There has been an unprecedented surge in remote working tools this year. COVID-19’s effect on businesses changed the working landscape. Many automated tools assist employees and teams working remotely. Some rank higher than others in functionality, affordability, and efficiency.

Here’s an overview of the best remote working tools. Whether you are a work-at-home employee who wants to increase efficiency or an employer who wants to ensure your remote and on-site workers are well-coordinated, these tools will help.

Slack

Purpose: Send Fast Updates

Unexpected situations sometimes occur during work. It might not be easy to communicate with a specific employee when you have to handle many employees. Slack makes managing emergencies easier. Create different channels for different projects and departments. With Slack, you can schedule when your teammates or supervisors can see the updates so you don’t infringe on their time off work. Slack chats are just enough to notify the team of major changes and are less likely to disrupt work progress.

Google Drive

Purpose: Collaborative Work

Google Drive is one of the best collaborative software options. Google Drive allows teams to adjust or make comments about your collaborative projects. You can also use Google Drive to measure progress on projects being executed in multiple locations. Google Drive allows managers to assign tasks to their teams and give specific instructions on the tasks to be done.

Zoom

Purpose: Meetings

Teams no longer need to be in the same room for meetings. With Zoom, you and your team can attend online sessions from the comfort of any conducive place. Zoom saves everyone the stress and time required to travel on short notice when there is a need for an emergency meeting.

Timenotes

Purpose: Tracking Time

To measure efficiency and estimate the time required to finish specific tasks, use a time tracker like Timenotes. Timenotes determine who works on what task and when they start work. If you pay employees based on time, using Timenotes to keep time logs helps. Easily prepare invoices and payments for the remote team’s work. Timenotes monitor your progress over time so you can optimize time management. You can also gauge how to leverage project management for business growth. It can be used across multiple Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac platforms. There are free and paid plans with features to suit any business.

Trello

Purpose: Harmonizing Productivity Apps

When your team is working remotely on the same project but in different apps, it may not be easy to reconcile everyone’s work. Trello removes this difficulty. In this platform, different remote working tools can be integrated to give a comprehensive report. With Trello, the need to move projects across platforms diminishes. Trello integrates many popular productivity apps such as Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive, Zapier, and Invision.

Asana

Purpose: Collaborative work & Task organization

Asana timesheet is one of the best collaborative tools. With Asana timesheet, team leaders can assign tasks remotely, monitor teams’ progress, and communicate with team members. The basic features include the user dashboard, task management system, document management, reporting tools, and other collaborative features. Up to 15 members can use this software for free. It works on Android, iOS, and major laptop brands.

Dropbox

Purpose: Send Secure Files

If you worry about digital security, Dropbox offers one of the most secure platforms for file transfer. Rather than using USB drives, your colleagues can access secure files from any location. There is enough space to store large files. Dropbox also allows users to organize their documents or files in folders. The backup feature keeps the files secure. There is an option that allows users to preview files before they download them. Dropbox also integrates with popular project management tools such as QuickBooks.

Google Calendar

Purpose: Work Schedule

Keeping track of events can get demanding if you do it manually. With Google Calendar, it’s easy to keep track of significant events. Google Calendar adapts to the user’s country and automatically highlights public holidays. The calendar shows monthly scheduled events so you can glimpse essential dates in the month. Business bloggers can use this tool to organize when specific content will be uploaded on their blogs. Managers can use Google Calendar to track employees’ birthdays and other official dates in separate logs. You can access the calendar through Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.

Conclusion

Choose your remote working tools based on efficiency, capacity for integration, and cost-effectiveness. Try to get just a few apps that will offer the greatest value for your remote work and business.

Author Bio: Lori Wade is a journalist and business writer from Louisville. You can find her on Twitter & LinkedIn.