As a remote team, staying connected might be difficult.And that's where remote work collaboration tools come handy.
While we appreciate the advantages of working from anywhere you want, it can be challenging at times. It's much simpler to pick up on a number of signs like body language, emotions, etc. when you function in the same place, but the advantages of working remotely exceed many of the disadvantages.
Luckily, the number of solutions for remote teams has increased in recent years, owing to the growing number of remote-first or totally remote businesses. Even if you're far away for a few days, these tools will assist your virtual team and boost remote team collaboration.
For your ease, we've curated a comprehensive list of the top tools that will help you work remotely.
1. Trello
Trello is a fantastic tool for project management and efficiency. It's a visual approach to keep track of projects and ensure they're on schedule. It uses "boards" to arrange work and you may build sections with activities inside them. It's useful for remote teamwork because it clearly depicts the stages of various activities, and replying is straightforward, making asynchronous communication simpler.
Key Features:
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It's incredibly customizable
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There are a number of add-ons available
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Editing is simple with drag-and-drop
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Editing in real-time is possible
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Labeling, tagging, and comments make it simple to keep track of everything
Cost:
Free, Plans start at $10
2. Clickup
ClickUp is a cloud-based project management software that has collaboration features that remote teams may use. You may construct lists that are full of different projects based on their significance and deadlines. ClickUp uses collaborative editing in its documents so that everyone in the group may collaborate and debate projects in real-time. You can give different members of the team accessibility to docs and specify who can update and react to them.
Key Features:
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The unique Hierarchy of ClickUp assists you in creating the ideal structure that scales with your demands
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ClickUp gives you more flexibility and authority as you progress through the levels, allowing you to create everything
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Has checklists to get real-time status
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Customization is available
Cost:
Starts from $5
3. Asana
Asana is a fantastic task management app for keeping track of your chores and assignments. You can centralize all of your group members' work so you can stay abreast of what they're working on. Your tasks can be seen as lists and teammates can decide which ones to focus on first, which tasks to assign deadlines to, and how to keep things from becoming cluttered.
Key Features:
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Has tasks and subtasks to break down the project into small parts
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Offers custom fields to capture information easily
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Sections and columns keep the work organized
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Allows you to attach a timeline to the project tasks
Cost:
Starts at $10.39
4. Compt
Compt enables you to provide customized benefits to your employees regardless of their location. Because most employees work in a single location, most organizations provide a standard set of benefits. It's more difficult to provide bonuses and incentives to remote labor.
Everyone is satisfied because Compt allows each user to choose the advantages that make sense for them. It's a legal strategy that won't land you in hot water with the IRS.
Key Features:
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Automates employees communications
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Full tax compliance
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Supports international team members as well
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Integrated with Paychex, Paykor, UKG, and other platforms
Cost:
Free
5. Tettra
Try out Tettra if you're seeking a straightforward way to communicate with your team or share company-wide expertise. As a remote team, having a structured archive for "institutional knowledge" and file sharing is critical. It's an essential component of remote collaboration and Tettra takes proper care of that.
Key Features:
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Slack, Github, Dropbox, and other platforms are all integrated with this tool
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Allows writing anything down in an organized manner
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Answers all the questions from its information archive
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Provides trusted content from experts
Cost:
Free, Paid plans start from $8.33
6. Threads
Threads is a forum program that allows you to ask questions of your group and receive a response in one convenient location. It can be tough to keep everybody on the same page 24 hours a day, seven days a week when working with scattered teams. With this platform, you can keep your schedule on track. Create several thread posts regarding the topic you select.
Key Features:
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Allows you to review previous discussions and threads to avoid things becoming too jumbled and confused
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Has a dashboard for discussions
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Allows you to see who has read your messages
Cost:
Free
7. Slack
Slack is a popular messaging app for remote workers. It is a digital platform that facilitates communication among coworkers by allowing them to share thoughts and provide real-time comments, allowing everything to move quickly.
Key Features:
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Slack channels can be used for instant communications and collaboration by remote employees
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It will centralize all of your team's communication, making managing distant personnel much easier
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Slack has native apps for iOS and Android that provides full functionality
Cost:
Free
8. Zoom
Zoom is a group calling software with incredible video quality. It's simple to use, and the cost is fair. You can record any conversation with a full-length video throughout remote meetings.
Key Features:
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For group discussions, you can display your screen
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1GB cloud recording
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Video webinars, meetings, Zoom rooms, corporate IM, and voice sharing are some of the other Zoom products
Cost:
Free, Paid plans start at $11.99
9. Screenflow
Screenflow is a high-fidelity screen-sharing tool that you should check out if you want to share your desktop with your team members. Screenflow is a Mac software that makes recording and sharing your screen with colleagues simple.
