12 Essential Tools for Remote Workers in 2023

Remote work is no longer a mere trend – it has transformed into a practical and advantageous solution for both employers and employees alike. Companies can save on overhead costs and tap into a larger talent pool, while employees experience a boost in morale, productivity, and job satisfaction. To explore this dynamic working model at your organisation, reach out to the Works team, and we’ll guide you with pleasure to set it up.

However, it’s important to acknowledge that remote work isn’t solely advantageous – there are some challenges that must be addressed, particularly in maintaining effective communication.

For those who work remotely, several challenges must be faced when it comes to managing resources, ensuring that the latest designs and documents are available, communicating with customers regularly, and avoiding time zone conflicts. Fortunately, cloud-based services have provided an effective solution to these issues, with simple learning curves and minimal effort required. If you’re seeking resources to build a successful remote team, you’ll find some valuable information here. Don’t forget to explore the equipment that can help you develop a strong and effective remote team.

Slack (Team Communication)

Slack is a web-based platform that facilitates group communication and file sharing among employees. You can send messages to specific team members or create distinct ‘channels’ that function as mini-groups to keep select members informed. To keep everyone informed of the same information, there’s a pre-made ‘general’ channel that includes all team members by default. If you don’t anticipate the need to recall previous conversations and messages in the future, the free account should suffice.

Pricing: Premium plans start at $6.67 per user per month.

ZipBoard (Feedback and Issue Tracking System for Design)

ZipBoard is a comprehensive visual feedback solution that enables the reviewing and commenting on websites, HTML bundles, images, PDFs, and other eLearning materials. Upload files to be inspected and commented on by clients, team members, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with a unique URL. Annotate and comment on any detected issues during the review, and manage and respond to feedback in real-time. In addition to recording user feedback remarks, the tool also captures nonspecific data such as the user’s browser, operating system, and screen resolution, which assists in providing further clarity on any issues raised.

Pricing: Paid plans begin at $29 per month.

Google Drive (Resource Storage and Sharing)

Google Drive is an exceptional cloud-based storage and backup solution for your files, offering 15 GB of free storage space for various content, including photos, music, videos, and documents. This service ensures that all changes to documents are stored and mirrored in real-time, making it easy to revert to an earlier version if necessary. If your team is remote, this is arguably the most effective file-sharing platform available.

Pricing: Plans with additional features start at $1.99 per month.

Trello (Kanban-Based Project Management Tool)

Trello is an excellent tool for managing multiple projects as it enables you to create separate boards that can contain multiple lists. The Kanban-style display makes it easy to move items between lists by simply dragging and dropping. Additionally, each card can be assigned, prioritised and labelled, facilitating easy access to the relevant information. You also have the option of keeping your board private or making it public.

Pricing: Paid plans start at $9.99 per user per month.

GitHub (Code Management)

GitHub is a platform that allows users to securely store and manage their computer code. It ensures that all development work is not wasted, as any team member can commit and push new code that can be pulled, merged and implemented by the rest of the team. By utilizing GitHub, teams can prevent potential issues in the future while working on maintaining the most up-to-date version of their code.

Pricing: Team paid plans start at $9 per user per month.

All Time Zones (Time Zone Management)

Our system enables accurate referencing of current times for all time zones, allowing you to easily find a suitable time for contacting individuals across the globe. This valuable tool is designed to save you time and provides a user-friendly interface.

Pricing: Free of charge.

Zoom (Video Conferencing Platform)

Zoom is a versatile online meeting platform that enables businesses to conduct video conferences, share files, exchange messages, collaborate on whiteboards and co-annotate with customers and employees from any location. It is easy to set up, available on mobile devices and doesn’t require a lot of bandwidth. The free plan is suitable for shorter meetings, but anything exceeding 40 minutes will require an upgrade.

Pricing: Paid plans start at $14.99 per host per month.

Time Doctor (Remote Team Management)

Time Doctor is a highly beneficial tool for managers overseeing remote teams, providing an effective method of monitoring employee productivity. This system enables both the worker and the business to have confidence that tasks are completed promptly and to the required specifications. Along with tracking the amount of time spent on individual tasks, Time Doctor permits screenshot capture at regular intervals and offers detailed analysis and reporting. Additionally, its compatibility with multiple platforms and integration with a wide range of third-party applications further improved the program’s usability and convenience.

Paid plan pricing starts at $9.99 per user per month.

Dashlane (Password Management Tool)

Dashlane is the ideal solution for teams working remotely to securely store, share and manage passwords across all of their devices. Dashlane gives you complete control over who has access and the level of access they have. It can also generate secure passwords and help you keep track of and distribute them securely. Its additional features include auto-login for team members, separate spaces for personal and professional passwords, and mobile and web applications, making it a popular choice for distributed teams.

Pricing: Premium plans are available starting at just $3.33 per month.

Snagit (Screen Recording Software)

The screen recording feature of Snagit is an incredibly beneficial tool for teams working remotely from different locations. When members are situated in different time zones, arranging a meeting or conference call can be challenging. Snagit makes it easy to capture any part of the screen, edit the relevant portions, and share them with specific team members or the entire group. This promotes clear communication, even when the team members cannot be physically present in the same location.

Pricing: A single license can be purchased for $49.95.

Intercom (Customer Engagement Management)

In any business, customers are of paramount importance, and inadequate handling of their questions and concerns can lead to significant issues. This is especially true for remote teams, where managing customer queries can be challenging. Fortunately, Intercom provides a simple solution for managing customer interactions. Intercom’s platform enables you to receive real-time customer questions, respond to them, assign tasks, and hold discussions. It also allows you to capture leads, convert customers and facilitate onboarding. In summary, Intercom is the ultimate tool for managing customer relationships.

Pricing: In addition to the all-inclusive $155/month, you have the option to pay for specific features.

Invision (Design Prototyping Tool)

Implementing Invision, a potent design prototyping tool, is immensely beneficial in guaranteeing that every team member has a shared understanding of the project. With this tool, remote teams can collaboratively create prototypes, providing feedback and suggestions on interface components and overall flow. This ensures that everyone is in agreement and well-informed.

Pricing: The pricing for the paid version begins at $15 per month.

Undoubtedly, appropriate resources can enable any well-coordinated remote team to reach their full potential. While this list serves as a starting point, there are several other options available. Finding the ideal software solution that meets your team’s requirements is a process that requires research, testing, and evaluation. It is expected that you will modify the list as per your own findings and experiences. Furthermore, you can always augment your arsenal with more resources. Now that you have the right tools, why not search for the ideal candidate to join your team? Connect with us and let us help you locate the perfect fit!

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