Today, having remote work software is a must in order to ensure that your team performs to their very best. We have put together 8 of the best remote work software solutions, each with their unique features that will benefit your company in some shape or form.
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Like many of you who are reading this, working from home has become an essential part of my lifestyle.
So I don’t need to convince you that remote work is hard – you know that already! It certainly isn’t a perfect way to get things done.
As a manager or business owner, what you are looking for are ways to make sure that your employees stay connected, engaged and on task.
You are probably looking for ways to ensure that key company principles like communication, time management and motivation don’t fall through the cracks.
There are a variety of online remote work tools and software that can help address some of, if not all of these challenges and generally make remote work a more efficient experience.
One of these solutions is going to suit your company’s needs. What you need to ask yourself is the following: Is it easy to use? Is it quick to implement? And finally, is it super affordable? We’ve got all the answers for you here.
8 Best Remote Work Software Solutions in 2024
Connecteam is an all-in-one work-from-home software that allows managers and employees to stay in contact and organized, regardless of time and location. With a wide variety of features that cover everything from communication to time management to payroll (that integrates with QuickBooks Online and Gusto), remote working has never been easier.
For Whom?
Connecteam’s remote working software is designed specifically for mobile or deskless employees, making working remotely more convenient than ever. Connecteam is used by companies from more than 90 industries including healthcare, cleaning, construction, retail and more.
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Connecteam Is The Number One App For Remote Workers
Pukkateam helps bring remote teams closer. One of its main features is taking automated photos of the employees’ faces throughout the day. This informs coworkers when team members are currently available and away. Teams can stay up to date with what task each member is working on at any given time. Also, the app integrates with Skype and Slack, and allows users to start video calls with one click.
📚 You might be interested in reading: Our in-depth review of the best free task management software of 2024
For Whom?
Pukkateam is designed to help teams improve remote work communication and specifically, team presence. This remote working software benefits employees that spend most of their working hours at a main office but need to work from home occasionally, as well as teams who are dispersed in different locations.
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These days, keeping work files on your PC or Mac can be a recipe for disaster. You are better off storing them on some kind of cloud, which you can open on whatever device you are using. It’s safer that way. Google Drive is one of the classic cloud-based storage systems that is perfect for remote working. With many essential office tools, users can create all kinds of useful documents such as spreadsheets, letters and slideshows.
For Whom?
In short, Google Drive has a wide audience, and has more than 1 billion users. It is used by workers, students, and admin from all fields.
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When working remotely, one needs high quality communication tools, and this doesn’t mean just text-based ones. Phone calls can often be marred by poor internet connection and general background sounds. Krisp is a software that helps to mute unwanted background noise during phone and video calls. AI tech filters out non-voice sounds, bringing the caller and recipient’s voices to the forefront. This means that sounds of dog’s barks or a neighbor’s annoying drilling will no longer cause awkward disruptions during phone calls.
For Whom?
Krisp is a useful solution for employees who spend large parts of their days on phone calls. Online sales, customer service, and technical support teams and call centers can benefit significantly from Krisp, especially while working from home.
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Sure, when we are in the office, we can simply turn around, tap a coworker on the shoulder and ask them a question. But when you are working remotely, you need some kind of tool to communicate with your team. Slack is an ideal solution to this problem. Have real time conversations with multiple teammates at once. You can open numerous channels and threads for different purposes and even share files.
For Whom?
Slack is a great solution for companies, both big and small. Those who require regular communication with teammates will see Slack as an essential piece of work from home software.
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Working from home requires organization and knowing what tasks you need to be doing at all times. Todoist is a unique solution for this that focuses heavily on task management. This remote work app allows teams and individual workers to set reminders, so that you can stay on task, while also knowing what’s next to do down the pipeline. Users can also create sub-tasks, stay on top of productivity trends and integrate with virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Home.
For Whom?
Todoist is ideal for teams who may be working on multiple tasks at any given time. Creative teams, developers, and HR from both small businesses and enterprises can all benefit from its task management features.
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Readjusting to remote work can be a logistical nightmare. It can be a particular pain if you have to re-log into all of your accounts, but you don’t necessarily have all of your passwords written down. And if you do, it’s probably not the safest mode of password storage. 1Password solves this problem, helping users store all passwords in a secure digital vault. The only password users need to remember is the master one they use to open the app.
