With remote work comes the need for optimal collaboration tools. Find out our picks that help our team stay connected and coordinated.
Remote work comes with many advantages, no doubt. And, of course, the advent of COVID-19 has made remote work a necessity for many businesses across industries. That said, remote work is not without disadvantages or challenges. Perhaps most notably, sharing instructions and staying coordinated can be harder when one’s staff doesn’t share offices. It is vital for every team to have quick access to the same data so as to, quite literally, stay on the same page. But, fortunately, the right remote work tools can help your team stay connected and productive. Here are 5 among the ones that have worked for us and will, hopefully, work for you, too.
1. Slack
A team chat app from bow to stern, Slack is a remote work HQ. That’s no exaggeration either; Slack offers a plethora of features that help our team stay connected. And when it doesn’t, it’s also a fantastic platform for virtual coffee breaks and team-building chatter.
In terms of productivity, Slack allows us to remain coordinated – even among large teams. From different channels for different groups or purposes to workspace-wide announcements, it makes managing workflow a breeze. It allows us to share files, compare notes, and more. For 1-to-1 communications, it even offers the handy feature of bypassing a user’s “mute” setting, letting a notification go through. Of course, that’s reserved for dire emergencies and is used very sparingly, but it’s a valuable option to have.
2. WordPress
A wildly popular content management system (CMS), WordPress is also a valuable remote work tool. Fundamentally, it helps optimize our content through readability and search engine optimization (SEO) checks, as a CMS would. But it also allows remote teams to access the same content and proofread, edit, or expand it.
WordPress being open-source only helps, as a plethora of plugins and templates are available for it. Apps such as Zapier can also sync it with Slack, Google, and many other remote work tools one might use. Its prevalence ensures that finding adequate help to keep your website running won’t be an issue, either.
3. Zoom
Looking for something simple to use but still powerful, Zoom soon became our choice for video calls and screen sharing. While alternatives like Skype for Business, Screenhero, Join.me, and TeamViewer do exist, Zoom simply worked better for us.
Zoom has been invaluable for our team meetings, as well as irregular calls and screen sharing needs. A stable, smooth, and powerful platform, it’s among the remote work tools that can help your team stay connected too.
4. Trello
A list-making application, Trello is no less valuable to our workflow. It’s our favorite project management tool by far, and it’s been reliable for years.
Trello provides the option of keeping multiple boards, each dedicated to a specific project or task. What’s more, it lets task cards be categorized by subject under different columns, as well as color-coded. With a very user-friendly interface and massive customization options for each board, it lets our teams stay connected and coordinated through both long-term projects and day-to-day tasks.
5. Google Drive
Lastly, any team that needs to manage massive amounts of content needs a reliable content repository. Google Drive serves this function for us, and for good reason.
Google Drive is collaborative by design, and one of the easiest remote work tools to organize in. It offers practically unlimited storage and, with it coming from Google, is a very reliable content management tool. And naturally, synchronous access to critical files lets our teams collaborate more efficiently and stay connected.
