The best tools for teleworking can make this new phase as productive as working in the office. Knowing how to organize well with the right tools will allow better management of tasks without endangering the safety of workers.
Whether with the adoption of prevention measures for the coronavirus or with the establishment of teleworking, what is clear is that nothing will ever be the same. We have already talked about the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking, but sometimes they cannot even be valued.
Any company, whether or not they have opted for this solution, should prepare. It is not just that it is one of the trends in human resources for 2021, it is that while there is no vaccine against COVID-19, there may be new measures that force teleworking.
Learning to hold online meetings and use tools for teleworking will allow the company to continue its course, whatever happens. It is also a way of end marketing and improving the employee experience.
With this situation, most of them prefer telework, and we already know that happier workers are also more productive employees.
Therefore, we have selected the ten most useful teleworking tools so that employees and employers are comfortable in the new situation.
Table of Contents
Top Telecommuting Tools
Slack
The most important thing when teleworking is to maintain communication as if we were in the office. Of all the options, perhaps the most interesting is Slack.
Slack is a group chat, but it stands out among other options for its classification ways. We can have different chat groups to work with our co-workers in real-time comfortably.
In this sense, you can make a specific chat for a department, another for a project, for workgroups, etc … A way that all the information that interests a certain group of people is in that group quickly and comfortably.
A smartphone application can also be used from a desktop, with easy and simple operation thanks to its labeling.
Slack’s biggest advantage over other options is its different integration options. For example, it can be seamlessly integrated into Skype, Google Drive, HubSpot, or Dropbox.
Another option that should not be ruled out is WhatsApp. The advantage of WhatsApp is that everyone has it, and you will not need to have a different application. Also, it is usually the most common way to talk to customers. If you don’t need many groups or share documents, it can also be used perfectly.
Less popular and as useful as Slack, we can find other applications such as Spike, Microsoft Teams, Yac, and Rocket Chat.
Trello
Trello has been one of the most popular telecommuting tools for years. We are facing a task organizer for the members of a work team.
It works in a very intuitive way and allows you to classify projects with different labels. These labels will differ depending on the importance of the tasks or equipment. Likewise, files, links, expiration dates, and other data can be attached to each one.
Likewise, it allows you to see at a glance how a project is doing if a task is in process, if it has been completed, if it needs to be reviewed or if, on the contrary, it has not yet been started with it.
It is a very flexible and visual application. In addition, it has a robot called Butler that automates workflows, saving time and increasing productivity.
As in the case of Slack, Trello can be integrated with other applications. Some of them are the same Slack, Dropbox, Invision, Zapier, or Google Drive.
Skype
Having a chat or a project management program is great, but it is often better to talk things face to face. For this, we can use different video conferencing programs. In this case, we recommend Skype as it is the most popular. What to say about Skype that hasn’t already been said?
With a free option and a professional version, it is not only a video program, but you can also share documents with Google Docs or share a screen, highly recommended if we are going to make a presentation.
In addition, the business version has integration with Microsoft Office, having many more options available.
If we use Google Drive or other Google tools regularly, instead of Skype, we are interested in Google Meet, which allows meetings of up to 50 people with high quality. People who do not have a Google account can even attend the meeting by accessing through a link.
Loomio
Loomio is another of the most interesting teleworking tools. In this case, it is a tool intended only for the field of decision-making.
To use it, you have to invite different users to the tool and create a debate or discussion. There each one can present their points of view and can finally make decisions about it.
One of the advantages is that everyone doesn’t need to be online at the same time. Different users can enter whenever they want and participate. Considering that among the benefits for teleworking employees is flexible hours, it makes this not a problem in decision making.
Depending on how we configure each debate, the user will be able to respond to the proposals in different ways, adding an option to block them. In addition, you can accept, reject or abstain from the vote.
In this way, democratic or consensual decisions can continue to be made when required without the different working hours posing any problem. It is also very useful for work teams relocated or located in other countries.
Another similar but much simpler option is Doodle.
Toggl
While we are used to having certain routines in the office, doing it at home is more complicated. We can waste more time on other tasks and not control how much we dedicate to each project.
To solve this problem, Toggl was born. This teleworking tool allows you to control the time you dedicate to each task or project in a very simple way. We start counting when we begin with the job and stop when we finish or move on to another.
In this way, it is very easy to find out, for example, how much daily work we have to answer emails or what aspects take us longer, allowing us to organize it much better. It is a very simple tool, and it is also key to improving productivity.
Designed in Estonia, the leading country in teleworking, it is perfect for teams that work remotely and see how much time each member spends on a common project.
Another very similar option is RescueTime.
Also Read: Five Tips That Enhance The Advantages Of Teleworking
Sesame
If Toggl was the perfect tool for workers to organize their work and control their hours, Sesame is ideal for those controlling bosses. The latter is not yet convinced of the benefits of teleworking and believes that their employees will do other things during working hours.
It is a tool designed to control the schedule of the working day. By working through geolocation, you can check that the employee is in his teleworking position for the hours they must dedicate.
In this way, you will have the certainty that they have been in their position and have not gone to the hairdresser, the bar, or the supermarket.
It is highly recommended in cases where workers have work flexibility and make different schedules. This way, you will check whether they are dedicating the required time to the company despite the programs.
Sesame has different systems for signing, controlling overtime, and planning and preparing shifts, which are also very useful for the Human Resources department.
Muzzleapp
Generally, if we use these tools for teleworking, we will have many notifications on our computers. A new chat on Slack, a call on Google Meet, a FaceTime request, etc …
However, if we are in an online meeting or need to concentrate 100% on the task we are doing, these notifications can be a real headache.
To fix it, Muzzleapp appeared. With this tool, you will not have any interruption while sharing the screen. You can set it to view yourself, but other people who are viewing your presentation will not.
This is especially useful if you have a meeting with a client and a colleague wants to give you some advice or correction. You will see it but not the client, with which you can avoid looking bad.
There is only a version for Apple, and it is not compatible with Skype. If it is with Slack, FaceTime, Google Meet, bluejeans, Google Hangouts
Asana
Going back to project management, we have to talk about Asana. One of the most popular teleworking tools with Trello, which we told you about in point 2.
Although it shares functionalities with Trello, it differs by its design, is less basic than Trello, and is much more visual. In addition, it also has a completely free version, useful for almost any company.
You can assign tasks, tag them, set deadlines, attach files, and place them in the different stages.
On the other hand, it places the tasks you have to do so that as soon as you enter, you can see what your priorities are for that day, warning you if the deadline is approaching. Its use of colors makes it more dynamic than other options, generating greater user satisfaction.
Other options for project management are Todoist, Google Task, or Taskify
Google Drive
Finally, we have to talk about Google Drive. This cloud tool allows you to share files and folders from any device with the entire work team.
This allows, for example, two people to be working on the same text document or spreadsheet at the same time also that a very large file can be shared in a moment, which could not be sent by email.
Likewise, it allows the invitation to people outside your organization to edit or view a specific document or folder without giving them access to the rest.
Although the paid version has more space, with the free version, you get 15GB of space at no cost, which may be more than enough for many employees.
Other similar options are Dropbox, OneDrive, or WeTransfer to send files.
Also Read: Massive Use Of Teleworking For IT Professions In 2021
