6 Awesome Tools for Remote Team Collaboration
Every remote team manager knows that fostering communication and collaboration is an ongoing struggle. Thankfully there are plenty of tools to help!
Anyone who has been tasked with the logistics of creating and developing a team of remote workers will have dealt with this struggle. While traditional companies can simply pile everyone into a boardroom for a meeting, you’ve got employees scattered all over the globe.
You’ll often have a mixture of full-time and temporary staff spread across time zones, making communication a logistical nightmare. Thankfully, there are a plethora of fantastic tools at your disposal. These can help to create a free flow of communication, keep everyone organized, and boost team productivity.
Indeed there are a lot to choose from, so we’ve rounded up our top five picks. Let’s jump in!
Slack
Slack is a communication platform that helps bring team members together from across the globe. It’s primarily known for its group messaging system but actually has a ton of integrated apps available to users.
The messaging application involves channels which can only be viewed by specified members. This makes it easy to create small and large collaborative teams and for each member to easily track conversations within them.
I’ve been using Slack for a while now and I admit I love it! There is a bit of a learning curve in terms of staying organized but it definitely beats email and messaging apps for project work. And who wouldn’t love being told they look nice today by the Slackbot?
In terms of pricing, you can use Slack for free. However, to unlock additional features and for larger teams, pricing starts at a reasonable $6.67 per month.
Asana
Asana is an intuitive project management tool designed to help keep everyone in the loop about what is being done, by whom, and by when. While it doesn’t include more specific project management software such as time-tracking tools, it can be great for boosting productivity.
Features include automatic project status updates (eliminating the need for mundane meetings) and the ability to easily convert conversations to actionable tasks and tasks to projects.
The basic version of Asana is free while the Premium package starts at $9.99 per month.
Google Drive
Google Drive probably doesn’t need much of an introduction but it had to make the list since it remains a stellar (and very popular) option for team collaboration.
You can create any type of Google file within your drive and simply share it with a link. It’s particularly useful for sharing Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides that will have multiple editors. The intuitive comments and editing options, along with notification settings, make it easy to collaborate in real time.
Google Drive gives you 15GB of free storage after which you can upgrade to a premium plan starting at $2.25 per month.
Dropbox
Dropbox is another platform you’ve no doubt heard of, but it still stands as one of the best cloud storage apps out there. It offers a place to store your files so that they can be accessed from anywhere. I’ve used it for everything from large freelance projects to wedding planning and love the convenience.
Its high storage capacity means you can share large files such as Photoshop and PowerPoint without having to compress. Dropbox also has specific tools dedicated to teamwork such as Dropbox Paper. This holds video, audio, code, and more, so you can collaborate on virtually any project.
Dropbox is free to use but Dropbox for Business starts at $8.50 per month.
Trello
Trello is a project management and collaboration tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to keep everyone organized. The super simplistic nature of the tool makes it really easy to get started and keep everyone on the same page.
Every card acts as its own little hub and you can add members, assign due dates, add comments, and more. Cards are then assigned to lists within a board. The extensive customization options and intuitive interface make this a cinch for any team to use.
We’ve been using Trello here at WorkSpoke and I’m loving it. One great aspect is that it can be used for personal organization too. You can keep all of your to-do, grocery, and vacation planning lists all in one place right alongside your work tasks.
The basic version of Trello is free but for additional features prices start at $9.99 per month.
No matter how large or small, the key to a successful team is effective communication and collaboration. Using some of the tools we've listed above, you can help your remote team work together as a cohesive and highly productive unit.
Do you have any tips for using these tools effectively? Let us know in the comments box below!
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