Published on October 13th, 2021 | by Bibhuranjan

Discover The 5 Best Tools For Efficient Management Of Remote Teams In 2021

As you read this, you’re likely working from the comfort of your home for quite some time now. Covid-19 has changed the way businesses used to look at Work From Home.

What was considered as a stop-gap working style a few years ago is now implemented full-time by a large number of organizations across the globe. We can say that it was only after the outbreak of the dreaded pandemic of Covid-19 that companies had to adapt this working style.

64% of organizations say that the shift to virtual teamwork will likely be a permanent one because of COVID-19. (Meluso et al., 2020). Now that it’s likely that companies will continue with remote work for a long time to come, it’s time for project managers to change their team management strategies.

There’s a big difference in how you handle and manage in-office teams and widely dispersed virtual teams. You don’t get to meet your team members daily, no more team meetings and in-person discussions. No more of those clear non-verbal clues can give a strong indication to project managers about the way their team members are feeling.

When it comes to good management of remote teams, many project managers are still struggling to get their act right. They feel they do not have good control over their remote teams and do not have a clear picture of who’s working on what, what is the status of tasks and projects, etc.

Are you in the same seat too?

Do you rely just on video conferencing tools like Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, etc. for updates from your remote team members?

If your answer to the aforementioned questions is affirmative then you should waste little time in investing in an efficient tool that can give you ultimate control over projects and teams.

How to choose the best employee management system and team collaboration software because there are too many of them, with each tool claiming itself to be the best. It’s so confusing and overwhelming.

We know that many of you are thinking the same. Choosing an ideal remote employees management system is not easy. So, we took it upon ourselves to perform extensive research and pick some of the best tools that are equipped with advanced features to help you align your project goals and remote teams seamlessly.

So, let’s dig deeper and discover these tools right now.

1. ProofHub

ProofHub is a top-rated team collaboration and project management software that is used and preferred by more than 85,000 teams and businesses worldwide. One of the main reasons why ProofHub ranks among top-rated SaaS applications today is the wide range of powerful features offered under one roof. Often, project managers have to switch between multiple tools, which consumes a lot of time besides costing extra money. Also, ProofHub offers fixed pricing plans which makes it a pocket-friendly option for small teams and businesses with a limited budget.

Main Features Include:

Task management
Online proofing
Custom fields
Timesheets
Gantt charts
Kanban boards
Group Chat
Online Discussions
Stickies and Bookmarks
Scheduling Calendar

Pricing: The Ultimate Control plan is priced at $89/month, billed annually.

2. When I Work

When I Work is a useful employee scheduling and time tracking software that can be used by employees on go through mobile apps. The tool helps project managers in improving communication and collaboration, which further helps to eliminate excuses, improve accountability among your remote team members, track time and attendance, and increase productivity. When I Work is incredibly easy to use and fast to set up, which allows remote employees and managers to use the app quickly. You can set up your remote team members’ schedule within minutes, so everyone knows what to work on when.

Main Features Include:

Employee scheduling
Time and attendance
Shift planning
Team messaging
Reports
Notifications
Online access
Payroll

Pricing: The Small Business plan for up to 100 employees is priced at $2 per user. The Enterprise plan’s pricing is available on quote.

3. 10to8

Remote working means that you can only rely on virtual meetings to exchange crucial information and share feedback. For this, you would need an efficient meeting scheduling software like 10to8 that helps distributed remote teams sync up, schedule, and organize meetings, like daily stand-ups, cross-department meetings, virtual coffees, etc. Using 10to8, you can set up your online booking calendar and start taking virtual appointments quickly with native Zoom Video Conferencing integration. Project managers can engage with remote team members and clients regularly and build meaningful relationships while working remotely.

Main Features Include:

Schedule video appointments
Powerful integrations for online businesses
Video appointments
Staff coordination
Calendar sync
Reporting
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Pricing: A Free Forever plan is offered for small businesses. The Basic plan is priced at $9.6 per month.

4. TeamWave

TeamWave is a powerful, straightforward, easy to use, and super affordable Work Management Software. You can manage your sales, projects, teams, clients and marketing – everything in one single place. With TeamWave you can streamline workflows, get things done faster and scale your business with confidence.

Top TeamWave Features:

Sales Management: Visual Sales Pipeline, List View, Sales Reports and Forecasting, Email Integration, Activities and Tasks, Setup and Track Sales Goals,Custom roles
Contact Management: Track history, Tag and sort contacts, Create custom fields, Share contacts with the team
Project Management: Task management, Estimate and Track time of projects, Use Project templates, Organize files in one place, Share notes and ideas, Collaborate with clients, Create project milestones
HR Management: Time-Off Management, Automatic Check-ins, Custom Roles, Noticeboard to share workspace stories

TeamWave Pricing: TeamWave has a 14-day Free trial period. All plans include all features and unlimited users. Paid plan starts at US$ 39 per month for unlimited users.

5. Connecteam

Connecteam is an all-in-one employee management solution that makes it easy for project managers and business owners to communicate, manage, and train remote employees without any hassle. Connecteam offers a wide range of communication features to keep all your remote team members on the same page, improve engagement, improve transparency, give and receive feedback, and more. You can easily share workflows, assign jobs, and track their progress. You get to do all of this in a simple, integrated platform that all your remote team members can use with ease due to its minimal learning curve.

Main Features Include:

Time management
Digital forms and checklist
Internal communication
Employee training
Payroll Management
Repeatable workflows
File, Image, Video sharing
Payroll management
Secure communications

Pricing: A Free Forever plan for up to 50 users. The Basic plan is priced at $39/month for the first 50 users.

Summing It Up

A large number of companies are preparing themselves for a long haul of remote work. Therefore, the onus is on such businesses to leverage technology to make sure that their remote employees do not face issues on coordination, collaboration, and communication. We can say that a strong remote team management tool acts as a vital link between remote teams, project managers, and clients.

The aforementioned five tools are the best you can use today to keep your remote teams and clients on the same page. Using one or more of these tools will make sure that your remote team members can collaborate anytime, from anywhere, without experiencing a communication failure.

Cover Image by Freepix

Tags: remote teams, remote working, team collaboration software, team management

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.