For Whom?
1Password is useful for anyone simply looking to make their online accounts more secure. This means that companies of all sizes and families can benefit from using an app that stores their passwords all in one place.
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As previously mentioned, recent studies show that many employees choose to work remotely because they believe there are actually fewer distractions at home. Thankfully, Forest is a remote work tool that gets to the heart of this problem.
This neat little app aims to reward users for not using their smartphone in order to switch their attention to more pressing responsibilities. Users can set a timer on the app to measure how long they want to work for, distraction-free.
For Whom?
While it’s clear that remote workers will benefit from it, anyone who needs to focus on the task at hand without distractions should consider downloading Forest. Environment-conscious users should also consider using the app, as Forest rewards users with virtual tokens that they can spend to donate to organizations that plant trees around the world.
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Frequently Asked Questions On Remote Work Software
Why do I need remote work tools?
Remote work is becoming increasingly normal around the world. Therefore, it is now imperative for companies to have remote work software for those employees who, for one reason or another, are required to work away from home. Having the right remote work tools has multiple benefits: it saves lots of time, increases productivity, reduces distractions, improves communication, and maintains team morale, to name a few.
Is remote work software affordable?
Every remote work app is different, offering a variety of features, and they all have their pros and cons. So pricing is going to vary. It also depends on how many employees need remote work software, how often they are going to work from home and what features they need on a daily basis. Some remote work apps can be as low as $29/month. We advise starting with a free trial to see if the remote work app is a good fit for your company. Once you know what features you definitely need, you can adjust the price plan accordingly.
Are remote work apps suitable for all my employees?
The truth is that different remote work tools might be more appropriate for different employees. Some will check all the boxes regardless of what department you work in. Some will be easier to use than others and as a result, simpler to implement for the entire company. Connecteam’s remote work app is an effective solution for deskless companies whose employees might not be so tech-savvy. Hardly any training is required, meaning that employees can competently use the app regardless of location.
What are the benefits of working remotely?
Let’s face it – keeping others safe and healthy isn’t the only valid reason to work remotely these days. Many of us have other responsibilities, like parenting duties and doctor’s appointments. Others simply find working remotely to be a useful change of pace, in which they have managed to produce their best results for their company.
How many people work remotely these days?
The following numbers show that remote work is only going to become more prevalent as time goes on:
- According to a study conducted by Owl Labs, in which 1,202 full-time employees took a survey, a whopping 62% of those aged between 22 and 65 admitted to working remotely, at least occasionally.
- Upwork produced its own study, revealing that by 2028, 73% of all departments are expected to have remote workers.
- Also, in a survey created by FlexJobs, 75% of employees claimed that the reason they preferred working remotely was due to less distractions. 74% also admitted that it was because they received fewer interruptions from colleagues.
With numbers like this, it’s clear that remote work is the future.
What are the challenges that remote workers regularly face?
- It’s becoming increasingly difficult to communicate when coworkers are dispersed and working in different locations. Not having a platform where workers can instantly message each other can make team tasks take much longer than usual.
- Working remotely can inevitably lead to a mix of workers’ professional and personal lives. As a result, managing one’s time effectively is getting tougher.
- Many companies pride themselves on their company culture. A lack of togetherness on a daily basis can negatively impact team morale.
- Not working face to face with managers can make employees feel like they are working without clear direction and a sense of solid leadership. This can also lead to poor organization.
- While many who work remotely believe that it improves productivity, others believe that it does the opposite – causing a lack of motivation.
The Bottom Line on Remote Work Software
The previously mentioned remote work tools all have their own distinctive features that set them apart from the crowd. This also means that they fulfill unique purposes and different kinds of companies will benefit from each one (and maybe more than one).
One thing’s for sure, these apps are likely to solve various issues your business faces when it comes to working from home. Day-to-day operations like file sharing, messaging, scheduling, clocking in and out, task management and more are going to be so much easier.
Make sure to run through each of the remote work tools listed so that you can cherry pick which ones are most suitable for your operations. These apps will ensure that your employees produce excellent results while working remotely.
The pandemic has forced us all to make radical changes in order to keep up with the times. A notable change that many of us have made is how and, more specifically, where we work.