Software Tools for Remote Work

It doesn’t matter if you are a remote worker, or you’re a manager managing remote workers or a manager, who manages a team of people who might work remote regularly or sometimes, you need to use software tools to keep the team productive. Those tools can be divided into four sections:

  1. Communication

  2. Measuring and managing productivity

  3. Time and Attendance

  4. Project management software

These four sections of software tools actually depend on the type of remote work. If you work as a VA (Virtual Assistant), all the sections apply. When you’re working as a freelancer, only part 4 (Project management software) and part 1 (communication) might apply.

Communication software

computer screen showing blog

You want to have the ability to conference or communicate with your people directly by computer. It’s cheaper than a mobile or normal phone, it’s direct, and you see each other face to face.

  1. Skype chat – You can have a constant team Skype chat open for all of your different teams. This allows your teleworking team members to be instant contact with their fellow workers. It also creates the feeling that you are working together even if you are hundreds of kilometers away.

  2. Jing project – this great little tool is very useful for teleworker collaboration around designs or any visual elements. It is a free tool and allows you to make comments on images or to record quick videos of your computer screen.

  3. Screen sharing tools  – there are various virtual meeting tools and screen sharing tools that you can use, such as TeamViewer.

Measuring and managing productivity

If you consider the costs of renting an office space somewhere in a big city, you might be shocked at the prices companies must pay. Prices like $1,000 per square meters is a normal price and in many cities this is seen as cheap. If you consider that each person needs a certain minimum number of working space, the company must pay fortunes.

So, can you imagine an alternative, where the company doesn’t need to pay such fortunes to get their people to work for them. They can work at a location of their choice. There is only one major concern with working like that.

Are remote workers productive?

Honestly, it’s not so hard to determine if remote workers are productive. A competent manager will discover this within a couple of hours. And above that, there are software tools available to measure the productivity and to control it.

Well, that only applies for the VA (Virtual Assistant) workers

Time Doctor is designed specifically for monitoring productivity for teleworkers. It allows you to see websites visited when the person is working (but not when they are on a break). Slack is another tool to do similar tasks, as are Mockplus, Troop Messenger, Fleep, Chanty, Quip, GoToMeeting, Calendar, 10to8, and Appointlet.

Time and Attendance tools

Especially for Virtual Assistants, time and attendance tools are really required. Especially when VAs are being paid when they start to work (to be remotely present). We’re talking about the following software products: Time Doctor, Hubstaff, Toggl, Paymo, Harvest, actiTIME, WebWork Tracker, and Kickidler.

Project management software

Project management software will allow you to prepare your work grouped in products. Not only preparing, but also executing, administrating and monitoring.