Wrapping up our series on productivty, today we’re going to focus on free applications online that can help get your business organized.

First up is OpenWorkBench. This Windows only tool makes managing projects a snap and lets you keep a close eye on which employee is doing what, all for free. It’s an open alternative to Microsoft Project, and easily competes with the big name software.

The business world is becoming more and more virtual, with most businesses these days having remote contractors doing a majority of their work. oDesk is a web based software that helps you manage these contractors, keeping a close eye on them as they work. It covers scheduling and hiring, as well as paying your freelancers.

Once you’ve got your employees using their time properly, you can move to the next step: Wikis. A lot of big businesses like Ziff Davis and Yahoo use this to get maximum leverage between employees, letting them develop ideas together faster and more effectively than the traditional route of interoffice memos. A popular choice for a lot of businesses is TWiki. Made specifically with the business environment in mind, it’s very easy to setup and get working right away.

The final tool in the next generation of businesses is a social network built specifically for your employees. I suggest using the free social network builder, crowdvine. We’re currently using it for our Free Line social network, and so far it’s been one of the best tools we’ve got in the Free Line repertoire

Let’s face it, your employees are going to kill a little downtime on the internet, using social networks. Might as well build one for them that relates to your business and helps foster relationships and community WITHIN your company. Leverage that downtime to your advantage- it will pay off faster than you realize.