Enjoy this week’s guest post from Vaishali Badgujar, Content Marketing Specialist, with Tips and Tools to Run a Successful Remote Team!
Today, more businesses than ever are taking on the challenges of running a remote team. Even though the transition may be less rigorous for larger companies, as they have the mobilization, funds, and tools to carry out such a feat, there are still hurdles to overcome and even more so for small businesses. This may be because SMBs – small and midsize businesses – have limited funds with staff most likely less experienced with the ins-and-outs of remote working.
Having said that, the benefits of running a remote team effectively are identical, regardless of company size. The remote tool basics index below is designed to help team managers comprehend what is required when selecting remote tools for optimal business productivity.
6 Remote Tool Basics
- A time tracking tool for teams or remote employees who work solo.
- A communication app for clear, simple, and faster contact between team members.
- A virtual tool for file sharing and creation of important documents such as presentations, spread sheets, and text files.
- A remote team tool for video conferencing, meetings, and team sessions for one-on-one or collaborations with other team members irrespective of location.
- A joint tool that permits each team member access to other team members status for time saving and to sidestep unnecessary interruptions.
- An efficiency tool to assist team members with maximizing productivity by focusing on each day’s goal and tackle key productivity tasks.
5 Tips for Maintaining an Awesome Remote Team
1. Get Acquainted with Team Members.
Getting to know each team member’s strengths and weaknesses should be a matter of protocol. Why? Because allotting a “get to know” time is a sure way of avoiding mishaps later on. A competent remote team manager should be knowledgeable of each worker’s skill level when assigning tasks and provide additional training if required.
2. Motivate.
The bottom-line is “show appreciation.” There’s nothing more motivating to an employee than a higher-up’s acknowledgment of their hard work and achievements. Inspire team members to connect with other members for feedback on shared projects. Support brainstorming and other productive concepts to develop a more ambient network so that remote team members will feel less, you know, remote.
3. Communication is Key
Spoiler alert! Email “is not” the most effective means of communicating with a remote team. Even private emails boxes can become cluttered with spam and unread messages. Company emails can easily go unnoticed or be accidentally deleted. Invest in apps specifically designed for teamwork communication and one that helps to organize by projects as well.
4. Specify Goals/Targets
Making sure that all participants are on the same page from the onset of an undertaking, serves to generate a more productive and affable campaign during the duration of a designated project.
5. Make Feedback Your Ally
Feedback from remote team members is critical for a number of reasons. But most importantly, if assessments are ignored or if the response is retributive, circumstances can become a flashpoint with no equitable solution. A skilled remote manager should welcome honest feedback without making the worker feel apprehensive.
7 Awesome Tools for Remote Teams
Here are five tools that will help to keep a remote team accountable and make sure that they’re actually working and not reading the comment section of their favorite entertainment blog.
1. Chanty
Chanty is a simple AI powered team collaboration tool which helps remote teams communicate and collaborate better. It offers voice calls, video, voice message, instant text message etc. Chanty’s Teambook provides organized tasks, conversations at team level. One can highlight members with mentions, pin messages, send text messages, code snippets etc. Employees can also create tasks and stay on track with the help of Kanban board. It also helps set permissions and rolls for different team members. Chanty also integrates with other top apps to provide better experience.
2. Brosix
A well-thought-out app used to advance team collaboration and performance, ensure data privacy, and decrease overhead whether working in-office or remotely. Brosix offers a complete administrative protected team network whilst also providing exclusivity and reliable teamwork.
3. Monday.com
Monday.com is the go-to Work OS (project management app) for more than 100,000 teams around the world. The features include projects and workflow management, bespoke dashboards, Kanban boards, file sharing, and much more.
4. Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a time tracking app used by remote teams across the globe. It comes with features like employee-enabled time tracking, screenshot recording, detailed reports, idle time detection, and many more. It integrates with 30+ other apps seamlessly.
5. Toggl Plan
Toggl Plan is a simple project management tool for remote teams. Using drag and drop timelines you can plan a project timeline, track milestone progress, and manage your team’s workloads. Tasks can be assigned to multiple team members. Team members can discuss tasks using comments, and attach files to tasks. This makes remote work across time-zones a breeze. For agile teams, Toggl Plan offers a task board view. You can also use a task board to capture, prioritize, and organize ideas.
6. Gusto.com
A software that provides SMBs with a cloud-based payroll solution is Gusto’s area of expertise. What’s more, this dynamic remote tool offers inherent benefits for a modest fee. The interface is intuitive and offers systematization for various undertakings that require an efficient and dependable payroll process.
7. Slack.com
Slack is one of the most popular team-chat apps. With this app, team members are kept informed around-the-clock. The key to Slack is that “everyone in the same network can view the same correspondence on the same page.” Team members can chit-chat about projects or inquire about company issues. Whatever the reason for the connect, this app is the ideal remote team hook-up software to use.
Final Thoughts
There are a plethora of tips and tools available to help small businesses consolidate tasks and maintain a tip-top competitive remote workforce. Why not take advantage of them?
Vaishali Badgujar is a content marketer at Time Doctor, a SaaS time tracking & productivity tool for companies & freelancers. She is a content marketing expert & specializes in link building.