To survive in the remote work environment you need to adapt, to thrive, you need the right tools to maintain high levels of productivity from afar.
It isn’t enough to rely on current systems if you want to make a seamless transition to a hybrid or remote work model. You’ll quickly see a communication breakdown, projects will get stuck in pipelines, and collaboration efforts will be stopped in their tracks.
In this guide we’re going to explore the best software tools for the remote work environment. We’ll cover the pillars of productivity, including everything from communication to collaboration, leaving no stone unturned.
Communication
Keeping communication lines open when your employees are scattered around the city, region, or even the world can present a significant challenge. Without the means for efficient communication, teamwork becomes difficult, instructions are more easily misinterpreted or misunderstood, and expectations left unclear.
The following tools can help you streamline your communications within your company, from the top-down, within teams, and even across departments.
Slack
Slack, which is marketed as a digital HQ, can be your one-stop shop for all things communication. The software offers various channels which you and your employees can easily switch between to talk to one another, which makes it possible to keep communication lines open for the team unit, the cross-department team, and from managers to employees.
Notifications and collaboration features enable employees to keep a finger on the pulse of everything that’s going on at work whenever they use the app.
Zoom
Zoom soared in popularity during the pandemic, so much so that it’s become a part of the common vernacular. Its most useful function is the ability to hold online conferences, meetings, briefings and more. You can have as many as 1,000 people in a single virtual room, so the possibilities for communication at every level are endless.
Collaboration
Collaboration tools, which are often marketed as project management tools, give you a place to check in with work projects, hit up coworkers with relevant updates, and track key performance metrics.
Basecamp
Basecamp is an excellent tool to start with if you want a single app to work from. With many integrations, Basecamp allows you to bring all your other tools together so you can streamline your work processes.
Within the Basecamp software you’ll also have access to everything from a message board to a to-do list feature. You can also schedule events, set reminders, and move and manage documents and files.
Trello
Trello is a straightforward productivity tool which facilitates quick and easy collaboration. Using the kanban board system, Trello maps out all of the tasks and projects you have on your plate into a series of lists and cards. As such, all you have to do is move cards from list to list to indicate when an action has been taken. The visual layout is great for the content creation process.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post, you might make a list for ‘in progress’ and one for ‘editing’, and share the board with your colleagues so that they can jump in when it’s their turn to contribute.
Time-tracking
For managers concerned about a drop in productivity during the transition to working from home, employee time tracker tools are a must. Time spent on tasks is one of the best indicators of productivity, and it helps breed accountability as employees know that their work time is being recorded.
Harvest
Harvest is a business-focussed time-tracker that allows you not only to keep tabs on how your employees spend their time, but also lets you keep on top of expenses. With a comprehensive tool like this, you can accurately inform your payroll and ensure no expenses go under the radar.
The software allows you to start and stop timers manually from both desktop computers and mobile devices. It also integrates with other tools such as Trello, which means your team can track their time on individual tasks and projects which can help with performance reviews.
Toggl Track
Toggl Track is a simplified time-tracker ideal for small businesses. You can use this tool for free or sign up for the premium plan if you want more in-depth features. Toggl Track has over 100 integrations, works on various platforms, and is trusted by companies such as Uber, LinkedIn, and Wise.
Some of the features include project budgeting which ensures you’ll never go over budget again, detailed reports which you can see at a glance in the dashboard, and easy payroll calculations.
Final thoughts
The remote work environment presents unique challenges; ones that must be met with new tools and mindsets. You need to think about replacing your current work systems and infrastructure with the latest software so that you can build a virtual workplace in which employees can thrive.
With a combination of tools spanning everything you need for you and your team to be productive, you should be able to better manage your workloads and service clients without a hitch.