One of the key challenges for every business owner who works with remote staff is how to communicate with remote team members effectively. Training, liaising with, managing, assigning tasks to, and motivating someone you have never seen in person has its specifics. Some experiences available when you work with someone in the same office are just not accessible – for instance, bonding with your team members over a cup of coffee or leaving them a quick note with tasks on their desk. However, there are so many tools and platforms available for working together remotely and building a great relationship with your remote staff that even people with poor communication skills can now succeed in managing their teams effectively:
#1 Zoom Meeting Room:
When you create a free Zoom account and share the link to your personal Zoom meeting room with your team, you can meet there any time, share your screen with your team and run videos and presentations for them to see, and work ‘live’ with your staff when needed.
#2 WhatsApp and Viber:
These popular apps allow you to call, text, and video chat with your remote staff for free at any time. Create a team group chat to share your news and project updates, screenshot any issues and quickly send them to your team, or receive documents and photos from your staff.
#3 Slack and Asana:
Both platforms offer free basic accounts, which offer all essential features to get you started. On Slack, you can upload and share documents and, more importantly, send instant messages to teams and individuals. Asana is a great tool for managing team activities by creating project plans and assigning tasks to different project members.
#4 Google Suite:
Get everyone in your team to create a free Google account and work from different locations and devices with your staff simultaneously. The platform allows you to upload your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and everyone with the link to your documents can work on them online from wherever they are located.
#5 Basecamp:
This platform allows you to store and share documents, policies, photos, videos, and projects. It allows you to create to-do lists for staff and project teams, post announcements on the message board, and send automatic reminders to your team when tasks assigned to them are overdue.
Overall, with all the tech available today for free or at a price of below $10 per month, it is easy and fun to work with remote teams. You will save a lot of money and have access to top talent when hiring remote staff, and if you use suitable tools to manage your work-from-home team members, your business will grow and prosper.