The Power of Notion: Transforming the Way We Work

A few years ago, I stumbled upon Notion and, like many others, wrote it off as just another productivity app. As a curious techie, I decided to experiment with it nonetheless. To my surprise, Notion proved to be a game-changer, combining the best of a personal website and Google Docs, all without any coding skills required.

I initially started using Notion to streamline my personal life. I  realized its potential as an all-in-one hub for my writing, plans, to-do lists, brainstorming, and notes. However, the challenge of transferring my habits and creating new ones to adapt to a new tool proved overwhelming, and I eventually abandoned Notion's use.

But as I continued to experiment, I saw a new opportunity for Notion to become a central hub for my company. After overcoming initial hesitation, I tested it in one of our internal projects. It became a crucial part of our operations, managing everything from onboarding to projects, recruiting, and more.

Two years later, Notion is now an integral part of our daily operations, and I can't imagine our day-to-day without it. Here are a few ways we have found to make the best use of Notion at my company, Atomic32:

Templates are your friends:

Templates are pre-made structures. We use them as a starting point for many things, including what has now become our organizational home. Templates can save time and effort in setting up a Notion workspace. They can also help to provide a consistent structure and layout, making it easier for our team to find the information they need.

Automate Notion with other tools:

Automation saves time and effort in our day-to-day operations. By integrating Notion with other tools, we automate tasks and processes that would otherwise be done manually. For example, using a plugin like Forms to Notion, you can connect a Google Form to your Notion workspace, allowing you to populate information from the form into your Notion database automatically. This plugin can be handy for setting up application forms or internal profiles for your team directory.

Set up Wikis for different departments:

Wikis are a great way to share information and collaborate within your team. Notion makes it easy to set up wikis for various departments, such as Community, H.R., Engineering, or Infrastructure. This allows us to centralize all relevant information and resources for each department in one place, making it easy for team members to find what they need.

Use it as an announcement board:

We use Notion as an announcement board to keep our team informed and up-to-date. For example, we share information about all-hands meetings, company news, or other important updates. This allows us to have a single location where all relevant information is stored, making it easy for your team to stay informed.

Use it as a sales funnel:

Notion can be used as a sales funnel, allowing you to track leads and manage your sales pipeline. This can be a great alternative to other sales tools, such as Hubspot or Pipedrive, as Notion allows you to centralize all of your sales information in one place. It helps us stay organized and keep track of all our sales activities, from lead generation to closing deals.

Streamline the recruiting and onboarding process:

Notion makes things easier, transparent, and more efficient for our H.R., Recruiting, Technology, and BizOps teams. We use Notion to keep track of job postings, candidate applications, interview schedules, and offer letters. Notion allows you to publish job postings on the web, making it easier to share with applicants. We also use Notion to manage the onboarding process by creating checklists, documenting procedures, and tracking progress. By using Notion, we ensure a smooth and organized recruiting and onboarding process for new hires, making their transition to the company as seamless as possible.

Notion has become an essential tool for our company, helping us to organize and streamline various processes, from project management to recruitment. The flexibility and versatility of Notion make it an excellent solution for companies of all sizes and industries. As with most technology tools, it's still up to us as users to take advantage of its features and use them effectively. As we continue to use Notion in our day-to-day operations, it's worth considering the role of technology in our work. How can we use technology to enhance our work and improve the quality and creativity of what we produce? In the age of A.I., that's a balance we must always look for.