The 7 Best Tools for Working Remotely [Build Trust in Your Team]

If you’re not sure you can trust your teams who work remotely, you need to get transparency into what they’re doing and clarify accountability so you can trust them wholeheartedly. With the help of Ninety, home of the best tools for working remotely, people can use collaborative tools to build trust, communicate effectively, and work together harmoniously.

Still Not Sure about Working Remotely? Try These Tools

The pandemic sparked a need for remote work. Necessity being the mother of invention, leaders quickly learned that collaborative tools for working remotely are critical for preventing miscommunication and misalignment. They enable people to become more efficient with cloud-based technology. And now, these tools are quickly becoming the gold standard for working well together, communicating effectively, learning deeply, measuring real-time performance, and building trust in leaders and teams, regardless of location — all necessities baked into the success of reimagined workflows needed to work from anywhere.

This article delves into our seven favorite tools for working remotely and how they help leaders feel more confident that their remote teams are on the same page as every other team, working on outcomes that create value for the company.

Want to build your organization into a high-trust company? Use the Math of Trust to find out what’s working (and what's not).

1. Cloud-Based Business Operating Systems

Everyone in the company benefits from a Business Operating System (BOS) that uses cloud services to enable greater efficiency, productivity and accountability within the organization. For example, every one of Ninety’s tools is intuitive, making it easier for leaders to organize to-do lists, see what’s on the horizon or past due, solve issues faster and create opportunities.

A cloud-based BOS can streamline processes as well as integrate a company's Vision into priorities, tasks, and weekly data analysis. It’s also easy for leaders to provide feedback to remote workers through quarterly conversations and annual reviews.

Sign up for a free trial with access to all Ninety functions, features, and support to see the benefits of adopting a BOS today.

2. Meeting Scheduling Software

To feel confident about what your teams are doing, it’s important to meet with them regularly. They need an uninterrupted flow of information about your priorities and you need to make them accountable for the outcomes. Ninety's Meetings tool helps you add more structure to your team's work schedules by providing a proven structure for your weekly team meetings. 

Well-organized agendas focus on priorities that require further discussion with the team. You can quickly launch highly efficient meetings so team members can stay on task and on time, with one-click options for creating actions to identify opportunities and hold people accountable for solutions that create value.

3. Video Conferencing Platforms

Live video conferencing is one of the greatest communication tools for working remotely. Platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams are a great alternative to in-person meetings for teams working remotely: virtual face-to-face.

Seeing each other helps strengthen the kind of familiarity that’s hard to create through faceless communications like Slack. It also enables the precise real-time communication that’s vital for effective meetings.

4. Automation Tools

Automation tools like Ninety's Process documentation tool help automate office processes so your remote teams spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on things that create value. Everything is documented in cloud storage as well.

5. Project Management Tools

Project management tools like Asana and Monday help organize and track your remote teams’ projects and tasks efficiently, evaluate roadblocks much faster, and visualize improvements. The Org Chart in Ninety helps team members understand their roles and responsibilities and how their performance is measured so they can take control of their work time.

These tools can also help build confidence and trust by setting an example, creating goals, clarifying expectations, and giving people room to grow.

5. Collaboration Tools

Collaborative tools for working remotely such as Slack and other messaging apps allow leaders and teams to communicate asynchronously instead of scheduling time for a call whenever you have a question. You can stay connected with your teams no matter where (or when) you’re working.

6. Security Tools

Security tools make internet connectivity safe for leaders and their remote teams. Tools like password managers, multi-factor authentication, file and disk encryption, online backup, and virtual private networks (VPNs) enable the use of multiple and mobile devices while protecting company data.

7. Tools to Help Focus

Part of working remotely means each team member is responsible for their own workflow and how they come up with ideas and solutions that create value for their companies. You can help them learn how to brainstorm remotely with tools that help with focus. 

Online whiteboards like Stormboard, MURAL, Miro, and Conceptboard mimic an in-person whiteboarding session while mind-mapping tools like Coggle, Mindly, and MindMeister help with virtual collaborative brainstorming, generating new ideas and connecting related ones. Focus apps like Freedom, Serene, and Cold Turkey Blocker help remote team members block distractions so they can focus better. If team members want to stay focused on their writing, OmmWriter, Byword, or Scrivener can help.

Embrace the Work-from-Anywhere Life

The best tools for working remotely that we've mentioned can help your company create a work-from-anywhere world in the cloud that will help leaders feel more confident in their remote teams and team members feel more supported as they work from anywhere.

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