Top Tools to Maximize Your Remote Work Performance

By the looks of it, we’re all going to be spending a lot more time at home over the coming weeks. Companies in the US and across the world are asking staff to work from home to maintain operations while social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some are already required to close offices as governments impose strict containment measures.

Despite becoming more popular in recent years, remote working remains an alien concept to many. If you’ve never done it before, having it forced upon you suddenly can be unnerving. Fortunately for us, here at Jobsity, we know all about remote working - after all, it’s at the heart of our business model as we connect developers and tech workers in Latin America with companies based in North America.

We’ve already offered some tips for a positive remote work experience, but we also want to highlight some of the tech tools that can help maximize your team’s performance, maintain security, and keep costs down while you’re off-site. You might even find them useful once things return to normal...

Slack is one of the best-known communications tools for businesses, reporting more than 12 million daily active users as of last-October. It’s ‘channels’ allow teams to chat, hold virtual meetings, share documents, and collaborate on projects. It can also be used for direct messaging - with voice and video functions - or as a virtual ‘announcement board’ for the whole company. What’s more, Slack can integrate third-party apps like Google Drive, Dropbox, Twitter and GitHub. All of these features come for free, though there are also premium packages that allow for video conferencing, unlimited app integrations and tailored support.

Zoom has emerged as the leading cloud-based software for video conferencing, and successfully completed one of the top tech IPOs in 2019. It allows businesses to set up video meetings and webinars for up to 100 people without any fee or fuss. During calls, team members can easily share screens, presentations or content from integrated third-party apps, and all meetings can be recorded locally or to the cloud. The free version has a 40-minute limit on group meetings, but Zoom has said it would lift this restriction for some users during the Covid-19 outbreak. Premium packages include more features, storage, and customization options.

Socialive is one of our clients providing real hands-on solutions to those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. They provide a live streaming platform that makes it easy for businesses to create and distribute videos to employees and customers. Team members can capture video from anywhere and it will instantly appear in a central library where it can be quickly reviewed, edited and shared among all. Socialive can help you continue with business as usual and connect with customers while adhering to social distancing and protecting your stakeholders.

Asana is a project management tool that ensures remote team members are all on the same page when it comes to tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines. The software makes it easy to plan and track team objectives using customized workflow templates. Visual timelines and calendars allow managers to identify bottlenecks or gaps in the work schedule and quickly make adjustments to maintain efficiency. It also allows integration with third-party apps, including Slack and Gmail, to maximize productivity

Trello makes organizing tasks simple, whether it’s for household chores or collaborative projects. Create a ‘board’ for any project, invite members of your team and add ‘cards’ with lists of tasks to do, tasks being done, and tasks completed. You can add comments, checklists, and files to each card as required, while Trello’s automated tool ‘Butler’ can help with rule-based triggers and due-date commands. As with most tools on this list, you can also ‘power up’ your workflow with third-party apps.

Stay safe out there, folks! And feel free to get in touch with any questions about remote work, or to add any tips of your own.

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