Council Post: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Software While Working Remotely

With so many companies shifting to working from home, you are likely using much of the amazing cloud-based software now available online that has made small business team productivity, communication and efficiency possible in a work-from-home environment. They focus on communication, outcomes and the free flow of information among your team while you work remotely. Here are some ways companies of any scale — from the small self-employed startup to the large corporation — can best use software to define and produce clear outcomes during this time.

Project Management Software

Project management software has been essential for our teams so we can run processes, workflows and projects in one digital workspace. I suggest using software with automation tools; we have found this to be extremely useful. We had one of our team members create automatic reminders — for example, if a task is marked done, the program automatically pings the next team member to alert them that the task is complete. We have found that while project management software is great for project management, it’s not as great for short-term goals and small day-to-day stuff. It’s best to keep up with those tasks via a capture list on a word processing document between the parties involved or through programs like Slack or Asana.

Cloud-Based Storage

Files need to be stored somewhere secure, and for companies that may be used to doing direct storage via their work computers, programs like Google Drive, DropBox, WeTransfer or Amazon are handy and save space on everyone’s computers because you only have to download items as needed. I suggest using project management and storage software that work together and give you the ability to upload relevant files and attach them to your project management tool. This is especially useful so your team can review documents together in real time.

Online Meeting Software

You are likely still having daily or weekly huddles with your team through tools like Google Hangouts, Zoom or Whereby. Communicating with your team and making sure everyone is on the same page is extremely important, especially during a time when people are working from home or in different environments than the office. We use these meetings to establish clear outcomes for the day, week or month.

One kind of software you don’t need is a program to record employees’ screens to track what they do. Rather than worrying about how employees are spending their time, focus on outcomes. When dealing with remote team members, the outcomes you need to deliver as a team and your vision for the company must be very clear to everyone. We always “clarify and verify” the result we want to achieve and why we need to get there, both individually and as a team. We do this via online meeting software or a video call. It’s important to keep the communication channels open in order for every one of your team members to feel connected when they may be working hundreds or thousands of miles apart. The team is the driving force of the company, and keeping spirits high, focus strong and immediate goals clear will create more success for your company in the short and long terms.