Working from home is the go-to setup these days, offering flexibility to employees and increasing productivity. However, getting set up for a remote workplace will require a series of tools that all staff will need to use. Below, we’ve gathered together a series of tools to help you with collaboration, communication, and project management.
Communication
There are lots of useful communication tools for anyone working from home.
Microsoft Teams
Connecting with your team is important when working from home. Otherwise, you’ll feel isolated and won’t have a clue what you’re doing. Microsoft Teams makes an excellent choice for communication because it will integrate with most operating systems and has excellent features.
Slack
If you’d rather turn away from Teams, which can be fairly heavy-duty for some needs, you can use a tool like Slack. You can download the app on most devices as well as access the tool on the website. With Slack, which you can use on a free plan, you can send files, chat with your team, and much more. Further, you can integrate Slack with thousands of third-party apps for greater collaboration.
Project Management
The best project management tools include:
Trello
Trello is an excellent tool for organizing work in a simplistic format. When setting up tasks, you will need to create cards, which can be arranged with different steps for each stage of a project. If you need to make notes, you can drag through the steps to find the card you need. This tool can be used for free, but it likely won’t be good enough for a full business to use.
Monday
Monday allows you to organize tasks on boards, which makes your working schedule easy to see. Through Monday, you can communicate with colleagues and filter out information not relevant to you. Further, external clients can be invited to track the progress of certain projects.
Asana
Asana is an easy-to-use project management tool that makes organizing schedules a breeze. For collaboration, colleagues can communicate and exchange ideas while they work, which is great for boosting productivity. Further, there are different ways to track schedules including timelines and Kanban Boards.
Creativity
Creativity tools are important too. Here are some of the best:
Canva
If work involves content design in any way, Canva is the tool for you. There’s no need to download anything and it can be used for free, but many features and elements will be unavailable. If you’re using Slack, you can integrate Canva to make collaboration easy. When working on designs, you will need the highest quality specification in a PC or laptop, which is why we recommend using quality graphics cards – you can explore Intel Arc Graphics at Lenovo.
Procreate
When you need to draw, Procreate is a great tool available on the Apple iPad. You can create digital masterpieces through this software, and the only limitation is your own ability and imagination. If you need help using this tool, you should read this article for a thorough guide.
Working from home is a fantastic business setup, but you’ll need tools to get work done. Many online tools are boasted to be the best, but those listed above are the best for creativity, communication, collaboration, and organization.
