4 tech tools to help your team work remotely

Remote work is on the rise, and one of the biggest challenges it can bring up for managers and employers is the concern that the lack of physical connection may lead to communication or productivity issues.

Thankfully, great technology is available to help your employees stay collaborative, productive and motivated, and to continue a positive work culture.

Ensuring your team members are in regular contact is a vital part of maintaining a strong culture. There are plenty of task-management, communication and file-sharing apps that you can easily access to keep work flowing and the team spirit alive.

Online communication tools such as Slack and Trello help give your team a big picture view of the tasks that need to get done. You can see how specific projects are progressing, how individual members are prioritising work tasks and follow conversations easily. Tools like this help connect employees and remind them of your shared work vision.

Slack is also great for building community, cohesion and cooperation amongst teams. Because you can set up dedicated channels on the platform, many teams like to have specific channels for discussing non-work-related topics like #movies or #music. Even though these aren’t strictly work topics, this helps employees feel as if they’re having the types of conversations they’d usually have at work.

When your team won’t be seeing each other in person, video calling technology helps everyone stay connected. Video conferencing technology like Zoom means you can still have meetings (and even save the recording for later) and share your screen with others.

The beauty of file-sharing tools is that you’re no longer waiting for a team member to send you a vital document. Online tools like Google Docs mean multiple users can create, share and edit documents in real time. Any changes to documents are synced and saved in the cloud, so you’ll never be scrambling around to work out where you saved the latest version.

Sometimes you need to show a workmate what you’re talking about or step them through a problem. You can use a screen recording tool like Loom to capture your screen, voice and face as you explain something – it’s especially handy when a colleague isn’t available at the same time as you.

Rather than typing out a long email, tools like this mean you’ll be much more efficient and if your employee doesn’t get it the first time around, they can always watch it again.

While it may initially feel daunting to work and communicate with your team remotely, there are many tools and resources available that make it easy to maintain strong communication and teamwork.