Due to the sudden rise in remote work, virtual technologies and remote work tools are now the top priorities for most business leaders. From the right messaging app to file sharing and centralized document storage, there is a lot to consider when it comes to empowering remote teams.
For companies, that means, there is a need to adapt and modify the existing elements of their remote work tools to better fit the needs and challenges of remote employees. Most of all, remote employees need a central space where they can communicate, collaborate, and interact with their colleagues effectively.
Almost every organization has an existing stack of digital tools that they use to support their in-office workforce. But just because these tools worked perfectly for office employees does not mean they will help support your remote employees in the same way too.
Before even considering a move to remote work, organizations need to acknowledge the fact that remote employees have very different struggles, expectations, and needs, as compared to their in-office counterparts.
Therefore, when transitioning to remote work, it’s important to ask some important questions about your current tech stack:
Your tech stack may have digital tools in it that are no longer useful for remote work. Still keeping them in your tech stack will only end up dragging down your remote employees.
Moving to remote work will also change the way you use some of the tools in your stack. For instance, you may only be using a Meeting tool to schedule and remind everyone of the weekly meetings and ensure they come to the meeting room on time. But when you go remote, you would essentially be using the tool to both schedule and organize virtual meetings.
The next step is to identify where and how your existing tech stack will fall short for remote employees. For instance, you might have been using an instant messaging tool just to document all the team updates and not necessarily for everyday interactions. But moving to remote work would mean your usage of the tool will likely increase and you will need more features from your messaging tool to accommodate all the communication needs of the remote team.
If there are any gaps in your requirement in your current tech stack that cannot be resolved through the existing tools, you will have to introduce new tools in order to match those requirements.
When it comes to remote work management, you need a tool that can help improve transparency within the team and ensure every team member can track the progress of the projects and tasks that they are involved in. Just because your team is decentralized doesn’t mean that your projects have to be as well.
Ideally, the project management tool should have features of project planning, scheduling, reporting, documentation, collaboration, and resource management.
Messaging tools can replace the usual emails, and make communication less formal and instant for remote teams. They are also great for quick discussions between colleagues to clarify any doubts, without the need to get on a call. Apart from one-on-one chats, your messaging tool should also have other features like group chats, communication channels for the team, and file sharing.
Video conferencing is the main way that most remote teams collaborate and conduct meetings. The ideal video conferencing tool should support even your biggest of remote teams, allow you to quickly schedule and start meetings, give the option to record important calls, and let you hold web seminars for the entire organization.
Data storage is important for all companies and it becomes especially important for companies with a large number of remote employees who can’t just walk up to their colleague’s desk because they need a certain file. Storing your company data on the cloud means it can be accessed securely from anywhere and from any device, as long as you have an internet connection and have permission to access the data.
When it comes to cloud storage tools, you want to go for something that is reliable, secure, affordable, and follows all the necessary industry standards.
Picking out separate tools for your company’s tech stack may seem like a good idea if you have a small number of employees or you are just starting out with remote work. But as your company grows in size, you will eventually need more tools to support your workforce and eventually end up with digital tools on your tech stack that just don’t integrate well with each other.
Instead, you can introduce a digital workplace for your organization to centralize all of the work. A digital workplace gives you access to all the digital tools you need to streamline projects, processes, cases, tasks, communication, and collaboration. Since a digital workplace platform can be completely customized according to your company’s workflows, it simplifies your tech stack by replacing dozens of separate tools with a unified platform and in turn makes remote work more effective.
It can be difficult to choose the right tech stack for your business, especially when you are new to remote work and you aren’t sure what challenges will follow. That is why you should focus on creating a tech stack that aligns with your business goals and requirements.
It’s also important to continuously take feedback from your employees in order to improve and refine your tech stack.
Author Bio: Chintan Jain is the Associate Director of Product Marketing at Kissflow. He is a digital marketing practitioner with deep experience in working with Web Solutions. Chintan writes extensively on topics like digital marketing, work management, and the digital workplace on various business and technology platforms.
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