (or members) working on the task, you can comment directly on the thread, where everyone looped in on the project will see it. You can also set up the system so that everyone in the thread receives an email whenever a new comment is made. Additionally, you can mention team members that are in your system by typing “@” before their name, without assigning them to the particular task, bringing them into the loop instantly.
Wrike: This software uses a series of folders to help you organize your projects and manage communication with your team. Each one of these folders can be separated into department, client, or project (or whatever classification you choose), and can be further broken down into specific tasks. You can instantly assign tasks within the folder to specific team members, and attach files and make comments at any time. You can also upload and tag images and videos in order to get specific feedback and instantly tag and add different team members to a task.
Winner: it’s a tie! Both monday.com’s and Wrike’s communication tools are easy and dynamic, letting any user tag colleagues and instantly share information, photos, and videos with them.
Can it boost team collaboration?
monday.com: On monday.com, users can comment on or Like other users’ posts, and notifications are instantly sent. These notifications can be sent out to mobile devices so that every team member can receive all updates in real time no matter where they are. Think of it as a way for all team members to communicate and problem solve collaboratively in real time. Another useful aspect of monday.com is that you can invite clients and other outside collaborators to be part of your projects.
Wrike: The visual display on Wrike helps you get a comprehensive look at where your projects stand. You can instantly mention any employee with the “@” before their name, bringing them into the thread to provide their input. The display runs across a series of folders of sorts, and it's quite easy to navigate as you build a path for your project, set timelines, and customize workflows among team members.
Winner: monday.com pulses are easy on the eyes no matter how many comments they include. With an interface that resembles a social media post, the intuitive layout enables teammates to problem solve collaboratively.
Can it improve time management?
monday.com: With all of your pending tasks arranged across the monday.com pulses it's easy to manage time more effectively. You can post each task arranged by priority, due date, status, and which team its assigned to. You can assign a team member the task and then it is sent to their individual board, as well as your overall team boards. The boards are easily searchable, meaning that every team member can instantly see whats on their plate, what's the status, and where their efforts are most needed at the moment.
Wrike: With Wrike you can keep on top of your team members’ time by way of the workload view, which lets you see all employee tasks on an easy to read grid. This way, you can keep tabs on who’s working on what, who’s got a hand free, and who’s too backed up for now. You can also set timers to track how long it takes employees to carry out specific tasks. Additionally, you can use the report wizard to create reports that will keep you updated on specific projects. You can also make use of project templates that you can easily deploy whenever needed, saving you some time.
Winner: Wrike’s unique workload view takes the cake here, as it allows users to see a full picture of their tasks so they can prioritize and manage time effectively.
How easy is it?
monday.com: A project management tool should help you manage projects easier, not just create more headaches to deal with. monday.com gets it, and this approach is central to the platform’s easy-to-use boards that are also easy on the eyes. monday.com has an easy, drag-and-drop interface for organizing pulses and everything is color-coded and easy to work your way through. Also, if you’re an enterprise level user, you will receive your own dedicated account manager who can be there to provide service 24/7 if needed.
Wrike: There are quite a few features that come with Wrike, but your team members shouldbe able to get the hang of it without a problem. Also, the company website has an interactive walkthrough that lets you test drive the platform so you can see for yourself. Wrike is intuitive, and adding members, assigning tasks, and communicating with team members is for the most part straightforward and easy to figure out. You just set up a project and it opens up across a folder where you can create a task and add team members. The dashboard is also easy on the eyes and a cinch to follow.
Winner: monday.com’s system is intuitive with color coding and a drag-and-drop interface—your employees will surely get the hang of it on their first day!
How much will it cost me?
Wrike:
Winner: It depends on the size of you company, however, if you are a mid-sized company, monday.com is more cost-effect since it doesn’t have a per-use fee.
So, who’s in charge?
Getting all of your business logistics and task management in order can be tough, but you don’t need to do it alone. Today there is a wide range of project management software available to help you make sense of it all, and monday.com and Wrike provide solutions that match up well against any software on the market.
Take a look at what both offer and what your budget and your work demands require. Both Wrike and monday.com have excellent communication tools, however, monday.com is better for team collaboration thanks to its instant email notifications. Wrike’s workload view is a wonderful feature for better time management, but on the other hand, monday.com is more easy-to-use and cost effective for mid-sized companies.
The bottom line is that both of these project management platforms offer useful tools for a better workflow, so whichever you end up choosing—know that you’re in good hands.
Still not sure which project management software is right for you? Check out these Wrike alternatives
