Remote work took off during the pandemic. Companies didn’t want to shut down, so they let people work from home to avoid getting sick.
Now that things have returned to normal, people don’t want to return to the office. Reports show that 57% of people still prefer to work from home full-time. The question is, do you have the resources to make it happen?
If you’re interested in improving remote team collaboration, having the right tools is essential. Below are four applications worth investing in for your remote workplace.
1. Google Drive
Sharing information is one of the most challenging parts of working remotely. You aren’t in the office to exchange information in person and probably don’t want to do so by emailing files back and forth.
You can make things easier for yourself and your team using file-sharing tools like Google Drive. Google Drive will give you a place to store company files and view documents. On top of that, you can collaborate in real-time by opening files at the same time and making changes for everyone to see.
2. Zoom
People can become isolated when working from home. It’s true that working from home can offer a distraction-free environment. But at the same time, it also leads to social isolation when you aren’t careful.
Make sure you have remote work technology like Zoom to allow your team members to communicate face-to-face. They can use video conferencing to have more personal conversations instead of only interacting with others by text.
3. Asana
If you’ve gone through communication skills training, you know how important it is to have clear lines of communication for projects. Everyone should understand what their role is and their responsibilities.
But this isn’t easy when you’re remote since you can’t meet in person to review things. Asana provides an online workspace to handle all your project management needs. Employees can log in, view their tasks, and ask for feedback on the next steps or unclear action items.
4. Slack
You can’t be on video constantly, so you may want to offer a casual environment for your team to chat and discuss projects. Other project management tools aren’t always the best case for those situations. However, you can use chat apps to handle this task.
Slack is a communication tool that offers chatrooms to businesses. You’re able to set up different channels for different purposes.
If you want a casual channel for people to talk about random topics, create a general channel for that purpose. Likewise, you can set up chat channels for projects if you want dedicated chat windows outside the project section.
Invest in Remote Team Collaboration
Working remotely can be a massive benefit for workers. They get a distraction-free workplace, don’t need to waste time in traffic, and can take care of things around the house during breaks. But at the same time, working remotely comes with its own challenges.
If you don’t have remote team collaboration systems set up, your team communication may suffer. Utilize the collaboration tools above to ensure you have great communication among your team.
Do you want to put more tips into place to enhance workplace productivity? Check out the blog for more tips for optimizing your business processes.