Gone are the days of being chained to a desk! Remote work has become a game-changer and is now the new norm for much of the workforce. Small businesses are on the hunt for the ultimate arsenal of free remote work tools to revolutionize their work environment. After finding free versions of helpful tools, it may be time to take your business to the next level by investing in paid versions that will benefit your remote employees and business.
In this article, you will learn about the best remote work tools that can help your business succeed in a virtual environment. We will go over the benefits of having these tools, as well as explain the differences between free and paid versions. Finally, we give you some tips on how to get started with setting up a remote work system.
Remote Working Tools for Every Need
While there are dozens of tools and must-haves for remote or hybrid work, there are some core areas to concentrate on when planning a successful remote work setup. Sure, you need a dedicated workspace and need to set some boundaries to ensure working remotely is productive and a better alternative to working in an office every day. But, there are other factors to consider in addition to your physical workspace.
While there are many benefits to having your teams work remotely, staying connected and working with a remote team can be difficult. You don’t want remote employees to rely on different mobile apps to keep things running smoothly. Let’s take a look at some different areas where remote tools make your job easier.
Communication
When it comes to communication, there are many great options available. Video conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Hangouts offer users the ability to interact with colleagues in real-time without being in the same physical location. A cloud-based phone system like Monster VoIP allows employees, freelancers, and solopreneurs the advantage of advanced features no matter where they are working. These features include call cues, auto attendants, time-of-day routing, and apps for mobile devices. Instant messaging programs such as Slack and Microsoft Teams allow for quick communication within a team and provide ways to organize conversations by topic.
Scheduling
Scheduling tools like Calendly and When I Work make it easy to manage team members’ availability and book meetings. In addition, time-tracking apps like Toggl and Harvest help teams track their progress and monitor billable hours.
These tools are available for teams to schedule meetings and share calendars, which allows for easy coordination of everyone’s availability and regular check-ins. Additionally, many of these tools can sync with your calendars and automatically send out meeting reminders and invites, which can help reduce excess emails.
File Sharing
The ability to share documents is also essential for remote workers. The most popular file-sharing programs include Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Box, and Apple’s iCloud Drive. All of these offer secure encryption when transferring files and have features such as permissions and version control that allow you to track changes in documents. File-sharing programs allow for the secure transfer of large files between users. Additionally, many companies use Box or Sharepoint as document management systems which provide users with the ability to customize their workspace.
Filesharing programs like Google Drive are commonly used by remote teams as important tools for their work. This service enables users to transfer large files securely and efficiently, facilitating remote collaboration on projects. Keep in mind that not all businesses have the same needs for keeping remote employees connected and working efficiently.
Project Management
Remote teams require project management tools to stay organized, plan projects, assign tasks, and monitor progress. Popular options include Asana, Trello, and Monday.com. These tools have an easy-to-use visual dashboard that keeps users on task with deadlines, budgets, and other important details. Having one centralized work location is a must for keeping everyone connected when your team is spread out.
What are the benefits of using remote working tools?
Remote work tools provide the benefit of keeping your team connected, regardless of their location. This helps to prevent miscommunication, delays, missed opportunities, and customer dissatisfaction in the ever-changing business environment.
In the current work landscape, it’s important to adopt modern remote technologies to ensure team connectivity, organization, and safety. While almost half of all companies don’t allow remote work, studies show that employees are more content, happier, and more efficient when given the option to work remotely. Therefore, employers should consider embracing this trend to attract and retain top talent.
What are the best free and paid remote working tools?
Remote working tools are crucial for businesses that have transitioned to working from home. They help teams remain productive, accountable, and connected. These tools come in both free and paid options and are especially important for small businesses watching their expenses. They provide employees with the necessary resources to work efficiently outside of the office.
Communication Tools Worth Looking Into
Slack
Businesses widely use Slack to facilitate team communication, collaboration, and organization. It has become a necessary tool for remote teams to maintain productivity and connectivity regardless of physical location.
