How to keep your people productive with remote working tools

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to adopt remote working practices. While some may have been prepared for working outside of the office, the new policies have left many companies struggling to adapt to this new, disparate way of working. 

To help you minimise disruption, we've highlighted some key ways your business can make use of remote working tools, so you can adapt quickly and remain productive during this difficult time.

Communicate consistently

When physical face-to-face communication is impossible, it's important to keep in regular contact with your employees. The humble email will always be a mainstay for formal messaging and is a great way to convey large amounts of information and attachments in one go.

You should also aim to host regular calls with your employees. VoIP phones make calling over the internet a breeze. Aside from being useful for a general chin-wag, calls can help you easily delegate work, answer potential questions, and help your teams to easily collaborate. 

For everyday communication, an SMS messaging app also works just as well. You can quickly collaborate on projects, share information, or just have a general catch-up with your staff with ease. It's a fast, informal way to check-in with employees in real-time, and helps teams to feel more connected while they're spread apart. 

Unified communications are key when you're working remotely, so make good use of all the helpful tools at your disposal.

Better engage with your employees

Planning projects, hosting client meetings, and sharing information with your staff are all essential parts of running a business. The same is still true when you're working remotely. 

Web conferencing tools make hosting virtual meetings a breeze. With voice and video functionality, you can connect with your employees and clients at the click of a button. This is a great way to keep in touch and ensure you can still plan, execute, and deliver the same great service when it's needed most. 

Need to share something quickly? Screen sharing tools let you display documents, files, or pages with ease. This can help boost productivity as you'll no longer need to wait around until everyone has the relevant file. It's quick and easy, so your team can keep on working without missing a beat.

Keep track of your operations

When you're isolated from the rest of your team, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Without being sat in the office, you might think it's impossible to keep track of all incoming communications. Thankfully, with the right tools, you can. 

With a modern cloud management platform, you can monitor all of your business communications from the comfort of your own home or wherever you choose to work. It can even let you monitor incoming and outgoing calls, so your team can access data and tools with ease, and you can all keep communicating safely and securely.

Act fast and minimise disruption

The COVID crisis has undoubtedly caught many businesses off guard. Many won't have the necessary tools needed for a swift transition to remote working. But it isn't too late. 

Businesses should prioritise solutions that host all the key remote working tools they need to stay productive. The quicker you set up your tools, the quicker you return to business as usual. 

Act now and keep your people productive for the foreseeable future.