In the past few years, many companies have started warming up to the concept of remote work. And it’s no wonder why, as flexible work-from-home arrangements offer numerous benefits for both businesses and their employees.
For example, employers can expect lowered overhead costs and, as a result,higher profitability. On the other hand, remote workers tend to be more engaged than their office-bound counterparts, lowering absenteeism rates. Additionally, remote employees spend less time enduring long commutes and more time on productive tasks, allowing for a healthier work-life balance.
However, the success of the model will depend on how organisations can overcome certain hurdles. Common challenges include streamlining communications for collaboration purposes, ensuring accountability from all team members, and keeping employee morale and engagement up, among others.
Fortunately, many of these issues can be addressed with the right technology.These can range from all-in-one communication solutions to specialised project management software products. If you’re not sure where to start, keep reading to learn about four tech tools that are currently revolutionising remote work:
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a powerful application that combines persistent workplace chat, audio calls, video conferencing, file storage, and other online collaboration features. In particular, Teams allows multiple people to co-edit a single file at the same time, seamlessly merging each user’s changes as they go.
As Microsoft’s premier communication and collaboration platform, the full version of Teams is only available with a paid subscription to Microsoft 365.Fortunately, a free browser-based version is also available, albeit with limited functionality.
In terms of device compatibility, Teams can be used on devices that run Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. It integrates seamlessly with other apps in the 365 suite, making it a fine choice for those who already make use of those programs in their workflow.
The software clocks millions of daily users and is one of the most popular options for distributed teams of all sizes. Though its interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate, taking courses on how to use Microsoft Teams for maximum productivity can be advantageous for any remote worker or manager.
G Suite
Created by Google, G Suite is its suite of collaboration and productivity apps specially developed for businesses. These include Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Forms, Google Calendar, and much more.
While the basic versions of these apps are free for the average consumer, enterprise-grade G Suite includes plenty of innovative features that can help boost your team’s productivity. With this upgrade, you can enjoy custom company domains for email addresses, unlimited cloud storage, an entire host of administrative tools, and access to advanced settings.
Google also guarantees 99.9% uptime on business emails as well as 24/7 phone and email technical support.You can also keep your accounts safe by using their advanced security features such as two-step authentication and SSO.
Indeed, relying on Google’s vision of cloud computing offers plenty of advantages, since it can help streamline which apps teams use for what, making it easier to standardise your file formats and work processes. Uploading data to its secure cloud also means relying less on local storage that can be corrupted, damaged, or lost.
Monday.com
Monday styles itself as a visual management platform for project planning and tracking. It is used in a wide variety of applications but can be especially advantageous for remote teams that struggle with organising their workflow and keeping track of who’s doing what.
With Monday, teams can put together boards to monitor each other’s weekly schedules. It’s also possible to create boards for tracking project goals and progress, supplemented by ready-made templates and widgets. With these, team members can see all the information that they need at a glance.
Infinitely customisable, Monday can help reduce unnecessary communications while still making sure that everyone on your team is on the same page. That being said, the software is only currently available via three annual pricing plans. If your company is interested in giving it a go, you can sign up for a free trial.
Todoist
Rated by many tech websites as one of the best to-do list apps on the market, Todoist first started out as a basic to-do list tool. Over time, it has since evolved into one of the most feature-rich task management platforms for individual employees and teams alike.
Many fans of this app praise it for its ability to help users track their tasks, projects and goals in a single, beautifully designed space. Uncomplicated and straightforward, Todoist is available for free as a Windows, macOS, iOS or Android app. It is also available as a Chrome, Safari, and Firefox browser extension. If your business prefers open-source operating systems, a Linux version is also available.
Though some companies may still have reservations, it’s clear that flexibility will continue to play a huge role in their employees’ productivity and happiness for years to come. That said, any business that’s considering making the transition to a remote work set-up would do well to brush up on their knowledge of these tools now.
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