Best tools for remote work
Remote work boosted by COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay. It gives so important nowadays flexibility, positively impacts team productivity and increases employees’ satisfaction level. All of these factors, however, are largely dependent on selecting and deploying the appropriate tools for remote work, which are now widely available on the internet. As teams become more agile, the necessity to choose the correct technologies for remote personnel becomes even more crucial. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the top remote worker tools.
Trello is a start-up favourite. It’s a Kanban-based project management application that’s incredibly versatile and simple to use. Trello’s success stems from its visual list generation tool, which allows you to track project progress in a straightforward and visual manner. You can delegate assignments, track progress, collect and store information, and plan and organize work processes by creating and rearranging task cards.
Slack is a simple chat communication solution with a user-friendly UI that can keep everyone connected. It can work with a variety of different programs, including G Suite, Dropbox, Adobe Creative Cloud, and others. Slack is available on both mobile and desktop, allowing users to work and coordinate from anywhere.
Zoom is a video conferencing solution that is extremely lightweight and easily integrates directly with Google Calendar. Zoom is best renowned for its high-quality video calling, while it does feature texting alternatives as well. Video recordings are one of the most popular features among users. These recordings can be used to make educational movies or to chronicle typical operations.
You can also rely on the Cisco Webex platform as an online video conferencing tool. It’s free, simple to use, and comes with some major integrations like Outlook, Google, Office 365, and more. You can easily host and join meetings on the move using your laptop, tablet, or mobile phone because of platform’s cross-device compatibility.
Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage and sharing service that allows users to securely store and share their files. Dropbox is an online library that allows you to organize and manage information such as documents, images, videos, music, and a variety of other file types. It works with a variety of devices and may be viewed from both computer and mobile device.
Google Drive is a cloud storage platform that allows you to store all your information in a single, secure location. Documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations can be stored and shared by remote workers. It can be used to generate weekly metrics reports. Google Drive files can also be synced between devices, allowing users to access and update them from any location.
It’s another big name in file storage. Additionally with Microsoft OneDrive you receive the whole Office 365 suite as well as 60 minutes of international Skype calls with just one Microsoft OneDrive subscription.
Created in 2008, Asana is an extremely powerful teamwork tool with a comprehensive toolkit for any organization’s needs, from timelines and project boards to automation and connectors. Its job assignments are embedded into larger projects, allowing team members to divide their effort during the development process. Its simple design allows you to follow progress and understand who is accountable for certain project components, reducing the likelihood of roles and responsibilities being misunderstood.
Basecamp has become popular because its simple interface and actionable task items. Due dates, calendaring, and to-do lists assist users in prioritizing and organizing their work based on the importance of the tasks assigned to them. Message boards, group chats, and automated check-ins ensure that everyone on the team is kept in the loop. Team members can communicate in real time using Basecamp from their laptops or mobile devices.
Jira, which is owned by Atlassian, resembles Trello in appearance but is designed exclusively for software development. Jira is a wonderful solution for high-performance teams since it facilitates test case management and agile software development. Jira is an Atlassian ecosystem product that interfaces with other Atlassian products like BitBucket and Confluence to make development easier.
Microsoft Teams, which is essentially a corporate version of Slack, is a part of the Microsoft Office ecosystem and connects natively with all other Microsoft products. Microsoft Teams is a place for communication, making video calls, and sharing files. If your company utilizes Microsoft Office tools, switching to Microsoft Teams should be simple because most of your team members are already familiar with the integrated software.
Evernote is an excellent note-taking tool for distributed team members. You can organize all of your notes and have them sync automatically across all of your devices. Evernote functions as a PDA, to-do list, and pocket notepad.
World Time Buddy is essentially a time converter and an online meeting scheduler which is extremely convenient for distributed teams. Its design lets people compare various time zones to plan web meetings.
EmailAnalytics
This productivity tool visualizes an email activity of your team. It allows to look through your team member’s average email response time, as well as how many emails each member of your team sends and receives every day. Sales and customer service teams use it to monitor and improve email productivity, and EmailAnalytics users see an average of a 42.5% improvement in email response time. That increased speed leads to a 16% increase in sales, on average.
Blueboard
This unique employee reward and recognition platform helps in rewarding your best performing employees. They might choose vacation, some sort of new experience, create their own adventures etc depending on their preferences. The best part is that after your employees have decided what they want to do, Blueboard will take care of the rest.