Top 10 Essential Tools to Manage a Remote Team While Travelling

The rise of telecommuting and remote work policies has been accelerated by the needs of travellers, prompting businesses and companies worldwide to adopt intelligent and practical tools to facilitate work while on the move. The shift to contemporary work practices has been rapid, a change necessitated by the urgency of recent developments. Initially, the transition posed challenges for some, yet it’s increasingly apparent that this new approach yields notable benefits. Employee efficiency and output have steadily increased, and businesses are reaping financial advantages. Significant reductions in expenses related to office infrastructure, materials, and energy costs are just some tangible outcomes of this evolution in the workplace.

Nevertheless, the primary challenge remains to manage insubordinate employees who exhibit unruly behaviour while working remotely and meeting goals and deadlines. It’s essential to leverage various digital collaboration tools to address this challenge and enhance collaborative efforts. Thus, maximizing the benefits of these tools while travelling is crucial for maintaining productivity and achieving project objectives.

Essential Tools for Communication

We have handpicked tools based on their utility. They will cover communication, team collaboration, time management, file sharing, taking important notes, etc. Let’s explore!

Slack

For quick and straightforward communication, consider Slack a necessity while working remotely. You need a replacement for those brief interactions since you can no longer pop on your teammate’s desk and give instructions or ask questions. That’s where Slack comes in handy!

You can set it up on your phone, desktop, or tablet. You can send direct chats to your team members. It also allows you to create channels for team collaboration. The tool has handy features; you can sleep your notifications when you need to focus.

Fast, customizable, adaptable, and easy to use!

GoToMeeting

You also need a replacement for those quick in-person meetings. For that, GoToMeeting is a reliable meeting tool. This online meeting tool is feature-rich and comes loaded with value-added extras.

Collaboration is made easy with audio and video meetings. GoToMeeting can launch video conferencing sessions right on your browser. You can also use it as an app on any of your devices.

Asana

A straightforward, cloud-based communicative tool that saves you from the hassle of skimming through convoluted and endless email threads! Asana allows you to manage tasks conveniently. It also supports features like project archives, conversation tracking, etc.

Asana is a powerful software for project management. You can keep your business projects and team assignments organized. Asana is a handy fix if you have a small team and a small business setup.

The tool is free for up to 15 people, and you can manage unlimited tasks and projects. It also offers team conversations and file upload functionality.

Google Meet

Encountering problems with the design, content, or project delivery will occur in telecommuting as it used to in the office. Therefore, a compelling video chat tool is vital to resolve these issues.

Face-to-face meetings are a staple of the office environment. But working remotely doesn’t mean it cannot happen. Projects, tasks, deadlines, and issues can only be discussed in a face-to-face meeting. Therefore, Google Meet is here to save the day!

The market is swamped with video chat tools such as Zoom, Skype, etc. But Google Meet, previously known as Google Hangouts Meet, stands out because it is free and allows a whopping number of participants simultaneously.

Moreover, the said tool connects to your Google Calendar directly. Since video conferencing tools are in high demand, Google has improved the said platform impressively.

Dropbox

It can be a hassle to share large files via email. And since your team is managing all the work from home, there will be many files to share. Therefore, you need a proper file-sharing tool like Dropbox to collaborate and sync files. Dropbox will allow you to organize your work effectively, especially with remote teams and freelancers. They will submit projects effortlessly to Dropbox. Also, a good number of users can access files and folders.

Basecamp

It would be best to have an effective collaborative tool to track projects involving multiple teams. Basecamp is the right pick to share ideas, set up tasks, discuss projects, and check off completed tasks. The assignments are structured, and the ability to search through them is pretty useful.

With this tool, You can build nest assignments, large projects, and extensive goals. You can also hand off the assignments to the designated team members. Keeping track of the state of the projects is also easy.

Timely

Time tracking and time management are pivotal for the success of your projects and meeting your goals according to the set timelines. With Timely, you can use a time-tracking method to keep tabs on how employees spend their time. It is particularly beneficial for managers to know what an average day looks like for their employees. It can also help to boost employee productivity. You can monitor the time the workers take to complete their tasks.

If this tool runs in the background of all your employees’ systems, you can maintain a handy digital log of all the projects. You can also set completion goals and prioritize projects. Timely comes with a professional plan where you can manage all your team members.

Google Drive

According to a report, an average worker makes around eight searches to find the correct info and documents to complete a task. The said process can become more frustrating for remote workers because they can’t just go to their manager’s desk to ask anything and rely on written instructions.

To avoid the hassle of identifying a document or a file, a tool like Google Drive is a convenient fix. It helps you create files and facilitates collaboration in real time. You can add comments, see other team members’ edits, and work on the same document simultaneously.

It is free to use; all you need is a valid Gmail account. The number of collaborators is unlimited.

Buffer

Marketing is a prime need of every business. While working remotely, varied schedules can delay your marketing efforts. To stay on top of your content marketing game, a tool like Buffer is a great way to schedule your posts in advance and set when to post them.

Hackpad

You need to take notes during all those audio and video meetings. Hackpad lets you do that. Pretty often, you have creative ideas amid brainstorming sessions. Note those down on Hackpad and give access to your team to share, comment, and collaborate effectively.

To conclude, these tools are highly effective and immensely facilitate your remote working process. And they are relevant to all different businesses and work setups, for instance, IT staffing companies, digital marketing setups, etc.