Best Productivity Tips and Tools for Remote Workers

While remote work is rapidly becoming an industry-standard in the workplace, employers may find themselves struggling to help their employees be as productive as possible outside of the office. However, with these five tools, your team can be more effective than ever—even while working from home.

Why Does it Matter?

Appropriate technology solutions are essential for remote work success.

As with any business, employers are tasked with properly preparing their workers to be the best that they can be, no matter the organization’s goals. Now more than ever, work-from-home responsibilities matter.

But it should be stated that not all teams require the same resources. A salesforce may require webinar software to present demos that won’t apply to a team of developers. Likewise, marketers will probably rely much more heavily on a project management platform than lawyers researching a case.

Five Productivity Tools for Remote Work Success

When preparing your team for long-term remote work—either in the case of a pandemic or simply as an offering for modern workforces—it’s up to you to set them up for success with the right technology.

With the following five solutions, you can do just that—and make your organization run more efficiently than ever.

1. Implement Software for Video Conference/Meetings: If you can’t meet in-person, do the next best thing, and meet face-to-face, online. With these tools—including Google Meet, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom—you can replicate the experience of regular team meetings held in conference rooms or at your desks. Not only does it encourage interaction and collaboration, but it helps keep your inter-team communication strong.
2. Commit to Virtual Collaboration Tools: Likewise, working from home can be a chore if your team doesn’t have the right collaboration solutions. Without platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, private VPNs, and Box—all of which allow for seamless cloud interactions—employees may be unable to easily share, review, revise, and produce great work. Do yourself a favor and start using one as soon as possible.
3. Offer Integrated Communication Channels: Your team needs to communicate. And while many modern offices provide open, collaborative environments for employees to chat and discuss projects off-the-cuff, the next best thing is tools that help foster this same spirit. For quick discussions, opt for the convenience offered by platforms like Slack, Google Meet, Zoho Connect, and Microsoft Teams, just to name a few.
4. Provide Project Management Tools: Help your employees stay on-task and in control of their assignments with robust project management tools. Solutions like Asana, Trello, Workfront, and Basecamp offer comprehensive assistance with deadlines, responsibilities, next steps, and other benefits that keep everyone organized for a wide variety of projects.
5. Consider a Productivity Monitoring Tool: Whether tracking time or employee productivity, a monitoring tool like Hubstaff or RoboHead can provide managers with coaching opportunities throughout the day—as well as clock-in, clock-out functionality—much like in an in-person office setting.

What's Next?

Assess what’s working and what isn’t. If you find that your team struggles with understanding the selected project management tool, set aside time for additional training and make yourself available if people have questions.

Likewise, if your employees are utilizing Google Drive with great success—including using Sheets, Docs, and other tools—you may consider suspending your license with another word processing platform, which could save money and further streamline your processes.

Ultimately, it’s all about finding what works for your team and your business.