12 Best Remote Collaboration Tools for Better Teamwork

remote team collaboration

You can use project management tools to track progress and collaborate efficiently. Onboarding remote employees can be more challenging than onboarding on-site workers. This is especially true if your onboarding process will also occur virtually. That said, it’s just as essential to ensure the entire team can work together and communicate effectively.

  1. Teams need to be able to work together to brainstorm, complete projects, and achieve their goals, no matter where they’re located.
  2. Remote workers need explicit guidelines on when and how to contact each other.
  3. Shubhangi is a product marketing enthusiast, who enjoys testing and sharing the BrightWork 365 project portfolio management solution capabilities with Microsoft 365 users.
  4. Remote collaboration is a fast-growing field, and you can find hundreds of tools for your business.
  5. Transform your business communication strategy and bring teamwork and productivity to new heights.

Let other remote colleagues know how you’re progressing by putting a label to indicate whether your project is in the making, waiting for approval, or done. They have unique advantages and drawbacks that you’ll need to weigh before you adopt them for your business. Yes, you can chat and ping ideas, files and emoji back and forth in Slack. Since information is constantly added, updated and altered, wikis can get unwieldy when you’re remote team collaboration not careful.

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When working remotely, one of the most crucial factors to success is keeping on track with the working progress, and using Trello is a handy way to do it. Intranets drive employee engagement and productivity by being a hub for collaboration, information exchange, and communication. Remote collaboration takes place when a group of people works together from a distance to achieve a common goal.

Company

This starts with leaders showing up for their team and setting that example. Remember, building a strong remote team is not just about the work; it’s about cultivating relationships, supporting one another and creating a shared sense of purpose. By embracing remote work and nurturing a positive team culture, you can empower your team to thrive in any environment, regardless of physical distance. Identifying your own company values and bringing elements into your team’s workday to support those values is essential for fostering a sense of belonging and connection. Encourage open communication, celebrate achievements and prioritize team bonding activities.

It can also increase productivity because it lets workers contribute to projects as ideas come to them throughout the day and without the distractions of the office. But remote work is not as simple as ditching the traditional office environment. Remote work requires a different set of guiding principles, tools for collaboration and systems for accountability. In fact, a growing number of companies are going away from physical offices completely. The teams who embrace remote work are winning by broadening their talent pool while providing an attractive work arrangement.

Google Workspace is also highly integratable, so you can always extend it with recommended applications via API connections. When it comes to storage, files can be uploaded directly to Google Drive, and individuals can be automatically notified via email for any updates in the document. Collaboration tools help teams to work together from anywhere in the world and to reach a common goal. Collaboration tools are the driving force behind a team’s productivity and efficiency. They enable Internal Communication, improve knowledge management and reduce bottlenecks in feedback processes.

remote team collaboration

At my company, “playful” is one of our core values, and we are always coming up with ways to fulfill this value in a virtual workspace. Additionally, we organize birthday parties, games and celebrations regularly. As we do this, we are seeing more team members across the organization connecting more organically and even gathering in person to socialize with those who live in close proximity. If you are managing a team of 5 or more and looking to boost efficiency, Everhour is one of the best remote work systems to keep your team on track.

Establishing a shorthand for “I need an immediate response” or “we need to meet” can be beneficial. These kinds of shorthand codes can help your teams to know what’s urgent and what can be down prioritized. With predictable pricing, world-class support, and a wealth of resources at your fingertips, DigitalOcean ensures your journey to success is built on a solid, reliable infrastructure.

To remedy this, leaders need to prioritize building a culture of effective remote collaboration. When done well, virtual collaboration can produce new ideas and innovative solutions that can meet or even surpass business objectives. Start by implementing cloud-based collaboration platforms like BrightWork 365, which seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, allowing teams to access and share documents in real-time. This PPM tool allows project managers to track tasks and monitor progress, ensuring that everyone stays on the same page. BrightWork 365 integrates with a collaboration hub such as Microsoft Teams, facilitating quick communication and decision-making, reducing delays. Here are seven tips for improving remote team collaboration that will get you well on your way to streamlining project management and communication across your organization.

With collaboration apps like Google Documents, Sheets, or Slides, collaborators can leave comments and tag co-workers when specific feedback is required. Managers can also give different levels of access to certain employees to protect sensitive company data. The option to edit documents offline is a definitive advantage, while the intuitive design makes working with the apps easy. If you are looking to improve the remote business workflow, the starting point is Google Workspace.

  1. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their team members by promoting innovation, creativity, and change.
  2. You can have teammates in the same city — even a few blocks away from one another —and still reap the many benefits of working remotely.
  3. Anyone who wants to discuss or ask a question about engineering will know that the engineering channel is the best place to find someone to talk to.
  4. Ensure you continuously gather feedback from your team on remote work processes and policies.
  5. We come up with fun topics to discuss and share photos from our various locations that give everyone a view into our lives.
  6. In fact, a growing number of companies are going away from physical offices completely.

These protocols can also entail clear communication channels and mode of communication. HubSpot’s meeting scheduling tool provides you with a personalized booking link you can use to invite people to view your availability and book meetings with you. This saves the time that you would normally spend emailing your contacts, back and forth, to find a time and day that’s suitable for anyone. ActivTrak helps organizations make data-driven decisions to improve hybrid work.

If you’re trying to manage remote teams, and improve collaboration across your organization, you may be struggling with how to start. These seven tips for improving collaboration with remote teams will get you well on your way to standardizing project management and communication across your organization. Outlook’s Calendar is a great time management tool for Microsoft-based remote teams. Microsoft Outlook Calendar enables users to appoint meetings and events, check group schedules, and set different viewing modes. With Outlook Calendar, collaborators can send their calendar via email or link it to Sharepoint and have an overview of the events from there in their schedule. The tool allows users to have assignees schedule, move or cancel meetings on their behalf.

What are collaboration tools?

remote team collaboration

Take the first step towards elevating your business by signing up with DigitalOcean today. I’ve listed the fundamentals of working remotely and some collaboration suggestions. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

Additionally, create an agenda before the meeting that outlines goals and key discussion points. You should also consider who needs to be present so you don’t end up wasting someone’s time if they don’t need to be there. Finally, adhere to the timeframe you set for the meeting so employees don’t end up with less time for other priorities. Every employee should have a clear understanding of their roles, responsibilities and how their work contributes to the organization’s success.