Remote work has made traditional 9-to-5 office jobs a relic of the past. Recent studies reveal 12.7 percent of full-time employees now work entirely from home, while another 28.2 percent work in “hybrid” environments — a combination of in-person and remote models. In this rapidly shifting environment, remote work software has become the need of the hour, allowing organizations to use centralized platforms for sharing data, documents and other resources, while also providing a space where team members can connect and share insights.
Let’s trace the emergence of remote work, the unique set of challenges it brings, and how companies can use remote work software in order to mitigate growing pains associated with remote teams scattered across various countries and time-zones.
Remote work is not a new or novel concept, but the last four years have seen a steep rise in its adoption. The shift towards remote work was primarily kickstarted by the Covid-19 pandemic — particularly for services and industries that could make do with online communication or delivery of a digital product or service.
And while some companies have encouraged workers to “return to office”, trends indicate that the remote work model — or at least, its hybrid variation — is here to stay. Estimates by Upwork indicate 36.2 million individuals will be working remotely by 2025. And according to a March 2023 Pew Research Center report, 35% of workers in the United States with the option to work remotely, choose to do so full- time. An additional 41% use a hybrid work model — a combination of remote work, and in-person work — and most hybrid workers say they prefer their at-home environment to the office.
Prospective employees are also more inclined to work with companies that offer remote work as an option. A January 2023 report from the job listing website FlexJobs.com said from 2021-2022, listings for remote work positions rose from 12% the previous year to 20%.
While remote work comes with a range of benefits — such as flexible hours, work life balance and no tedious commute — it also presents a new set of challenges, and this is where remote work software becomes increasingly important.
Remote teams can become very easily susceptible to distraction, working longer hours, and poorer collaboration. This is why team communication and remote collaboration are critical aspects of ensuring that remote teams gel together. Examples of remote work software that can help mitigate these challenges include video conferencing platforms, team messaging apps, and project management tools.
It’s important for remote work software to include crucial features intended to mimic in-person office experiences, in order to ensure that workers don’t get stuck in silos. These features include: virtual meeting rooms, virtual whiteboards, screen sharing, file sharing, time tracking and employee monitoring. The core function of good remote work software should be to allow workers to collaborate, brainstorm, create and ideate effectively without sharing the same physical office space.
The absence of face-to-face interactions in remote offices and team members scattered across disparate regions can lead to alienation and burn out. Without the ability to meet in-person, remote teams have no choice but to rely increasingly on various communication tools to bridge the gap. It’s crucial for these tools to allow workers to have virtual meetings and eliminate miscommunication that often surfaces when relying on written messages alone. A good remote work communication software can enhance team cohesion by building space for formal as well as informal chats, demos, or casual watercooler conversations.
Project management software also plays a vital role in remote settings where teams are geographically dispersed. They help maintain an organized workflow and ensure all team members are on the same page. A key feature of a good project management software is task management and tracking. Ideally, it should allow project managers to assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress in real-time. This feature enhances accountability and ensures everyone in the team is aware of their responsibilities and the expected timelines for output.
Need to choose a remote work tech stack to enhance your team’s cohesion? We’ve compiled what we think are the five best remote work software out there, proven to build a seamless and engaging process for organizations large and small.
Candor is a tool designed for remote teams to connect beyond traditional Zoom meetings and integrate recognition seamlessly into their daily interactions. The platform’s engaging and intuitive features make building team culture effortless and enjoyable from Day 1 of onboarding — ideal for a remote-first team. It’s the only tool on this list that is laser focused on ensuring your new hires and existing team members get to know one another in an organic and fun way, despite not sharing an office-space together.
Why Candor? Candor goes beyond traditional HR tools by fostering genuine connections and continuous recognition within remote teams. Its diverse range of features ensures that every team member feels seen and appreciated, enhancing overall team cohesion and morale. This makes Candor an excellent choice for remote teams, as it provides a holistic and intentional approach to integrating new hires into the team, promoting immediate engagement, and building a strong foundation for collaboration.
Candor offers comprehensive profiles where team members can share their work preferences, styles, and personal anecdotes, allowing for deeper, more genuine introductions beyond the basics of name and role. These profiles include chapters detailing career history, and honest ‘takes’ from colleagues, which help new hires feel understood and valued from day one. Additional features include interactive polls for team input, shoutouts for celebrating achievements, check-ins for tracking goals and well-being, continuous bi-directional feedback for personal growth, and 1-on-1 meetings with guided agenda setting for effective communication. Together, these features create an environment where remote teams can thrive through enhanced communication, recognition, and continuous feedback, making onboarding smooth and effective.