Key Features:
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It includes one-click publishing, Dropbox document sharing, and GIF export, which is convenient
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You can record the meetings in case someone is unable to attend
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The results of user testing can be shared with your team right away
Cost:
$149
10. Loom
Loom is important for team collaboration and screen sharing, especially when working in a distant environment. One of the nicest benefits is that you can access it immediately from Google Chrome and keep videos in a library.
Key Features:
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Users of Loom can record their screens
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Allows generating a unique URL for each video, and sharing it with their teammates for quick access
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Does not need scheduling
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Connects with over 75 people
11. Instagantt
Instagantt is a sophisticated project management tool that allows you to plan, manage, and organize projects graphically. When you give it a try, you'll quickly discover that you're dealing with a program that's really intuitive and well-designed, allowing you to create an accurate picture of your projects.
This software streamlines your entire process and enables you to collaborate with your teammates, making it ideal for remote working.
Key Features:
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Ability to produce tasks and subtasks
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Has templates for various types of projects
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Automatic project scheduling helps you feel completely in control of your projects at all times
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Notifications give real-time updates
Cost:
Starts at $7
12. PizzaTime & CoffeeTime
PizzaTime and their closely affiliated companion CoffeeTime schedule pizza and coffee for your entire remote workforce at the same time. They've even got a Slackbot to assist them to keep track of things. It's a terrific approach to encourage social interaction and thank your staff for a job well done, regardless of where they work.
Key Features:
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Allows you to host a party at remote locations
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Schedules a coffee break for all your teammates at the same time
Cost:
$169
13. Friday
Friday is an asynchronous remote collaboration tool that works in conjunction with Slack or Microsoft Teams to organize conferences. You'll be able to hold fewer, better meetings while remaining connected to your team. They may assist you in developing methods and structures for your communication, whether it's a daily iteration or a weekly group meeting.
Key Features:
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Meeting check-ins and templates to help your team
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To keep in touch with your remote team, use kudos and icebreakers.
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Many tools, including Asana, Trello, Zoom, Google Meetings, and Github, are integrated
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Keeping track of your objectives
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For relating your beliefs to your aims, you can refer to the company's handbook
Cost:
Starts at $4
14. Crystal
Crystal is a fantastic tool for getting to know your coworkers and learning more about them. You can know about the variances in style for every member of your remote team based on the outcomes. Crystal also provides Gmail and LinkedIn tools to help you see these personality traits.
Key Features:
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Integrates personality insights
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Offers personality assessment
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Helps HR teams to evaluate prospective employees
Cost:
Contact Sales
15. RemoteHQ
RemoteHQ is an online workspace for remote employees that centralizes all of your team's heterogeneous tools, information, and conversations. Their power is the capability to make all of your team's online apps collaborative instantaneously using simply cloud storage, allowing everyone to work together in real-time.
Key Features:
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Allows users to co-control any website
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Completely secure from malware
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Optimized cloud infrastructure
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No freezing
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Does not require any software installation
Cost:
$15 per user per month
16. Miro
With Miro's online canvas, you and your team may work on multiple projects even if you're miles apart. Miro can be used in synchronous or asynchronous meetings if your teammates are in various time zones. The virtual whiteboard includes a plethora of capabilities that expand the variety of work possibilities. You can take charge of projects right from the start, all through to the finished product.
Key Features:
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You may add things like pictures to your projects and integrate them with other tool for keeping everything in one place
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Miro makes it simple for you and your team to exchange ideas with one another in real time and collaborate like you're all in the same room
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Mapping and diagraming is possible
Cost:
Free
17. Bit.ai
One of the most successful methods to interact across teams is with Bit.ai, next-generation document management and sharing platform. Bit's smart documents allow you to create collaborative documents by combining digital rich material. Bit is one of the most innovative methods for your team to work on communicating, project documentation, internal knowledge bases, customer material, and more.
Key Features:
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Allows users to collaborate on documents with guests
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Helps build workspace data rooms
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Document tracking
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Embed websites
Cost:
Free, Premium plan starts at $8
18. Gitlab
Github enables engineering teams to work on code in a structured manner from afar. It's similar to version control, but with extra features and capabilities to help you build apps and distribute them faster. The entire organization is also remote, and they offer one of the most detailed guidebooks on working remotely that you will discover.
Key Features:
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Source code management
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Value stream management
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Continuous integration
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Integrate security
Cost:
Free
19. Basecamp
Because of its straightforward functionality, nice design, and graceful use, Basecamp is a common choice among managers, organizations, individuals, and agencies.It enables users to effectively manage projects and interact with customers.
Key Features:
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Sharing ideas
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Coordinating conversations
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Automatic check-ins
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Schedule tasks
Cost:
$99 per month
20. EmailAnalytics
EmailAnalytics is a performance tool that displays the email activity of your team. You can see how long it takes for each member of your team to respond to emails on average, and also how many emails they send and receive per day. It is used by sales and customer care teams to track and enhance email productivity.
