Entrepreneurs, SMEs, or large organizations, businesses worldwide are reaping the benefits of remote employment. According to a 2018 Forbes report, over 50% of the American workforce will work remotely in the coming years. Further, several surveys also reveal that remote employees are usually more productive and engaged when compared to in-house staff. Many companies are now realizing this trend and cashing in on the same, seeing that it has added cost saving benefits for the organization.
However, working and coordinating tasks with the remote team is unfortunately no cakewalk. Although a team does not have to be placed in the same room to get things done, it is essential to coordinate, communicate, and collaborate work to ensure the smooth functioning of a business. This is where effective team management tools come into picture. These tools have a variety of functionalities that not just establish smooth communication and coordination, but also keeps track on the progress of the remote employee who may seated across continents. Take a quick look at the best management tools that top businesses make use of so you can implement a system that fits your business model perfectly…
Slack
Slack is considered to be one of the best team collaboration tools that is used widely by remote teams worldwide. This cloud based software is accessible to all team members to help them communicate with one another, share information, share and download files, pdf documents, compare notes, and much more with a mere drag and drop. Keeping all the files in one place, it makes it easier for any member to search and access the file instantly. Team members can also have a group chat or a private conversation via instant messaging. With a friendly interface, easy accessibility, and complete Android and iOS functionality, Slack has become one of the most sought after communication tools. Further, most remote staffing agencies provide you with remote employees who are well equipped with this software, making your work far easier.
Trello
Trello is a web based application that is simple, lightweight, and free for basic project and team management requirements. This application is highly visual and is ideal for managers who are keen on keeping a close watch on the progress of their project. This tool lets managers assign tasks to specific team members, set deadlines, place tasks in order of priority, and overall, define a thorough workflow while constantly monitoring the progress of the project. Team members are also allowed to add comments, attach documents, and share files. This tool works extremely well when you a have a team seated across various continents, and a simple glance at the board will let you stay ahead in the game.
Wrike
Wrike is considered as one of the top favorite project management applications for organizations globally. This tool is known for its transparency and real time dashboards that result in effective project planning and management. Able to cater to several teams at once, it allows live editing, time and budget tracking, proofing, approval, live activity streaming, and the synchronization of emails and calendars. This cloud-based solution also assures complete data security and protection, thus making it the ideal fit for managing remote employees.
Basecamp
Trusted by millions, Basecamp is one project management tool that provides a company-wide communication, while maintaining private spaces for communication at the same time. The key feature of Basecamp lies in the fact that it allows business heads to stay ahead in the game when managing remote employees, especially with the ones seated offshore. Having to work across different time zones can be challenging, and thus, Basecamp offers a centralized system that eliminates the loss of any document or spreadsheet in inboxes. Further, you can also schedule meetings, assign tasks, set deadlines, and finally, evaluate the work in ease. So the next time you seek offshore employees, say for instance, you hire employees in India, try Basecamp to ensure that no remote employee misses any deadline ever again!
ProofHub
An advanced project management software, ProofHub, is a great tool for any project that demands high management proficiency. This all-in-one centralized tool ensures a smooth workflow with key features such as, a multilingual interface, online proofing, time tracking, Gantt charts, calendars and timers, reports, chats and discussions, among many others. Providing seamless interaction across teams and clients in a centralized unit has improved the communication, collaboration, and delivery time experience for various organizations globally.
Asana
Asana is a web and mobile based application that helps simplify the challenging task of team management. Apart from being able to share, download, and view files with ease, this tool has the added facility of accommodating tasks should the project get bigger in the long run. It allows managers to not just create tasks, but also break them into sub-tasks and assign work accordingly. Should the project get bigger or be aligned with an existing one as it progresses, Asana allows for quick and easy transition through files and inboxes, thus promoting a steady workflow. Since Asana’s basic version is free and well equipped, this software is used widely by employers hiring remote staff.
iDoneThis
IDoneThis is a collaboration tool that is great to create tasks, assign tasks, and create a complete to-do list with scheduled deadlines. Aside from being user friendly and easily accessible, it also allows managers to keep a close watch on their remote employees with their daily check-in, meetings, and reports. It also has the feature to make comments and highlight the necessities to ensure the remote staff remains productive at all times.
Zoom
Zoom is considered to be one of the best video conferencing apps that is free of technical glitches like a frozen video or muted audio. Zoom also has a gallery view feature that allows the entire team to view one another on a single screen, making it apt for video conferences. You can add up to 50 people at once under a free subscription, and up to 500 people under a paid scheme. Zoom also has the feature to record the video, share screens, schedule calls in advance, while keeping all your other apps running simultaneously. Zoom’s affordable pricing has made this tool the one stop shop for all business meetings.
To sum up
Working with remote staff can be challenging for sure. Understanding the troubles of employers, companies worldwide are working hard so you can run your business smoothly at affordable costs. While multiple remote staffing agencies exist offshore to ease this process, a wide array of software applications and tools are being developed and modified each day for your benefit. Although the above mentioned list isn’t an exhaustive one, these should give you a fair idea on which management tool suits your business needs the best!