eLearning, Instructional Design, Leadership / April 21, 2020

Now that you’ve got a couple of weeks of working from home under your belt and you’re finding your footing and hopefully settling into a routine that works for you and your family, I have to share with you my favorite tools for remote work.

What’s your favorite new website, app or online tools for remote work you’ve discovered or just started to use regularly with your team? Jump down to the comments and share!

As someone that has been regularly using Zoom and Google Hangouts Meet to meet with teammates remotely for a while, I’m definitely enjoying the funny videos about video chatting faux pas! In fact, even though I have worked with remote teams for years and years, I had my own video chat OMGee moment the other day. My 5-year-old walked into my video chat with a client and asked if I could help her put her “bra” on (aka swimsuit top). I quickly shooed her away and acted like nothing happened but I was 3 shades of red.

Even though you may laugh at the memes and spoof videos that are no doubt popping up in your feed, it’s important to remember that there’s a learning curve with all these tools.

Not only that, but some tools just aren’t right for the individual or team. I’ve highlighted a few different tools for remote work in three major categories. You can then decide which one will work best for your specific needs.

Master Remote Work & Leadership: 8 Tools You Should Know About

Whether you need to host a team meeting, manage your projects remotely or stay in regular contact with your clients and colleagues- there’s no shortage of websites and apps available. These are some of my favorite tools for remote work. I’ve found that they help me and my team stay efficient, organized, and most importantly, connected!

Video Conferencing

If working from home is your new normal (for now) chances are, video conferencing is a new experience for you. Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward (once you get the hang of it). It’s a great way to feel connected to your team even though you can’t be in the same physical location.

Zoom

Zoom is a great option for hosting a video conference with a larger number of people. A Zoom meeting can hold up to 100 participants with a free membership. Anyone in a Zoom meeting has the ability to share their screens with participants which I’ve found really helpful (especially for explaining something to a less tech-savvy co-worker).

One of the features I love most about Zoom is the ability to record. You can record meetings and share with team members who couldn’t attend the meeting. Another way I use the recording feature is to have clients use Zoom to record trainings or the audio for their trainings, which simplifies my role.

While Zoom has a lot of extra features and detailed settings you can get into, I find it’s basic interface simple and easy to navigate so I can focus on my meeting. On the downside, for larger organizations and advanced features, Zoom premium can be pricey!

Google Hangouts Meet

Another popular video conferencing tool is Meet, which is part of Google Hangouts. One of the main benefits of using Google over Zoom is that, if you already use GSuite, Google Hangouts is easily accessible. It is also a useful messenger tool for remote work.

Since I use Gmail already, I prefer Google Hangouts Meet for one-on-one video chats to check in with a client or a colleague. Meet supports up to 25 participants on a video call. It also has a lot of the same features as Zoom.

Most of these features require you to download an add-on. This can be a pro or a con. On one hand, if you’re just trying to check-in and stay connected with a team that’s used to seeing each other in person you may not need or want extra features. On the other hand, if you want everyone to be able to share their screens you’ll need to give them instructions for getting the add-on.

Project Management

Even if working from home isn’t a permanent state for your organization, it’s worth it to look into moving your project management to an online platform like one of the choices below. While they’re all great tools for remote work, they’re also really convenient and easily accessible for office-based teams.

Trello

Trello is an easy-to-use, all-purpose tool for remote or online project management of small to medium projects. Trello’s interface allows users to easily see different aspects of a project, tag other team members in notes, and upload files. The best part is that Trello automatically sends an email notification to your colleagues when you tag them in a card. So that’s one less step for you!

Here’s how I like to set up my Trello boards to see the scope of my projects more easily.

I include a section for project resources where I upload or link any important project files. Even if you have a shared drive where these files are stored it can’t hurt to include a link to that file right on the board!

Then I have a to-do section (i.e. a backlog), where I list upcoming tasks that aren’t quite ready to be assigned yet. This allows me to see what I have coming up and plan ahead.

Once I have tasks ready to go with all the necessary resources, I move the card to the “Ready for Work” column. I then assign the task with a due date to the team member responsible for completing the task. Any notes I have, I put right in the comments section of that card, so I don’t have to send a separate email. Keeping the conversations about the project and project tasks right in Trello keeps my inbox clean and keeps all project information localized in one place.

