Now more than ever, we’re seeing a significant surge in remote working. An increased number of professionals across industries are adopting a home office routine.
Everything from payroll and marketing to design, customer services, and more can be done remotely. Plus, the benefits of this growing trend are making industry leaders sit up and take notice.
Some advantages of the remote work culture include:
- Higher productivity
- Enhanced performance
- Better retention rates
- Increased profitability
According to NICE inContact, companies that have ‘digitally transformed’ even report higher customer satisfaction. While some businesses have fully embraced a cloud-based approach, others are still finding their feet.
To keep up with the times and reap the rewards of remote culture, you’ll need to use the best available software. Here are five must-have SaaS (Service as a Software) tools for teams working from home.
#1: Trello for Interactive Project Management
With Trello, you can collaborate on projects, organize workflows, and track progress. You can also view, edit, and manage tasks thanks to customizable lists, boards, and cards.
It’s a fantastic SaaS tool with a visual interface that allows for real-time updates on business activity. Use it as a company overview platform, a sales pipeline, or even for product development.
Trello works with most document formats and other add-ons like InVision Freehand, used for interactive planning and presentation design.
#2: Zoom for Video Conferences
Zoom’s popularity exploded in recent years, and it’s now become an everyday go-to tool for video conference calls. The statistics show that Zoom has almost 470,000 paying business customers and that the amount of meeting minutes they facilitate every year is now over 3.3 trillion. You can also use it for webinars, while the screen sharing feature helps strengthen team cohesion, too.
A free account gets you unlimited meetings with up to 100 attendees, and it comes with a host of integrations as well. However, if you want sessions longer than 40 minutes, you’ll need to sign up for a premium plan.
Zoom’s other features include cross-platform messaging, file sharing, and a searchable content library.
#3: Hubstaff for Tracking and Monitoring
Keeping track of employee activity, hours, and progress is essential to managing your remote team successfully. However, it can quickly become complicated if you don’t have the right tools.
Hubstaff offers a centralized solution with built-in features for seamless monitoring and reporting. These include time-tracking, productivity measurement, and schedule management. It also comes with online invoicing and payroll software.
Plus, you can record app and URL activity with optional screenshots and even enable GPS tracking. Hubstaff is an excellent tool that gives you complete control and oversight to manage employee performance from start to finish.
#4: Slack for Collaboration and Communication
Slack provides a one-stop platform for optimum communication. Create organized channels for various teams, projects, and topics, and have transparent discussions with your colleagues.
Besides its interactive chat facility, it also offers voice and video calling. Additionally, the workflow builder automates routine actions, while the file-sharing function makes it easier to address specific tasks. There’s also a search function to locate particular topics easily.
With over 2,200 integrations, you can streamline your projects by connecting to other software tools. You’ll never have to worry about security, either, with Slack’s enterprise-grade data protection.
#5: Google Workspace for Tasks
Formerly known as G Suite, Google Workspace is a powerful collaboration tool with a plethora of features. It’s a multi-purpose platform ideal for remote working thanks to its user-friendly design and all-inclusive office software.
You’ll get a custom business email, cloud storage, and seamless integration of Google’s suite of tools. These include Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms. There’s also a website builder and Apps Script to create tailored business solutions on top of Google Workspace.
Other features include shared calendars, team chat, and video conference calls. There’s also Currents, an online forum where teams can engage.
A Well-Equipped Remote Team
The digital landscape is always changing, and remote work culture is on the rise. It’s, therefore, crucial to keep up with the times. With these top five tools, you can:
- Manage projects effortlessly with Trello
- Touch base with colleagues via Zoom
- Ensure open-channel communication with Slack
- Track and monitor employee activity with Hubstaff
- Accomplish office tasks with Google Workspace
Together, these five must-have SaaS tools will help ensure that your remote team is well-equipped to execute their duties efficiently.