The core feature of Slack is the ability to post messages, files, and documents within channels. Let’s organize these by team, project, or group, and are searchable to the entire team. Slack is available for both desktop and mobile devices, making it easy to stay connected even when members are on the go.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a remote work tool that provides a collaborative platform for teams of any size. It offers real-time communication, document and file sharing, task management, and much more. With its user-friendly interface, Microsoft Teams makes it easy to stay connected with colleagues while working remotely.
Microsoft Teams allows users to create both public and private channels for communication. This means that employees can share information with just the team they’re working with, or make it available to the entire organization. Microsoft Teams also offers a range of integrations with other applications. These other applications include Zoom and Asana, which can help streamline workflow.
Convene
Convene is a powerful remote work tool that helps teams stay connected and organized. The tool works even when they aren’t in the same office. With Convene, users can have virtual meetings, collaborate on projects in real-time, share documents, and much more. The software features an intuitive interface that makes it easy to use and understand. It also offers robust security features so that companies can be sure their data is safe.
Convene also provides powerful analytics, so teams can track progress on projects and make informed decisions. Plus, it integrates with several other tools, such as Zoom, Slack, and Dropbox. This makes it easy to stay connected with colleagues and clients from anywhere in the world.
HubSpot Meetings
With HubSpot Meetings, you can sync your Google or Office 365 calendar, set your availability, and let customers or employees schedule meetings with you. The tool includes form fields for saving contact information on your meeting page. You can send the meeting page as a link or embed it on a website. HubSpot Meetings offers a free option with unlimited meetings.
Setmore
Setmore is an appointment scheduling tool that provides a centralized platform for organizing calendars, customer lists, booking pages, and staff profiles. It also allows access to appointments from anywhere and enables customers and team members to reschedule directly from their email inboxes, streamlining the process and reducing the need for phone calls.
The free basic plan offered by Setmore allows for up to four staff logins and calendars, with automated alerts and notifications. The service can be utilized for scheduling appointments with customers online and also integrates with various third-party apps and platforms, including Facebook, Mailchimp, Zendesk, and Zapier.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a comprehensive management tool that consolidates all necessary resources for your team to complete their work. Each project contains message boards, to-do lists, file storage, real-time group chat, and automatic check-in queries. Additionally, Basecamp can be integrated with various third-party mobile and desktop applications, including TaskClone, Zapier, Project Buddy, and Zoho Flow.
The Basecamp Personal plan offers 16GB of cloud storage and is designed for individual projects and small teams. It permits three separate projects and accommodates up to 20 users.
Basecamp Business is the preferred option for most users’ company needs. This paid option allows for unlimited features and users. The plan includes a lot of storage space, which is necessary for maintaining workflow. Saved projects are also guaranteed for as long as needed.
Asana
Asana is a tool for project and task management that helps teams to organize, track, and manage their work from anywhere. Its automation features are designed to reduce bottlenecks, streamline approvals, convert standard projects into custom templates, and save time by automatically updating project schedules when deadlines change.
Asana provides a free basic plan that permits usage for up to 15 team members, offers calendar and list views, and enables task and due date assignment. This plan is compatible with third-party applications, such as Jira Cloud, Adobe Creative Cloud, Gmail, and Slack.
In Summary
The tools discussed in this article are some of the best options for remote work. While Google Drive is one of the better-known platforms, there are plenty of alternatives. Convene provides an intuitive interface for virtual meetings, collaboration, and document sharing. HubSpot Meetings helps users sync their calendars and set their availability for customers or employees. Setmore is great for appointment scheduling. Basecamp offers comprehensive project management features. Asana automates workflow and helps teams stay organized with their calendar and list views. Finally, having a feature-rich and dependable telephone system like cloud-based Monster VoIP is essential to staying in communication with employees and customers.
For more information on upgrading your existing phone system and adding the tools you need to succeed, contact Monster VoIP today at (877) 818-9696.