Once a team member is ready to work on a task, they will move the card to the “Working on Now” column. Then, when they believe the task is complete, they’ll move the card to the “Shawntay Review” column. Once again, there’s no need for them to exit the Trello board and send me a notification email.

Finally, there are two more sections off-screen, one for tasks my client is reviewing and my favorite, the ‘DONE’ section!

Jira

If you like the idea of Trello but you need something that’s more robust with more reporting options, swim lanes, sorting options, points, etc, Jira is a great choice with a lot of features.

The standard Jira interface is geared towards developers. Nevertheless, you can customize your Jira board to work for your specific project. A lot of organizations might prefer Jira for this reason. If their tech team is already using Jira, they may already have resources (like a premium subscription). They can offer support to departments that find they need to move their flow online! In the last organization I worked for before starting up my own small business, every department used Jira. The tool really simplified the management of my training projects. We had an in-house Jira expert who built a customized board for my team. It was great!

Setting up Jira for the first time will take longer than Trello. However, once you’ve got your template set, it works very similarly. Team members are tagged in tasks that they can push through to the next step when they’re done. No need to use outside tools to notify their colleagues or send files.

I love Jira and the many capabilities that Jira offers. It is just a little more powerful than what I need in my business today. So I use Trello, which provides me with exactly what I need at a really nice price point…$0.00. Jira also offers a free version, but it doesn’t suit my needs.

Both Trello and Jira are owned by the same company. Trello was acquired by Atlassian so it is no surprise that both offer features that I really like.

Kanban

If Trello seems too simple but Jira provides more features than you need, Kanban is a great happy medium. It’s easy to set-up, like Trello. However, it allows you to see multiple projects all on one screen (whereas, in Trello, to see a new project you have to navigate to a different board).

Kanban and Trello have two main differences: one is that Kanban doesn’t support assigning a task to multiple users. This might not matter to you, but I personally like the ability to tag multiple team members on certain tasks. I find it’s especially helpful after I’ve reviewed and made changes to a deliverable, so the person who originally worked on that task can see the finished product.

The other difference is that Kanban’s free version is very limited (2 boards and 2 users). Unless you’re just doing a trial or you have a very small team with limited projects, you’re probably looking at a small subscription fee.

Chats

Sometimes you have a quick question or you want to ping a colleague to make sure something’s on their radar. For teams who are new to remote work, having a chat option is extremely useful. It helps cut back on emails. Here are some popular choices for team chats.

Slack

Slack was one of the first messaging apps for business use and it’s one of the most popular choices when it comes to messaging tools for remote work.

With an easy-to-use interface, Slack can be a great way to keep the lines of communication open in a larger organization since it functions similarly to a message board. Users can start new channels, message between groups, or one-on-one. Slack also lets you choose between messages that are public or private.

Two of my favorite things about Slack that set it apart from other messaging apps are the ability to control notifications and file sharing.

In the settings, you can limit when Slack sends you notifications and be specific about what kind of notifications you get, which can really be a lifesaver when you need to disconnect from work.

Slack also lets you share files directly without limiting the size, which really comes in handy! Another nice feature is Slack’s integration with Trello and Jira.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is newer in the messaging app world but it’s popular with companies that use GSuite already. I already talked about Hangouts’ Meet feature. It’s worth mentioning again that if you can use one tool for remote work for multiple functions (like chat and video) life will be much easier!

Hangouts chat feature is simple, you can message one-on-one or start a group chat. Notifications come through on any device you have logged into that Google account, so you’ll never miss them (but it makes disconnecting harder to do after hours!)

This messaging app can also be integrated with Trello. I haven’t tried yet, but I am going to work on it in the coming weeks. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Skype

Skype has a chat feature that allows you to get more in-depth with your messages than Hangouts. Once you send off a chat in Google, there’s no taking it back!

If you want to be able to edit (or delete) your own messages or react to your team’s messages, send voice memos, quote reply, or send a poll. Skype has those features built-in.

On the down-side, since Skype is a completely free service, you will have to deal with some in-app advertising, which can be distracting!

So which of these choices are you interested in trying out with your team to help make working from home easier? Head over to my Facebook community! Leave a comment telling me how these apps are working for you and your team. If you just can’t get enough of my recommendations for tools for remote work, you can check out my post on productivity tools for some other options I didn’t mention here.

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