Your R&D team is working remotely. What are the best communication tools to keep everyone on the same page?

Tools like Teams and OneDrive are invaluable for staying connected with your team in real-time. These platforms enable instant communication and collaboration, ensuring that everyone is on the same page regardless of their location. Online file sharing capabilities make it easy for team members to access and edit documents together, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity. Whether it's brainstorming ideas or reviewing project updates, synchronous tools facilitate seamless collaboration and help teams work more efficiently towards their goals.

If your team is working remotely, a couple of of tools will help to synchronise and sharing resources and knowledge in the team.You can prefer cloud based services or VPN access to your local services. The basic tools can be like; For communication and meetings : Teams and Slack are good for meetings and instant communication. For project planning and synchronisation : Kanban based project management tools are good for development cycles such as click up, trello, odoo and Gantt charts etc. For documentation : Sharepoint is a good alternative For Software version control : Github will be a good choice, However for local applications, SVN by VPN access will also be a good alternative to cloud based solutions.

Shared documents for editing are beneficial to incorporate changes easily. It even acknowledges the insividual contributions.

If there are set times when everyone is online and working, messaging and video calling on any platform such as Microsoft Teams or Discord can be a very good option. This is because if everyone has the application open, even if it is in the background, they will receive a notification and the chat can be as dynamic as a conversation. And in the case of wanting to speed up more, directly a quick video call.

I migliori strumenti di comunicazione per mantenere il tuo team di ricerca e sviluppo sulla stessa pagina durante il lavoro remoto includono piattaforme di messaggistica istantanea come Slack o Microsoft Teams per la comunicazione quotidiana e la condivisione rapida di informazioni. Per riunioni virtuali e collaborazione in tempo reale, strumenti come Zoom o Google Meet sono molto efficaci. Per la condivisione e la gestione dei documenti, Google Drive o Microsoft OneDrive sono utili. Infine, per la gestione dei progetti e la tracciabilità delle attività, strumenti come Trello o Asana sono ottimi per mantenere tutti aggiornati sullo stato dei progetti.

Las herramientas asíncronas, como el correo electrónico y plataformas de gestión de proyectos, permiten la comunicación sin necesidad de respuestas inmediatas. Ideales para actualizaciones y documentación, ofrecen flexibilidad y autonomía al trabajar a ritmo propio. Ventajas incluyen la reducción de interrupciones y la mejora de claridad al revisar antes de enviar. Sin embargo, pueden causar retrasos y falta de comunicación si no se usa un lenguaje claro. También pueden limitar el compromiso y la innovación al perder interacciones espontáneas. La efectividad radica en su uso frecuente, estableciendo expectativas y pautas claras para una comunicación efectiva.

In the asynchronous ones there are many possibilities, but the best ones are those that we know that all parties consult on a regular basis. This is generally the case with e-mails. There are other alternatives such as leaving messages in documents or by other means, but if that person does not usually use them, it is difficult not to end up losing them.

Communication tools like Telegram and WhatsApp can be used to leave messages and files. Plus you can make groups where many can contribute on a specific subject.

Hybrid tools need to be used carefully and a team decision has to be made before starting to use them. Cost effectiveness and team competence has to be taken into account before the decision is made.

The best tool is the one which works! If it satisfies the need of the team, practical, easy to use and keeps confidentiality then you have your answer.

My experience: 1.The lead person you are in touch with remotely must be capable of understanding and translating the discussion into tangible results and deliverables. If this does not happen 2 or 3 times in a row, the remote work model will not work, it requires hand holding and frequent in person interactions. 2.The innovative R&D projects that require constant brainstorming and changing the course of action based on the data will not work with 100% remote. It requires hybrid approach & human touch. 3. If the project goals and pathways are well defined (late stage development), and the development is incremental or labor intensive, the remote model works great!

As much as we can create an online presence and work efficiently using these digital tools, there's a need for onsite meetings. Therefore to me it is important for the team to meet once or twice a year at a party or any event to create a human experience among team members and fostering connections. As much as we are moving into digital I feel like this is still important