Key Features:
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Get regular email reports with baseline data
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Track their progress over time
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Does not require software installation
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Email traffic report
Cost:
Starts at $5 per user per month
21. Time Doctor
We suggest Time Doctor to organizations that require time tracking software. Companies with virtual workers, online marketers, software teams, and businesses with remote support workers will benefit from Time Doctor. Well-known corporations such as Apple, Home Depot, Verizon, and others use this platform as well.
Key Features:
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Time tracking and employee tracking
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Offline time tracking
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Online timesheets
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API
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Customization options
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Website monitoring
Cost:
Contact Sales
22. Todoist
If you want to geek out on task organisation for your virtual workers, Todoist is the tool for you. It has all of the essential functions, such as tasks and subtasks, as well as the ability to create projects.
Key Features:
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Create tasks
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Add notes
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Upload files
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Set reminders
Cost:
Free
23. ProofHub
Several remote teams rely on ProofHub's project management software to keep everything in one place. Team members can connect with their teammates and customers in a seamless manner.
Key Features:
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Online proofing
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Discussions
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Chat for sharing feedback
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Remote project management
Cost:
$89 per month
24. CallHippo
CallHippo is a virtual phone system that allows teams to communicate with one another and their clients from any location. It equips sales and service personnel with the tools they need to engage with clients and increase customer satisfaction. This advanced call center management software connects teams via mobiles and computers.
Key Features:
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Contact management
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Autodailing and predictive dialing
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Full call reporting
Cost:
$14 per user per month
25. Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger is a small, medium, and large business's remote work solution. This low-complexity tool with high capability solves a variety of domain-specific issues. Admins can add merchants, distributors, and freelancers as orange members who have limited access to the workspace.
Key Features:
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One-on-one messaging
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Audio and video calling
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Location and file sharing
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Ability to create infinite groups
Cost:
Starts at $2.5
26. Hypercontext
Hypercontext is a shared agenda tool that helps supervisors and their teams be more productive by bringing together quarterly priorities, regular meetings, and engagement metrics in one location.
Key Features:
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1:1 team meetings and cross-functional meetings
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Organize effective and meaningful meetings by providing 500 topic starters and over 180 goal examples
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Managers also get access to conversation data to help analyze communication gaps
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Real-time employee feedback to track meeting effectiveness
Cost:
Free
27. Krisp
Krisp is a noise-canceling tool that lets remote workers and teams work more efficiently. It eliminates background noise on either side of the call, allowing you and your call listeners to take critical calls from wherever they are.
Key Features:
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Clear sound in online calls
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HD voice
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Acoustic and echo removal
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Virtual background
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Low power mode
Cost:
Starts at $5
28. CloudTalk
CloudTalk is a renowned cloud-based call center software that allows your employees to operate from any location in the world. It has over 50 features that make customer service and sales teams' jobs easier.
Key Features:
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Advanced IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
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Predictive dialer
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Call forwarding
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Skills-based routing
Cost:
Starts at $20
29. Blink
Blink is a comprehensive solution for remote teams that improves communication and efficiency. As a mobile responsive and integrated medium of communication, it is intended to transform the employee experience.
This allows your company to develop its own staff communication and collaboration solutions without requiring technological expertise.
Key Features:
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Calendar management
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Discussion forums
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Employee directory
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News feed
Cost:
Contact Sales
30. Hubstaff
HubStaff will help you be more effective in making your time work for you. You can monitor where workers spend their time and what projects they're working on at any particular time.
Key Features:
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Online timesheets
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Employee scheduling
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Screen recording
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Employee monitoring
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Payroll software
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GPS tracking
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Online invoicing
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Project budgeting
Cost:
Starts at $7
31. Dialpad
Dialpad is an AI-powered web conferencing platform that includes a contact center, telephony, and video conferencing. Your workforce can now make better communications from any device thanks to built-in Voice Intelligence, which includes capabilities like call translation and automated note-taking.
Key Features:
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Intelligently routes calls and cuts down on client wait times
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Takes notes automatically
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Integrations with G Suite, Salesforce, Zendesk
Cost:
Starts at 12 Euro
32. Whereby
With seamless video communication, Whereby allows remote teams to stay productive. It's as simple as creating a room link, sharing all by email or chat, and that's it. You're on your way to a video meeting with your team.
Key Features:
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There is no need to register or download anything
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Conversations in groups via video
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Sharing a screen is simple
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You can join from any device
Cost:
Starts at $6.99
33. Around
Around is another tool that you can use when you are working remotely. It is a video collaboration tool. Around can be used for on-the-fly sessions, team discussions, or one on ones. The tool is straightforward to use, and the interface is very efficient.
