Remote workplaces have been steadily on the rise. Some companies have remained reluctant to take the leap. Today, we are facing increasing urgency to find ways to allow employees to work from home. What will you do to keep your business running if you are faced without a choice to have employees work from home?
Our business has been established for over five years with the ability to perform all functions from anywhere with internet access. We are sharing our most tried and true resources to allow your team to collaborate remotely and remain productive. These are also very low cost, easy to install, and easy to use.
1. How can my team communicate in real-time?
Slack https://slack.com/
Slack is one of the most widely used tools by remote teams. We, along with companies like Buffer and Help Scout have long used Slack as a “virtual office” so employees can instantly message each other one-on-one or as a group. You can share media and files and Slack is fully searchable with keywords if you need to quickly refer back to prior communication.
2. What if I need to train someone on something new?
Loom is a free screen recorder that works on Mac and Windows. It allows you to record your screen as well as audio and visual of yourself while you perform tasks and explain a process. This allows you to share a video and store videos in a library where people can view trainings and various instructional videos. It’s also great for troubleshooting with people so you can see exactly what they are doing and what issues they are running into.
3. What if I want to have a face to face team meeting?
Zoom https://www.zoom.us/home?zcid=2478
Zoom has seen an increase of users since 2014 by over 2500% and with good reason. It consistently works well for conducting virtual meetings with up to 100 people for a small price of $19.99/mo. Some teams enjoy using it as informal “hangouts” so they are able to see each other and work as though they are sitting right next to one another. One-click of a button allows users to show their video stream.
The “gallery view” shown below allows you to view everyone at once as if you are all in the same room. It’s your own version of the Brady Bunch intro!
4. How can we seamlessly manage projects, tasks and deadlines?
Asana https://asana.com/
Regardless of whether you work remotely or in a physical office, Asana is an excellent tool for tracking projects, assigning tasks and viewing everything in once place. Team members are notified when a task is complete, and they can see when tasks scheduled to be completed. Asana also allows you to attach files to different projects and comment back and forth about the projects. Managers are free from having to ask if something got done because they are automatically notified when their employee checks a task off the list.
5. How do we securely share passwords for shared access sites?
LastPass www.lastpass.com
LastPass stores and encrypts passwords and allows you the ability to share specific passwords with as many people as you need to. When a password you have shared gets changed, it automatically updates the new password for everyone who has been given access. It runs on PC and Mobile and it is very cost-effective and easy to set up.
6. How do we securely store and share files?
Google Drive and Dropbox https://www.google.com/drive/ https://www.dropbox.com/h
There are so many options here and many companies have established intranets for this purpose. Our favorites include Google Drive and Dropbox.
Both are free or close to it depending on the level of storage you need.
This is our short-list of tools to give you a quick start. If you have additional questions, we are happy to help. Please email Melissa Glenny at mglenny@franklinprofessionals.com to review your specific goals and be pointed in the right direction. We hope these recommendations help you and your teams to stay well and stay productive! For more tips on all things staffing and hiring, check out our Employer Tips or contact us at mglenny@franklinprofessionals.com.
