A modern remote team is dispersed around the globe and many organisations are absorbing benefits out of it. The better tools you use, the more you stay connected and it’s the use of seamless communication tools that builds or breaks a remote working team. Choosing tools wisely can surely build a strong network and keep you connected with your remote team for a long contract period.
Remote teams have already stay non tangible or physically isolated from the in-house team, so connecting them virtually over the web is necessary. Tools add an excellent value for your remote team and encourage them to cooperate in a timely manner.
Today, on behalf of my organisation, I will tell you some sharp features of 7 Tools we utilise:
1) Slack- For group communication Virtual Employee utilises Slack to keep communication in control among all the members of the remote team. Slack is not just a Fun messaging App. A lot of organisation has adhered to this Tool as its features are splendid enough to astound any remote working team.
Slack is a glue that binds the entire remote team on a single hub and keeps them connected throughout the day.
Another differentiated for this App, which makes it excellent over other simplified messaging tools is- Add-ons for integration of chat bots & other inter-connectivity sub-tools.
Other alternatives for Slack are- Hip Chat & Flow dock.
Here are some Applications you can integrate with Slack-
Sketchboard: It lets you pen down your conceptual ideas on a Virtual whiteboard.
Share Hero: Allows the team members to take share screenshots and collaborate to solve a problem mutually.
Leo Slackbot: Rewards the team members as per the efforts for motivation.
GitHub: To store & share code with the development team.
2) Zoom: Google Hangout & Skype used to be a magic for remote teams, but it does not stand out well when there was a need of Video Conferencing for more than 20 team members at once.
Zoom Application is awesome and lets you access each and every video conferencing through a specific URL and can be easily operated in Mobile devices with top quality Audio.
3) Trello: iVirtual Employee keeps remote teams trained to handle all the centralised and project management task on a single platform. It also provides you the power to visualise what other team members are working on and display priorities what stands next in the queue.
The difference in Time Zones has always a challenge for remote teams so deployment of a task management tool like Trello reduces the complexity of communication. A team member can leave a message or a note on the Trello card so that other Co- workers can take a follow-up and proceed with the work.
It automatically maintains the records of all the tasks related information such as images, screenshots, reports, notes, progress, specs, etc. with a centralised storing space.
4) In Vision: IVE shares all its UI/UX designs quickly with the team to conceptualise the components & take feedback. An essential tool for a remote design team to share proof of concepts & taking the task forward.
5) Grasshopper: An explicit tool, which can be used as a primary phone system. The grasshopper has kept even viable & reliable tool among the clients. Having an expert and a solid telephone framework is fundamental to any organisation yet particularly for appropriate remote teams or expert groups.
Anybody calling our toll free number is welcomed with an arrangement of choices to get them to the office they need, for example, deals or support. Everybody has their own augmentation and calls can be exchanged for each other from any place on the planet. Grasshopper's application permits our colleagues to make business related calls from our organisation's number, so their own phone numbers don't need to be utilised or shown on each call.
6) Base Camp: This tool is very reliable and easy to use project management tool. The features are enormous as it keeps the Virtual team in a connected environment. Works excellent when multiple remote staffs are engaged in a common activity from a different geographical location.
You can create an assignment and allow it accordingly to the team members in the communication channel. You can also create a communication area for special tasks, documents, reports, discussions, etc. The business owners can always keep a glance on the remote team members as, who is working on what?
Another effective feature allocates or sends an invitation to your virtual teams in order to collaborate on the other projects or activities to be considered ahead. It encourages an interactive and collaborative environment. As a Base camp owner, a client can keep an eye on the entire workflow.
7) Jira: A most simplified collaborative tool for the remote agile team involved in development, designing, testing, operations, etc. This tool is a trouble solver for software teams to plan, track the process and release an error free software. Here is how it works-
- Plan- Prepare or create strategies, task plan, user stories to distribute it among the virtual staffs.
- Track- Permits you to predefined priorities in a full context with complete surveillance
- Release- Compress and ship the software package with confidence
- Report- Increases productivity and team’s performance based on the visual data.
iVE along with all the 7 powerful tools is trying to cope up with all the issues that break the walls of communication between the in-house and offshore team.The Credibility of these collaborative tools has strengthened the foundation of remote working organisations.
I hope these tools will assist you a lot in making your remote team effort more productive, effective and close-knit.
Source: http://www.ivirtualemployee.com/blog/
