What Remote Work Tools Does a Team Need?
A remote team usually needs remote team communication tools, video meetings, task management, document sharing, scheduling, password management, and file storage. Building a strong remote team also takes clear processes and consistent habits. Our guide to remote collaboration tools covers platforms such as Slack, Zoom, Asana, and Google Workspace.
Here are five additional platforms that can help with the day-to-day problems remote teams often run into.
5 Helpful Tools for the Rest of Your Remote Workday
Think about where your team tends to lose time or get confused, then look for a platform that addresses that specific problem.
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Loom for Explaining Something on Screen
Some instructions are much easier to show than write or explain on a video call. Loom lets you record your screen, your voice, and, if you want, your camera at the same time. You might use it to walk someone through a new process, explain feedback, or show exactly where a technical problem appears. This makes it useful for asynchronous communication when teammates work at different times.
Calendly for Scheduling Across Time Zones
Remote jobs can mean working with people in a different time zone. Finding a meeting time can turn into a long string of messages when everyone has a different schedule. Calendly connects to your calendar and shows people when you’re available.
It also adjusts available times for the other person’s time zone, reducing the chance of someone joining several hours early or late. You can add buffers between meetings and limit how many calls people can book in one day.
1Password for Sharing Logins Safely
Remote teams often share access to social media accounts, software, and other online services. Sending passwords through email or chat makes them harder to control and easier to expose.
1Password lets a company store login details in shared vaults and decide which employees can access them. When someone leaves the team or changes roles, an administrator can remove access without searching through old messages to identify which passwords were shared.
Figma and FigJam for Visual Collaboration
Figma is great for website, app, and product design. Team members can review the same design file, leave comments, and see updates without downloading and emailing new versions.
FigJam is Figma’s online whiteboard. A team can use it to brainstorm ideas, map a process, collect feedback, or plan a project with virtual sticky notes.
Dropbox for Sharing Large Files
Email attachments aren’t always the easiest way to send videos, photographs, design files, or large presentations. Dropbox gives teams a central place to store and share them. Folders can be organized by client, department, or project, and access can be limited when a file contains private information. Agree on a naming system from the beginning so people can find what they need without opening five nearly identical files.
Keep Your Remote Toolkit Simple
When comparing tools for remote teams, think about where people regularly lose time or get confused. The most useful platform will address a problem your team already has. Once the new tool is in place, check whether it’s saving time. If nobody uses it or it creates more work, it probably doesn’t need to stay.
You might also be interested in: Mastering Remote Management: Strategies for Success
If your next step is adding someone to the team, you can post a remote job on RemotePro and connect with candidates looking for remote work around the world.
