The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to adopt remote work as a new norm. But how do you manage a smooth and successful transition from the office to the home? In this article, you will learn about some of the best tools for managing a remote work transition, covering communication, collaboration, productivity, and security aspects.
Communication is essential for any remote team, as it helps to keep clarity, alignment, and engagement. To communicate effectively with your team members, clients, and stakeholders, you need tools that use different modes and channels. Some of the top communication tools for remote work are Zoom, Slack, and Loom. Zoom is a video conferencing tool with features like screen sharing, chat, and breakout rooms. Slack is a messaging platform that allows you to create channels for different topics, teams, and projects, as well as integrate with other tools. Loom is a video recording tool to create and share short videos of your screen, voice, and face. These tools are useful for quick feedback, updates, and explanations.
It is important to define the purpose of every communication channel and tool so as to minimise confusion. Also, in a remote or hybrid setting, online tools should serve as the central hub for communication.
The foremost impediment in remote/hybrid set up is the communication. As articulation is needed on daily basis to keep employees updated and prioritize urgent plans. Pandemic expedited this need for smooth tools as more teams transitioned from office environment to remote set up. Lot of organizations built their huge business just by facilitating these effective tools for communication keeping remote working teams as their target audience. Taking cognizance of the importance of the effective and user friendly tools for remote working teams has pushed lot of organizations to invest in such tools. For example zoom, teams and Google meet.
It is important to define the purpose of every communication channel and tool so as to minimise confusion. Also, in a remote or hybrid setting, online tools should serve as the central hub for communication.
Collaboration is essential for remote work success, as it enables you to work together on projects, tasks, and documents, without losing track of progress and quality. To facilitate teamwork, coordination, and accountability across time zones and locations, you should use tools such as Google Workspace, Trello, and Miro. Google Workspace is a suite of cloud-based applications that includes Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, and more. Trello is a project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to organize and prioritize your work. Finally, Miro is a visual collaboration tool that allows you to create and share interactive whiteboards, diagrams, maps, and sticky notes for brainstorming and planning.
Productivity is essential for remote work, as it helps you manage your time, energy, and focus to deliver results. To support your personal and professional growth, you need tools that help you set goals, track performance, and improve habits. Todoist is a task management tool that captures, organizes, and completes your to-do list with features like subtasks, reminders, labels, and filters. RescueTime is a time tracking tool that monitors how you spend your time on your computer and mobile devices and provides reports, insights, and goals to help optimize productivity. Additionally, Headspace is a meditation app that guides you through daily sessions of mindfulness, relaxation, and focus to reduce stress, improve sleep, and enhance well-being.
To do lists are a great way to track one's own work and will help improve productivity. One can start their day by listing down the tasks, ordering it by priority, and adding a due date and time. Once a task is done, it can be stricked down. This will show us a real time picture of what we accomplish on a day to day basis
Security is essential for remote work, as it safeguards your data, devices, and network from cyber threats and breaches. To ensure online safety, privacy, and compliance, you need tools that encrypt your data, prevent unauthorized access, and detect malware. NordVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) service that creates a secure and encrypted connection between your device and the internet, hiding your IP address, location, and activity from hackers. LastPass is a password manager that stores and autofills your passwords for different websites and apps with a master password and multi-factor authentication. Malwarebytes is an anti-malware tool that scans and removes viruses, spyware, ransomware, and other malicious software from your computer and mobile devices while blocking suspicious links and downloads.