Key Features:
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Users who do not have the app downloaded can join the call.
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Almost 50 participants can be a part of a meeting.
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You can record meetings, and they have a playback option as well. If you want to skip back to listen to a discussion again, you can do that.
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You can connect Around to Slack.
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You can set up breakout rooms.
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The camera is one of the best elements of this tool. It removes empty areas and will auto-zoom in removing the background.
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You will be able to see the participants even when you move to another app because the videos will float as bubbles helping you to see them.
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You can send meeting notes.
Cost:
It is free.
Things to Consider Before Choosing Remote Work Collaboration Tools
There are numerous benefits to finding the right software or tool for your organization. But what does it mean to use the "correct" tool? Here are some of the factors that you should consider before choosing a remote work collaboration tool.
1. Cost
When it comes to determining which tools are right for you, the cost is a crucial factor to consider. What is the maximum amount of money you are ready to spend on a collaborative tool?
Some services are free, while others have hundreds-of-dollar price plans. Some tools have a monthly or annual fee, while others charge per user.
Before you begin experimenting with other platforms, consider the following:
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How many users will utilize the tool on a regular basis?
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What is your monthly budget for this platform?
2. Personalization
Because different teams function in different ways, there isn't a single solution that will work perfectly for everyone. That's why you should look for a solution that can be customized not only for your entire team but also for individual team members.
For instance, one team member may like to read tasks in a calendar view while another prefers to operate with a spreadsheet. Alternatively, you may require separate access permissions for different team members.
Look for a tool that is extremely adjustable so that your group can use it in a manner that suits everyone. That way, you won't feel like you're attempting to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, and you'll get the most out of the answer.
3. Automation
In a perfect world, your team would be able to devote the most of their time and effort to resolving issues, brainstorming new ideas, and exceeding their objectives. Mindless and tedious chores, on the other hand, might easily consume their working hours. The good thing is that a collaboration platform with workflow automation can relieve your team of tedious activities.
These kinds of actions avoid busy work, limit the chance for mistakes, and keep your entire team moving forward.
4. Integration
Your goal is to organize and center the work and communications of your team. Even so, it's unlikely that this will be your only tool.
Make contact with your staff to learn about the tools they use on a regular basis. There are certainly a few programs you don't need or perhaps want to get rid of, ranging from Slack to Google Drive.
FAQs
What is remote work collaboration?
The technique of removing geographic distance as a barrier to collaboration is known as remote collaboration. It helps a scattered group of professionals achieve a shared goal by facilitating communication and productivity. Even far-flung employees can benefit from remote communication solutions.
What are remote work collaboration tools?
Any software solutions that let remote teams collaborate, connect, and work together are referred to as remote work collaborations tools. Some of these technologies (such as project management tools) were previously only available in offices, but they can now be utilized remotely too.
How to select the best work collaboration tool?
4 points to consider when selecting a collaboration tool include:
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Determine which domains could profit from the use of tools.
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Involve user feedback in the evaluation process.
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Evaluate the software compatibility of the application.
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Calculate the anticipated change
What are the best tools for remote working?
We've included a few tools in this article, but it all relies on your company's functions and what you're attempting to accomplish. However, you'll need to contemplate a new approach to not simply payroll, but also the employee experience in the case of flexible employment. We recommend that you use tools like Friday, Trello, Slack, and EmailAnalytics.
How do teams work remotely?
- Allow for additional flexibility in the manager's schedule by allowing for remote work.
What is the significance of this? Executives have more clout in a corporation and, as a result, more power. Switching up their meeting times, allowing for asynchronous check-ins, and enabling flexibility all help to foster a stronger remote work culture.
- Establish asynchronous check-ins and status updates
Developing asynchronous tools help make remote teams feel closer while simultaneously making the manager's agenda more asynchronous.
- Recognize when and how to connect
When it comes to communication, teams should be explicit about how and when they interact. Consider how the problem can be addressed. Don't respond or answer in one of your synchronous channels if it's not necessary.
What are the advantages of using remote collaboration tools?
When you use a remote collaboration tool, there are advantages that come with it:
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You will be able to have an online, face-to-face meeting
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You can work on files or make edits in real-time.
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Your team will be on the same page, which will reduce the stress and communication gaps.
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You will have a routine and will be able to work in an organized manner.
How to use remote collaboration tools properly for the success of my firm?
When you start using a remote collaboration tool, you need to ensure that
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There is proper communication.
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Listen to your team and their opinions.
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Collaborate efficiently.
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Have a clear idea of your goals.
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You can conduct virtual team-building activities or icebreakers.
Conclusion
This list has you covered if you're seeking the right tool to keep your team updated with routine checkups and an easy-to-use schedule.
It's incredible how far technology has progressed in recent years, and we're looking forward to seeing what remote team communication and interaction solutions emerge next.