A well-streamlined communication system helps decrease unmet expectations, reduce stress, and boost morale. (Image: Shutterstock)
The COVID-19 pandemic severely wounded the traditional workplace. Even when the pandemic recedes, the workplace will not go back to what it used to be. Employers have a huge task to create an environment where employees are happy and productive. Undoubtedly, recovery and renewal will require significant innovation. Thankfully, much of that innovation – in the form of remote work productivity tools – already exists.
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There are many already known tools out there; each promise to change the world of work. But what about those not mentioned as much in leadership and HR circles? No worries, here is a list of some of the tools that you might not have heard about – but you should.
10to8 Meeting Scheduling Software
Scheduling activities and meetings with either employees and clients/customers contribute to improved output. That's why the first on our list is 10to8 Meeting Scheduling Software! When it comes to arranging meetings, daily standups, or weekly team meetings, this is the right tool for you.
In cases where a team is spread worldwide, the time zones are not a problem for 10to8. But the ability to integrate other existing calendars I have created in Google, Outlook, or Exchange is what I like the most about this tool. When you want to talk to your colleagues, you don't have to ask them when they are free. Instead, you can check whether they are available at a specific time in their booking calendars. Another welcome feature is the hardworking reminders, making it nearly impossible to miss a meeting.
Communifire by Axero
Enhancing communication not only improves the productivity of your employees but the credibility of your company. A well-streamlined communication system helps decrease unmet expectations, reduce stress, and boost morale. An intranet, a centralized portal that ties together communication and enables sharing important documents, sending files, so employees are all on the same page, is a must-have communication tool for remote-based businesses. Most users can tailor intranet software to meet your organization's unique requirements while promoting transparency and eliminating communication bottlenecks.
Communifire is one of the most easy-to-understand intranet software choices around. Each department within your company is provided separate sections for supplying and updating communications; however, Communifire allows sharing information between all groups. Each team can add articles, blogs, wikis, photos, videos, and everything else relevant to work for teams. What I found especially useful with Communifire is the many options for customization – an essential element of any intranet platform.
Mattermost
The chances are that many of your employees will continue to work from home well after the COVID-19 crisis is behind us – which means group messaging tools will remain important to work teams. Mattermost promotes collaboration among your employees, enabling work to get done efficiently and effectively with a short turnaround time. In many ways, Mattermost replaces internal emails and substitutes messages in an inbox with a more agile and tool.
This digital space helps teammates communicate with each other, share ideas, comment, or give feedback as if it were happening in person. It offers threaded discussions and supports more than a couple of different languages, making it very useful for global teams – and a worthwhile competitor to the more well-known Slack. Like Slack, Mattermost's freemium pricing plans for small teams feature unlimited message history and integrations.
Celoxis
A year-plus into the pandemic, companies are still looking for a way to collaborate effectively with others on project-based tasks. To fill this void, the tool I recommend most often is the all-in-one platform Celoxis.
This software provides updates to all relevant users about anything related to a specific project. Through timely prompts, it also urges users to complete their tasks on time. Celoxis has a range of useful project management functionalities, such as allowing project mapping via Gantt charts. With its project planning and project tracking feature, it offers automatic scheduling, multiple resources per task. Celoxis is very easy to use and affordable, making it a perfect choice for businesses still struggling to find just-the-right remote PM platform.
Scoro
Because of more flexible working conditions, many remote workers find themselves struggling to stay focused. They just aren't getting enough work done – and we can't blame it all on Netflix. Maybe it is time to employ time and work management software like Scoro.
Industries like advertising, consulting, information technology are just some of the sectors drawn to Scoro. In addition to time management and work automation, collaboration, scheduling, quoting, sales support, and billing are some of the features Scoro offers – all in one solution. The platform even provides a project management component, like Celoxis. The control hub from which users obtain customer account information, key performance data, and calendar events are one of the main benefits of using this comprehensive platform.
Invest in remote work productivity tools
The longer the pandemic lingers, enabling greater productivity among employees is increasingly necessary. Introducing these tools to your employees will help them stay focused and engaged – and will undoubtedly help your business achieve its goals. While there is a learning curve associated with any new technology and the benefits of utilizing these tools may not be immediate, your investment in these platforms – and your people – will pay off in the long run.
Hanah Payne is an HR specialist with three years of experience in creating, implementing, and evaluating all human resource department policies, procedures, and structures.
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