Not so long ago, remote work was a quirk of advanced workplaces and, while the desire to work remotely has long been expressed by as many as 70% of workers, it certainly wasn’t a viable reality for many. Coronavirus, and the safety restrictions it brought to global workforces, very much changed that trajectory and saw more than half of employees working remotely full-time. Now, 74% of professionals expect remote work as standard moving forward, and 84% of company leaders are putting plans in place to make it so.
This is hardly surprising considering that 83% of employees report being more productive in a WFH setup while 86% report lower stress levels, and 24% are happier in their roles. So far so good, but companies certainly can’t use the past year as an excuse to jump blindly into remote work as normal. After all, the pandemic was a unique situation that caused unprecedented overnight shifts and integrations which, despite countless plus points, also brought some less positive outcomes.
Unplugging has especially been a problem, with 22% of employees reporting that they struggle to switch off, while loneliness has been reported by 19%. Perhaps even more worryingly, collaboration and communication setbacks have also been reported by 17%. Remote work tools have adapted endlessly this past year to hit these pain points at a run, providing the support and community that even remote employees rely on. Here, we’re going to look at a few of the best remote working tools for 2021, considering how they’re changing remote workplaces, and why you could benefit from getting onboard.
Slack
What it’s used for: Team communication
Features on offer:
- Conversation channels
- Slack Connect collaborations
- Messaging, voice and video calls
- 2,200 in-app integrations
- Automated workflow builders
- Real-time communication
- Emojis and gifs
- And more
What remote teams love
- Intuitive, fun conversations
- Work in one place
- Easy integrations within existing accounts like Google and Microsoft 365
- One-click face-to-face chats
- 84% more connection with colleagues
Why businesses need it: Given obvious physical restrictions and workplace setups that would’ve seemed alien as little as two years ago, collaboration needs to be at the heart of everything employers do right now. This is the only way to keep work flowing and widespread loneliness at bay, and it’s an issue that Slack addresses head-on. Specifically, businesses need a tool like Slack to ensure ongoing relationship-building, troubleshooting, and communication. As well as keeping teams happy, these are the only methods through which employers can keep abreast of issues, continue to offer feedback, and keep goals very much on track.
Slack channels are set to become especially invaluable for remote teams who want to continue collaborating as they would in the office. Even better, the addition of @notifications and an intuitive social media-style outlook including the use of emojis, etc. means that teams don’t need a degree to start chatting here, even if those conversations are happening at B2B level. The one-source centralization that slack offers is also key, ensuring context, togetherness, and management oversight that even office setups may struggle to achieve.
Google Drive
What it’s used for: Cloud Storage
Features on offer:
- Centralised work storage
- Cloud-native collaboration
- Integration with existing apps and tools
- AI and search technology
- Shared drives
- Data loss prevention
- Offline working
- And more
What remote teams love:
- Accessibility across devices and locations
- Enhanced file security
- Custom link sharing, including viewing/editing permission
- Automatically guaranteed file storage
- Improved collaborations
- And more
Why businesses need it: Its cloud-centric storage and operations put Google Drive very much at the centre of successful remote work, especially considering that, according to 68% of CIOs in a recent survey, cloud services are only set to become more of a priority this year. Specifically where remote teams are concerned, the ability to access files from any device or any location has proven key, not to mention that automated file storage in a cloud database prevents individual technical problems or illness from unravelling entire remote teams or even resulting in lost work.
Google Drive’s focus on cloud-native collaboration across tools including Google Hangouts also ensures inclusive solutions that not only allow for easily shareable work but also ensure that ongoing collaborative conversations are possible. This is a benefit that’s taken even further in Google Drive offshoots like Google Docs, where suggestion and resolution options ensure that teams can continue to collaborate and work towards group improvements, regardless of the distance between them.
As society opens up and we all start moving again, it’s also vital to note that Google Drive’s offline feature is set to become fundamental, ensuring that team members can continue to be productive whether they’re undergoing a business trip or simply travelling for personal reasons to enjoy the work-life balance that, really, is the most significant fuel to the remote fire.
