Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon among other organisations are all asking their employees to work from home owing to rise in cases of Coronavirus globally. The move to let employees work from home is aimed at saving employees from a potential infection especially in the cases where employees have to coordinate with one another extensively.
Here are some of the best collaboration software tools for productive teams that will make 'work from home' easier
Messenger: Flock
While we're always on the lookout for improved tools and smarter software, our core messenger platform is at the core of everything we do.
Aside from being one of the most cost-effective business collaboration tools in the market, it's also one of the most comprehensive. It does everything we need it to do, but so much more. Flock is an all-in-one solution tool that takes care of your company's messaging, videoconferencing and screen sharing, file sharing, and productivity needs. It also helps team leaders keep a track of their team's performance through Flock's Shared to-dos feature where employees can share their to-dos and update them in real-time. Similar tools that have been around for much longer come with a bulky premium price tag. Sure, they may look shinier out of the box, but you'll have to pay for all the bells and whistles.
The thing with Flock is that it has all the necessary features we need built-in for free, and none of the "stuff" we don't—and that's the mark of a beautiful working relationship.
Video conferencing: Zoom
When I'm not Flocking, I Zoom it.
Zoom's interface is simple and has direct screen sharing abilities that other brands make you pay for. It's also comparatively user-friendly than Google Hangouts or Meetings or whatever Google is calling it these days.
Plus, Zoom lets you record your team meetings and screen-sharing sessions, another important feature that flies under the radar.
File sharing: Google Drive
Dropbox is amazing, but Google Drive is better.
This especially is true if you're a faithful Microsoft Office user because of its capacity to readily convert Word docs and Excel sheets. Additionally, sharing files securely across multiple platforms is now a must-have integration, and Google Drive can be deployed just about everywhere, including Flock.
Full-disclosure: Mastering access to file-sharing permissions remains a work-in-progress.
Task management: Asana
I absolutely love everything about Asana. The boards, portfolios, sub-tasks, even the colors. But the feature I adore the best is the simple calendar view that brings it all together.
Asana lets you keep track of who's doing what and by when the task is expected to be complete. Delegate subtasks to colleagues on separate teams, assign them accomplish items and track every project update (including comments and links to shared files) in a simple calendar view.
Notes app: Evernote
Evernote has outdone themselves with an extremely easy-to-use digital notebook that actually doesn't look or feel like a typical Evernote product.
Evernote not only allows you to organize but also sort intuitively across multiple notepads while adding anecdotes and tagging to-dos, while the obligatory web clipper lets you easily attach pics, videos, and screengrabs to shared tasks and reminders.
It's also quite handy for creatives who want to get sketchy and bust out a stylus.
CRM: HubSpot
Growing businesses need an extremely robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution, and HubSpot is just that.
When it comes to one centralized portal for all of your data touchpoints and reporting combined, HubSpot makes the most feasible for businesses across. Having the facility to not only store, segment, and track pertinent sales and marketing data, but also maintain vital insight on customer and employee relationships, saves your teams heaps of time.
That's something you can't put a price tag on. Luckily, you don't have to because the HubSpot CRM is free for all businesses to use.
In conclusion, today's ultra-competitive business environment, cutting-edge collaboration tools are imperative for accelerating productivity and results. The key is finding the right software that works for you.
