Why This Matters
As more businesses are becoming digital, the work team is also becoming more remote or distributed and capable from a distance. Planning and communication are key to working with these types of teams. This is an area you won’t want to dive into and try to work itself out – the team will need clear expectations and training on how to use remote team tools.
Resources
Online collaboration tools may differ from industry to industry. For example, anyone in healthcare often have regulatory bodies which specify which platforms they can use internally as well as externally to their clients.
Other businesses that don’t have regulating bodies and that may have had to change quickly to a digital model will find that their employees and contractors might have chosen their own tools sets to deal with remote working. For example you might have one employee using Toggl for time tracking, Google hangouts for face-to-face meetings. Another employee might be using Clockify for time tracking and Zoom for digital meetings. As you start to get the remote working under control it is likely you will want to unify online collaboration tools.
Unifying online collaboration tools or introducing new tools to a team takes time, assistance and patience when the switch is made. Make sure to outline best practises or processes for each tool. Continue reinforcing expectations, but also be prepared to add or change software if needed.
Best Online Collaboration Tools and Apps – Paid and free tools for work sharing and communication
The 9 Best Online Collaboration Tools for Remote Workers – Teams will need tools to help them collaborate and stay productive while remotely working.
Recommendations
Slack – Slack is the collaboration hub that brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done. From Fortune 100 companies to corner markets, millions of people around the world use Slack to connect their teams, unify their systems, and drive their business forward. There is a basic free version and then 3 paid tiers depending on the size of your business.
Zoom – Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Our easy, reliable cloud platform for video, voice, content sharing, and chat runs across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. There is a basic free version and then 3 paid tiers depending on the size of your business.
InVision – With intuitive tools for ideation, design, prototyping, and design management, the InVision platform gives you everything you need for digital product design, all in one place. There is a basic free version, then the Pro option for up to 15 users and then they offer their Enterprise version that you will need to contact them about.
Asana – From the small stuff to the big picture, Asana organizes work so teams are clear what to do, why it matters, and how to get it done. They have a basic free version and then 3 paid tiers depending on your business size.