Something which was once a debatable topic for both employers and employees has now become a part and parcel of every corporate establishment – Remote Working. Since the initial signs of the coronavirus outbreak, all industrial sectors gradually started embracing the process of ‘Work From Home’. And with almost 80% of the workforce telecommuting to achieve their goals came different kinds of challenges.
A lack of physical presence in the office premises led to a decline in employee productivity, and overall business performance among other problems in SMBs.
Now that working professionals have accepted this new normal, i.e., a mix of work from home and office, several tools and techniques have been unraveled to overcome the numerous difficulties that came along.
The situation is not expected to change anytime soon. So, let’s have a look at some of the best tools that can be used by remotely working teams to smoothly accomplish their targets despite the restrictions.
Video Conferencing Applications
Since the very first and the biggest challenge is no physical presence, you are supposed to find an alternative to collaborate. What better than to adopt a video calling/conferencing application?
Several virtual meeting platforms have been discovered and integrated into the systems to facilitate this activity. Group meets, discussions, and webinars are conducted using these interfaces. Some of the most widely used applications include Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, and Whereby, etc.
Team Chatting Tools
It is not feasible to get on a video call for every small talk. There are times when businesses need to take prompt action for special requests. There are numerous urgent requirements that demand a swift exchange of information. To complete such tasks, quick responsiveness is needed to be maintained amongst the team members.
So, next comes the tool to enable instant chatting and messaging. For example, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Slack, Chatwork, and Flock among others are extensively used to facilitate corporate communications through texts and messages.
Attendance Management Software
One more important protocol of any organizational set-up is to track and record the attendance of employees. Now, since the workforce is unable to manage the same as they work from home, there is a need to incorporate a time and attendance management system.
A software or solution that can enable punching in and out of the system by the employees to document their working hours and then mark ‘Present’, ‘Absent’, or ‘Half Day’ accordingly. HROne’s Attendance Management Software is one such efficient platform to streamline the time & attendance tracking and processing from the comfort of homes.
Project/Task Management Software
Once the communication and attendance management part is taken care of, then SMBs greatly emphasize task completion and administration. In these tough times, managing and accomplishing projects and even daily responsibilities has become a tad bit difficult.
So, here comes a project or task management tool into the picture. Task trackers/organizers and project management tools make the process ten times easier and more optimized even during WFH. From scheduling to assigning roles and updating status, everything is smoothly carried out. Some of the renowned PMS include MS Project, Trello, Taskque, ClickUp, WeMe, Hitask, and Hubspot Project Management Tools among others.
Cloud Storage
Another major challenge that remotely working teams face is data management. Thus, a top-notch solution is required so that the information handling becomes simpler. Cloud is the first name that comes to mind when there are data-related concerns such as storage, transfer, synchronization, centralization, security, usability, and accessibility.
Data placed on the internet in the form of cloud storage is the best way to deal with any kind of data issues while one works from the office or even from home. It is, thus, considered as one of the best tools when it comes to managing data during WFH.
Online Payroll Software
Now, we will throw some light on one of the most crucial processes of any organization. Whether employees work from the office or telecommute, this domain of work doesn’t stop because the workforce anyhow needs to get paid. For this purpose, online payroll software is suggested to be the most efficient way of managing payroll operations.
Using such software, employers can take care of all the steps involved in payroll processing. Hence, the salary of every employee is processed and deposited accurately into their respective accounts on time.
Security Tools
Another very important factor that may become a matter of worry during WFH is the security of systems and confidential company information. As the employees continue to work remotely, certain privacy and security related issues should be taken care of.
Data protection tools and software such as anti-malware/ransomware, system migration, password protection, defragmentation, and data recovery among other options can keep the system free from any security and privacy-related threats.
The bottom line is that the global pandemic will certainly leave its residual impact on the organizations for a long time and hence, it is important to take note of the different remedial methods. These are the few things to keep in mind for successful remote working experience and then there are several other things to make it better. Start your research now!
