Here we go again! Remote work has become a common practice during the COVID-19 pandemic and it seems to be ramping up once again because of lockdowns, quarantining, and social distancing. We will look at the best WFH tools that we have used and that we recommend. If you’re unfamiliar with WFH, they are working from-home tools. These essential tools can help you work from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. These tools will allow you to collaborate with your team members, communicate with clients, manage projects, design ideas, and more.
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Best WFH Tools For Collaboration
Below is some remote team collaboration software that we have used and recommend. Some of these tools are free, while others cost money. Some may require registration or subscription fees. However, most of them offer free trials, so you can test them before you buy.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is our favorite remote working software, and it’s also Microsoft’s collaborative workspace. It allows users to communicate and collaborate while staying within their organization. Microsoft Teams offers more ways to connect with your teammates. You can chat, make phone calls, join a group meeting, and share files. Microsoft Teams also has many valuable features such as screen sharing, background images, and app integrations. But what sets this software apart is the new Together feature. This allows teams to work together even remotely, making it an excellent project management tool.
Microsoft Teams is built into Office 365. It integrates well with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Yammer, Skype for Business, and more. It’s easy to set up and use. You sign in to Microsoft Teams by entering your email address and password. After signing in, you will see a dashboard to view your recent activity, create new messages, and join existing chats.
Once inside the chat window, you can share files, images, videos, links, and more. You can also add people as guests to participate in the conversation. Microsoft Teams also includes a calendar that helps you keep track of important dates, tasks, events, and appointments. The calendar is integrated with Microsoft Calendar, making it easier to sync calendars across devices. If you’re looking for a simple way to stay organized, Microsoft Teams may be the perfect solution for you.
Slack
Slack is a powerful messaging platform that helps companies collaborate more effectively. Slack is used by thousands of employees worldwide. It provides valuable features, including group chat, file sharing, real-time notifications, and integration with third-party applications.
Slack is perfect for remote teams because it allows them to communicate easily without worrying about missing important messages. It also makes it easier for geographically dispersed people to stay in touch. Slack is very simple to set up. You have to create an account and then add users. After that, you can start sending instant messages to each other. Slack is available on desktop, mobile, and browser. The desktop version is free, while the mobile apps cost $6.67 per month.
Slack is a handy program for businesses as it allows them to communicate efficiently. Channels enable team members to organize their work and share important information. Searching within the shared information is easy as well.
Soapbox
When working remotely, you need to be more organized and efficient. Soapbox helps you do that by providing a central place to make videos for your projects and tasks. The app allows you to record, edit, and share videos in a matter of minutes. It’s free to use, installs in seconds, and is a great tool for outreach like content marketing and product marketing. Soapbox enables remote teams to be together when video conferencing doesn’t make sense because of time differences or schedule conflicts. This remote working tool allows teams to have effective communication no matter where everyone is.
Best WFH Tools For Virtual Meetings
Remote meetings don’t have to be tedious or difficult to schedule. They can be fun and engaging if they’re appropriately planned. Here are our top choices for hosting virtual meetings:
3CX WebMeeting
If you’re using 3CX software to run your VoIP system, you can use 3CX WebMeeting to host virtual meetings. It works across all platforms, including PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry devices.
WebMeeting is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers low-cost options for hosting webinars and online training sessions. It also includes live-streaming capabilities so that you can broadcast events to multiple locations at once. The main advantage of WebMeeting is its simplicity. You don’t need any particular skills or experience to use WebMeeting. All you need to know is how to navigate the interface.
GoToWebinar
GotoWebinar is another excellent tool for scheduling and hosting virtual meetings. GoToWebinar supports all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera. It also supports mobile apps like Android and iPhone.
GotoWebinar comes with an intuitive user interface that lets you schedule and manages your meetings quickly and effortlessly. It also offers a variety of templates and themes for customization. You can invite participants through Facebook Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and other social media channels. You can also send invitations directly to your contacts.
Zoom
Zoom is another good choice for virtual meetings. Zoom has been around since 2011. It was initially designed for schools, but now it’s one of the most popular meeting solutions for public and private organizations.
Zoom meetings offer a wide range of features, including screen sharing, whiteboard, audio/video calling, and recording. Zoom is easy to use; you install the app on your computer, tablet, smartphone, or laptop and connect to the meeting room via an internet connection. Once connected, you can start the meeting right away.
Zoom also offers several different pricing plans depending on your needs. If you only need basic functionality, you can choose the basic plan, but you can opt for the Pro, Business, or Enterprise plan if you need advanced features. These premium plans start at $149 per year for a 100-user license.
Accountability Tools
Remote workers need to be held accountable for their time, and time management software makes this easy to manage. Here are our recommendations for time tracking software:
Timely
Timely is a simple time tracker that allows you to track hours worked by employees and bill clients. The application integrates seamlessly into Slack, making it easy to share information about projects and tasks.
Timely is perfect for team members working remotely because it helps them keep track of their time while they’re working on client projects.
Trello
Trello is a task management tool that is used by many remote teams. Trello organizes everything from customer support requests to employee schedules. It works across devices and platforms to help you complete complex tasks.
Trello is a collaborative workspace where people can create boards, lists, cards, and comments. Each board represents a specific project, such as a marketing campaign or product launch. Lists contain items related to each board, such as “Need help” or “Next steps.” Cards represent individual tasks, like writing blog posts or creating videos. Project managers can discuss issues, collaborate on ideas, and form a task list that assigns tasks to team members.
Asana
Asana is a task management platform that allows you to organize all aspects of your business. Asana provides project management, workflow, time tracking, and reporting capabilities. It includes an activity feed so you can see what everyone else is doing. This feature gives you visibility into how your team is performing and whether there are any bottlenecks or delays.
Asana has a variety of integrations with other applications and services, including Gmail, Google Drive, Dropbox, Salesforce, Zapier, and more. You can even integrate your custom apps. You can easily add new members to your team through Asana. For example, you could invite someone to join your team by sending them a direct message. Or, you could add a member when they accept a job offer.
AutoTask
AutoTask is a web-based time-tracking solution that lets you automatically record time spent on specific activities. The software automatically logs time-based on the type of activity performed. For example, if you spend 15 minutes reading email messages, the system will automatically log 5 minutes for every email read.
AutoTask is relatively easy to use, and you’ll get a daily summary report showing the number of tracked activities, total time logged, and average time spent on each activity.
What Are The Benefits Of Working From Home?
WFH has many advantages. It allows employees to work flexible hours, which means they can balance their personal life with their professional ones. Employees who work remotely tend to be happier than those who don’t because they feel less stressed out and isolated. They also tend to be more productive at home because they spend less time commuting and more time focusing on their tasks.
Remote work is an excellent option for companies that want to attract top talent. With remote workers, you get better results because you’re working with people closer to you geographically. You’ll be able to collaborate more easily and quickly, and you won’t need to worry about time zones.
Wrapping Up
We all might be heading back to a work-from-home situation, and having the best WFH tools at your disposal will benefit you greatly. These remote work tools may include a password manager, time-tracking software, project management software, and communication tools. While the perfect tool doesn’t exist, you’ll be off to a great start if you use a combination of the tools mentioned above.
The only way to know what works best for you is to test it out yourself. There are plenty of tools available to help you get started with remote work, but ultimately, you need to decide what works best for you.
What do you think? What tools do you use and would recommend? Let us know in the comments!
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