Over the course of 2020 we’ve seen a huge shift in work setups, with more professionals than ever before setting up offices at home using work-from-home technology. While much of this year’s remote working has been brought about out of necessity, it’s been interesting to see how companies have benefited from the change.
A California-based organization reported a 47% increase in worker productivity as a result of its move to remote working this year. And a study undertaken by Airtasker found that remote employees worked an average of 1.4 extra days per month, compared to office-based staff. That’s an additional 16.8 weeks of work per year!
This year’s remote work success stories wouldn’t have been possible without the help of some incredibly smart technology, however. Companies now have a whole host of great communication tools and cloud-based sharing options at their disposal. It’s tools like these that are integral to the productivity boosts we’ve seen recently.
If your team is continuing to work from home in 2021 and beyond, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the very best in work-from-home technology. Here are some of our top recommendations.
1. Cloud-based sharing
Cloud-based technology, such as sharing software makes it much easier for teams to collaborate from different locations. Software developed by Dropbox and Google offer an easy, user-friendly way of storing documents, and making them accessible to entire teams or departments.
Cloud-based sharing makes it easy for teams to access the information they need, no matter where they happen to be working from. Files can be organized and synced by any member of the team. They will appear in the same way for all team members with access to the cloud-based documents. Teams can access the same documents and make edits in real time, collaborating in the same way as they would had they happened to all be in the same office, looking at the same screen.
Dropbox is a particularly useful option for businesses, as it offers a range of different account options for small to medium sized enterprises. Teams can choose to introduce admin roles to help manage shared files, and all documents are well protected should any individual member of the team face a data loss.
Useful for:
- Consulting
- PR and Marketing
- Graphic design
- Advertising
- Hospitality
- Consulting
- Food and Beverage
2. Project Management Platforms
There is a tendency to assume that office-based staff are better equipped to collaborate on projects, as they spend their working days together. But this overlooks the distractions that office environments present, from trips to the water cooler to those back-to-back meetings. When teams work remotely, they’re sometimes able to collaborate more effectively, and great project management tools make this possible.
Apps like Trello are perfect for teams that need to keep track of multiple projects at once. This flexible and practical app uses boards to help teams manage projects in a highly visual way. Different tasks can be prioritized easily, and all team members are kept in the know about upcoming work and looming deadlines. Another good option is Asana, a mobile and web application which allows for easy project management no matter where team members are located.
Useful for:
- Retail
- Marketing
- Food and Beverage
- Hospitality
- Advertising
- PR
- Design
3. Communication Platforms
There are several great unified communication tools that work perfectly for remote teams. One of the most famous examples is Slack. It’s a time-saving communication app that helps teams manage different conversations and projects with ease. Using different channels, team members can keep chats organized, and avoid the lengthy wait for an email response.
Google Hangouts is another good communication option for remote teams, providing free voice and video calls to help remote teams stay connected. And of course, we can’t mention communication tools without talking about the app of 2020: Zoom! This video conferencing platform became a must-have for remote teams everywhere this year, and it’s now widely used by businesses in all industries.
Video platforms provide endless benefits to companies, particularly for team members who need to communicate with customers effectively. For example, customer service representatives can use video chats to converse with customers just as they would face to face. This enables staff to provide a better standard of support, offering assistance and advice on all manner of queries.
Video platforms can also be hugely advantageous to companies that would otherwise have relied upon regular meetings with clients and customers. Using video conferencing, these meetings can take place in a remote setting, and the results remain uncompromised.
There are clear advantages to specific industries such as telemedicine, too. Over the course of the pandemic we’ve seen a huge rise in demand for remote telemedicine access, and video conferencing has made it possible for healthcare organizations to respond to this. Video conferencing can now be used for anything from simple checkups to more complex diagnostic enquiries.
No matter which communication tool you opt for, there are a few things you’ll need to do to make sure you get the most out of it. We always advise setting realistic expectations for team members, and checking in with every member of the team frequently to ensure that projects are running smoothly.
Useful for:
- Marketing
- SEO
- Consulting
- Financial Services
- Banking
- Telemedicine
4. TeamViewer software
Sometimes a problem can’t be fixed without seeing a colleague’s screen. In these cases TeamViewer software is worth its weight in gold. This software allows remote team members to connect easily, sharing screens to discuss issues and collaborate more effectively.
TeamViewer software is also brilliant for teams who may be tasked with solving problems on behalf of their clients. For example, we use the software at our own data center if a client is unable to access their hardware, but can’t travel to our headquarters to discuss the issue in person.
Useful for:
- Customer services
- IT services
- Financial Services
- Consulting
5. A strong and trustworthy VPN
For teams handling sensitive information and data, a VPN is a must-have work-from-home technology. We always recommend air gapping your firewall, and we suggest that all team members use a reliable and robust VPN for all work tasks.
If remote teams work on air-gapped computers, they will be less likely to suffer the effects of a data breach, and data will be better protected as teams collaborate online. VPNs can be set up and installed easily. So make this a priority if your team plans to work remotely in the new year.
Useful for:
- Retail
- Banking
- Customer services
- IT services
- Hospitality
- Financial Services
- Consulting
6. Cybersecurity
One of the main drawbacks of teams working from home is the fact that cyber security risks tend to be elevated, as remote teams don’t have quite the same security protection as office-based staff. This is an important factor to consider if your teams work with sensitive data.
Make sure all employees are well trained on cyber security best practices, and bear in mind that the vast majority of successful cyber attacks are the result of human error. This is a frightening prospect, but it means that a high proportion of attacks can be avoided if teams are fully clued up on what to do, and what not to do, while they work from home. It’s also often worth setting up different account options for your teams, so that access to data and other important systems is only available to those who really need it.
Useful for:
- Marketing
- Banking
- Financial Services
- Consulting
- Human Resources
7. Disaster Recovery
The thought of an IT disaster is enough to put even the most confident of teams off working from home, but whether your colleagues are likely to continue working remotely or not, it’s something that you definitely need to think about.
Ensure that you are managing data effectively to avoid the risk of a data loss, and back up all cloud services regularly to limit the impact of an IT disaster. While it’s unlikely that you’ll ever need a disaster recovery plan, it is hugely important that you have one. Make sure all team members are fully trained in the plan, and how to execute it. If a data breach were to happen, that disaster plan could make all the difference to the speed of your company’s recovery.
Useful for:
- IT and Technology
- Telemedicine
- Financial Services
- Insurance
8. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is proving to be an invaluable work-from-home technology for many companies. While a great CRM system has long been essential for brands in a wide range of different industries, the capabilities of such platforms have really come into their own in the wake of the recent shift to remote teams.
A good quality CRM system offers a whole host of advantages for ambitious businesses. Not only do these platforms help to streamline interactions with both new and existing customers. They’re also brilliant at providing teams with the information they need to really improve their customer service offering.
By focusing on strengthening relationships with customers of all kinds, brands can make important changes that will ultimately boost the customer experience that they provide. And these are the changes that’ll always have a positive impact on a brand’s profits, and its ability to grow despite the difficult economic situation that we’re now seeing around the world.
Useful for:
- Retail
- Banking
- Hotels/Hospitality
- Financial Services
- Consulting
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Remote working offers fantastic opportunities for teams to collaborate and communicate in a flexible and efficient way. Look at some of our recommended remote working tools, and see how your remote working setup could be improved as we head into the new year. To utilize work-from-home technology at your business, we recommend comparing different options for business phone systems and communication systems. You can also explore