Top 8 Tools to Keep a Remote Team Going
Having a remote team is easy. All you need is a business or organization and to employ people in a variety of places. However, having a successful remote team takes a lot of skill. Here at Gadget Flow, we’re used to the distance, both in time and space. However, without some trusty tools, we’re not quite sure how it would all work. Check out our list of the top 8 tools to keep a remote team going.
Slack
Slack is a messaging app that allows us to keep in touch at any time. It’s where we chat, share documents, video call and have fun! Conveniently, each Slack profile shows the local time of our team members. This is vital for finding out where in the world everyone is located. We also use Slack to receive important notifications such as new submissions, incoming calls & chats, system bugs, and so much more. It’s imperative to our workflow for keeping everyone informed.
Help Scout
Help Scout allows you to interact with your customers via email. You can add tags, notes, and even tag your teammates in a note. In addition, you can create your own inbox as well as add multiple members to the same inbox. This is the main tool we are using to communicate with existing customers at Gadget Flow. We are also using Help Scout as our internal Knowledge Base so our team to stay updated with the latest updates.
Intercom
If you need an instant messaging app to add to your website, Intercom is a great one! You can create automated messages to welcome your visitors or offer them help. Users can also find their previous conversation each time they visit the website. At Gadget Flow, we are mainly using Intercom for leads. While everyone is free to get in touch with us at any time, Intercom allows us to offer instant help to anyone visiting our submission page.
Dialpad
It may be costly to call or receive calls when you are working remotely from different countries. That’s where Dialpad comes in. Each team member has a personal US number to take and receive calls. Additionally, you can add multiple team members to the main line to make sure that there is always someone available to pick up the phone.
Podio
With so many actions happening at once, Podio is a must-have for our tasks management. It can be used to create and share tasks with anyone on your team. If multiples members need to work on the same task, you can easily comment and tag your teammate to update them seamlessly and instantly. We use Podio in order to organize and keep track of the promotional activities that need to be completed for each of our customers.
Trello
This is a multi-purpose tool. You can use Trello as for scheduling, tasks management, knowledge base, categorization, and more. At the moment, Gadget Flow is using Trello to organize and schedule blog posts, preparing the agenda for meetings, and more.
Google Drive
Most remote companies need a storage app that every team member can access and share from anywhere. We were previously using Dropbox and have since switched to Google Drive to archive meeting notes, invoices, internal documents, and team schedules.
Buffer
The Buffer app perfectly understands the needs of a remote company as it’s a successful remote company itself. Handling your social media, Buffer helps you to schedule your posts and analyze their performance. We are also using the reply app to interact with comments and messages coming from our various and busy social media channels.
As you can see, each of these apps and tools has a specialization for our brand. Although they may not all work together, they do create a system of record that is totally scalable. Of course, even with all the right tools in place, keeping a remote team working efficiently takes time and practice. Check out our blog for more tips, tricks, and insights about working remotely.
