Companies who never thought they would not work in a traditional office setting transitioned to remote work overnight due to the global health crisis. Today, many of those same companies have made the decision to stay remote full-time. Thanks to technology and the top productivity apps, the transition has been possible for industries around the world. Zoom calls are now a common practice, and companies beyond the tech industry are utilizing productivity tools to stay organized and on track with workflow.
Organizing workflow, assignments, tasks, and company communications are very important for remote business success. Traditional methods of communication such as writing a task list and delegating it throughout the office are dead. Instead, new technologies and essential apps have transformed workflow.
If your company is not using a productivity tool or any of these essential apps, it is recommended to implement it sooner than later. If your company is already using a productivity remote work app and you are unhappy with it, shop around because there are so many new options to consider. Also note, many offer integrations to help with moving over data.
Here are the top productivity apps for remote work in 2021:
Monday is one of our best-rated top productivity apps because it is affordable for all business sizes and has great templates that can apply to multiple industries and even students. It offers easy integrations with many of the tools you already use such as Google Drive and Slack, so it can help get remote workers more productive. Monday has automation for reminders, updates, or other triggers you can set. Small businesses or freelancers can actually afford this software at seats costing $9/month. The ready-to-use templates can be applied for freelancers, project management, construction projects, real estate, and even schoolwork organization. It has various view options, so if you are a task list person or a flow chart person, you can utilize this however you choose. For large organizations, it helps track workflow and deadlines for projects with multiple people involved. This is easily one of the best apps for remote workers.
Basecamp has been around longer than many of the newer options, but its functionality is still preferred by many organizations that favor simplicity. Unlike its competitor, Basecamp’s functions do not include Gantt Charts or KanBans. It is more of a folder and text design, which some prefer. Basecamp advertises itself as a collaboration tool, rather than productivity, but can still help with remote work productivity if used in the right way. It has been a popular choice for cloud-based teamwork and easily lets you set assignments and dates for different team members. It has great messaging internally and can be used as the main online workspace for your entire company organization. It is $999 per year with unlimited projects and members, making it a great choice for large companies with multiple clients, so it deserves a spot on this list of the top productivity apps.
Asana has been considered the leader as a productivity tool for a while and has been making remote workers more productive for years. It offers great visual components and has relatively easy functionality. Asana can be applied to many industries but is especially favored by those with visual elements like marketing. Images and other visual assets can be uploaded directly into tasks making it easy for group projects. It organizes team workflow and allows recurring tasks and deadlines. It allows for various views from KanBan sticky notes to task lists organized by your choice. The starting plan is $10.99/month per seat making it affordable for both large and small companies.
Trello is a great tool for small businesses or companies just starting out because they have a free option that allows for up to 10 boards. Trello is a sticky note-style productivity tool that is attractive for those who like to see all their projects laid out in front of them, and is one of the top productivity apps. Their board-style organization is good for visual the more visual-type of person. Much like Asana, it can set recurring tasks and allows for teams to communicate faster and achieve more. Trello is a great alternative if Asana’s seat pricing is too much for your organization and is a great remote work app.
Teamwork is a more expensive option, but they promote themselves as 5 tools and are one of the best apps for remote works. There is a free-forever option for up to 5 users, but the most popular paid plan is $18/month per seat and it unlocks all the features. Teamwork’s goal is to be the all-in-one software choice to organize group work. Teamwork has project management, CRM, a desk tool to organize shared email accounts, a chat tool, and intuitive content collaboration. If your business wants to organize its sales contact and customer support all inside one program, then teamwork is a great choice.
When choosing your productivity tool for your company, you will want to consider what your needs are and what your workflow looks like. Otherwise, remote work productivity might not change much. There are so many options out there even beyond these top 5 mentioned. The key to using software like this is to get all your team members on board. It is recommended to host training sessions and give them videos and other tools so they can efficiently utilize the features provided.
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