Basecamp
What it’s used for: Project management
Features on offer:
- To-do lists
- Message boards
- Schedules, including subscriptions with Google Calendar/iCal/Outlook
- Documents and file storage linked with Google Docs
- Real-time group chats
- Check-Ins
- Hill charts
- And more
What remote teams love:
- Project tracking
- Meeting scheduling and time management
- On/off notifications
- Informal ‘campfire’ communications
- Simple client access
- Software and app integrations
- And more
Why businesses need it: Project management has always been a workplace fundamental, and the tools that make that possible were important even in traditional office spaces, allowing for management oversight, project delegations, and more. For virtual teams, especially, overseeing projects is a complex process that leaders can fall behind on all too easily. This is far from ideal considering that, without the structure of the office day, employees need more guidance than ever, especially with regards to what they should be doing and the timeframes within which they have to complete each task. In light of the issues remote workers experience in switching off as discussed in the introduction, project management becomes especially crucial. In particular, employees need tools that provide them with a clear start and finish point, encouraging them to take the time they need to avoid potentially catastrophic burnout.
Basecamp definitely covers that pain point, not only bringing project management within easy reach but also offering check-ins and hill charts that track progress overall. Schedules and to-do lists are another crucial feature, making it easier for employees to manage their workloads and develop a ‘9-5’ that fits. Add Basecamp’s ‘campfire’ style conversations, and it’s certainly plain to see that this project management tool could help to keep everyone on track, while also providing a judgement-free space that encourages anyone who is struggling to speak out.
Zoom
What it’s for: Meetings and presentations
Features on offer:
- Between-meetings chat tab
- Shared contacts, channels, and messages
- Zoom phone
- Zoom presentations
- HR audio and video conferencing
- One-touch meeting facilitation
- Contacts directories
- And more
What remote teams love:
- Effortless, intuitive meetings
- The ability to make and receive calls
- Easy-to-find contacts
- Reliable cloud-based conversations
- Standardised, simple use
- Meetings synced in calendar
- And more
Why businesses need it: The pandemic left in-person meetings very much off the table and, thanks to the ease that online meetings have brought in their place, that doesn’t look set to change as life gets back to normal. Instead, video and conferencing software is becoming a business standard, and to ensure meeting professionalism that rivals even the before days, a reliable, simplistic tool is fundamental.
As the tech-based poster child of the pandemic, Zoom is definitely the platform to tick those boxes. Far from just hosting pub quizzes or incorporating fun backgrounds for chats with friends, the business subsect of this now astoundingly popular tool provides access to easily manageable meetings and contacts within one clear platform that, when integrated with emails and calendars, can keep things ticking over nicely. As well as being incredibly beneficial for simple client interactions that make conversions more likely, a video and conferencing tool like Zoom, when used right, can supercharge in-house communications. Again, this directly addresses pandemic pain points, ensuring the communication, fun backgrounds and all, that remote teams truly need to keep succeeding.
Conclusion
Successful remote work certainly promises to bring a new and productive workforce to the table, meeting employees where they want to be and facilitating an age in which work-life balance is way more than just a pipe dream. But, as the challenges of this past year have proven, remote work done badly can be worse than an entirely inflexible approach, leaving teams overwhelmed, isolated, and generally struggling to achieve the results that they would in-office.
Remote work tools address these issues head-on, providing a virtual workplace that not only mimics in-office communication, but actually stands to enhance project management, file storage, and even meetings like never before. As these tools adapt to continue facilitating WFH, especially, getting on top sooner rather than later can see managers finally creating the workplaces of their employee’s dreams. These front runners, especially, have adapted fast to make remote work easier for everyone, and integrating them into your workforce today could certainly see your remote team going from strength to strength.
Rebecca DiCioccio, Contributor
Rebecca DiCioccio is a member of the Growth team at Paperform. Outside of work, Rebecca can be found exploring the outdoors or with a book in hand. Rebecca’s background in copywriting and keen interest in SEO and digital marketing mean she understands the importance of staying up to date with the latest trends in a dynamic and ever changing industry.