Slack is a leading team communication tool designed to optimize remote work engagement and is used by businesses small and large. It happens to be one of the best ways to stay in touch with teams when everyone’s working remotely. In fact, it also offers partner-specific Slack rooms, so teams can communicate and collaborate with clients. Slack is available as a desktop, browser-based or mobile app, which is ideal for remote users.
An essential tool for remote teams, Slack fosters collaboration and maintains connection in virtual workspaces with its various tools, messaging features and automations for responding to mentions. Slack also integrates seamlessly with third-party apps, enhancing workflow efficiency, and its user-friendly interface facilitates easy file sharing and information retrieval. Users can also customize their own interface for the platform and their profiles, and organize messages and channels as they prefer.
Why Slack? Slack is an excellent communication tool to add to a remote team’s tech stack. The free plan makes it accessible for any size business, and the paid plans are scalable for medium to large companies.
Slack is an example of a leading team communication tool designed to optimize remote work engagement. Its real-time messaging, organized channels, and direct messaging features streamline communication for remote teams of all sizes. It’s also great for keeping track of conversations and files. The advanced search function helps find things deep in archives, too. Although Slack’s primary function is to streamline communication, it also offers automations for responding to mentions or sending messages with instructions to new users.
A staple at most companies, it's no surprise that Google Workspace made it to this list of the best remote work software. Apart from being one of the most popular email service providers around — which makes it a great pick already — Google also includes so many other features and tools that make it easy for teams to connect with each other, clients and vendors. For instance, Google Workspace can be used to collaborate with others on editable documents and spreadsheets and create presentations. Its cloud storage option is one of the most generous around: The low-paid plan gives users up to 30GB.
Why Google Workspace? Google Workspace makes sense for any business, remote or not, because of its variety of features and generous cloud storage for each user. It offers a powerful set of tools for document collaboration. Its flagship applications include Google Docs for word processing, Google Sheets for spreadsheets, and Google Slides for presentations.
One of the standout key features of Google Workspace is real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously. Users can view edits in real time, comment on specific sections, and even engage in live discussions within the document. The suite’s cloud-based nature ensures seamless access to files from any device with an internet connection, fostering flexibility and accessibility.
Zoom has become ubiquitous with remote work, and has rapidly established its place as an essential remote work software. The company owes most of its success to a robust service that provides excellent video and webinar conferencing tools, and as well as other top-quality services.
Zoom offers multiple ways for remote teams to connect with each other: whether joining via video call or a phone call via a mobile device, desktop or a browser, remote teams can communicate easily with any user.
Why Zoom? Zoom is one of the best-known video conferencing apps available, and it offers excellent quality with some added features such as whiteboards, continuous team chats (which are accessible after meetings have ended), integrations with third-party note-taking software, as well as an option to videos. Free plan users can only hold video calls up to 40 minutes long, and up to 100 participants. Paid plan users get more time and more participants (in the higher paid plans) and storage for recordings (free plan users must keep recordings locally).
Notion is primarily a note-taking app with added features to make it a collaborative tool that works well for remote teams. A user can act as a host and invite other remote members to view, comment and edit collaborative documents and whiteboards remotely. Notion boards can also be turned into task management tools, used to track projects, create checklists, or brainstorm ideas. Notion also offers pre-made templates that can be used to create a shared knowledge base. Team members can mention specific workers using the @-mention option, in order to get their attention and bring them into the conversation. They can also make use of the discussion section at the top of a page, or leave comments on specific text, images, or other content blocks.
Why Notion? Notion works well for remote teams and helps keep track of deadlines, brainstorm ideas, or build out a knowledge base. Users can comment on tasks, assign responsibilities, and track progress in real-time.
In conclusion, remote work software is key for keeping teams productive and connected in a remote-first world. They help overcome the challenges of distance and improve collaboration. As we move forward, the right remote work software will be crucial for keeping employees happy, motivated, and cohesive in any company.
Candor makes it easy to connect and have fun with your teammates, even while you’re remote. Use Candor to do feedback, shoutouts, check-ins, and more, all in one place.
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