Working In A Coronavirus World: Tools For Virtual Team To Stay Connected And Productive

Staying connected to work is a big challenge for remote teams, especially in the current scenario where everyone is panic-stricken due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Distractions while working at home, poor time management and delay in communication are some of the biggest challenges that remote teams have to face. 

Technology does provide us with a solution to all the problems that we all are facing while working remotely. But selecting the right set of tools to make sure that your team is connected and working productively is where the struggle begins, especially when there are countless options available in the market. 

To help you make this choice, we have compiled a list of some pretty awesome tools that you can start using. So, let’s get started:

For project management

1. ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management software with amazing task management and team collaboration features. It brings your remote teams, tasks, projects, and communication under one roof. The easy-to-use interface of the software makes onboarding easy. 

To simplify task management for remote teams, it lets you add tasks with deadlines, create custom workflows, and define custom roles for team members. It offers a built-in chat app, a dedicated space for real-time discussions to streamline your collaboration efforts,

Pricing: Free trial with the paid pricing starting at $49 per month. Ultimate Control Plan available at $89 per month with unlimited users.

2. ProjectManager

ProjectManager.com is a project management web app that features a comprehensive set of project planning tools, suitable for teams and projects of all sizes and difficulty levels. 

The software includes Gantt charts, Kanban boards, dashboards, time tracking software, scheduling tools, resource management, and more. Everything is stored in the cloud, so remote teams will have no trouble collaborating.

Pricing: Basic plans start at $15 a user/mo (with a minimum of 5 users)

3. Asana

Created by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Asana is another popular option for project management when working remotely. The software uses a simple approach to task management with its to-do lists, however, it also offers boards if you want to adopt an agile approach. 

You can create projects, add tasks and assign them to team members and track project progress. You can even create a timeline to keep your projects moving on the track. It also lets you carry out the project and team conversations without any distractions.

Pricing: The basic plan is free for up to 15 users, and the paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month.

4. Trello 

Trello is a card-based project management tool used by remote teams all around the world. It uses Kanban boards to give a visual approach to project management, which makes it a highly flexible option.

You can create boards for projects and make lists for various stages in the projects. As teams start to work on their tasks, they can move tasks from one stage to the other until they reach their completion, so tracking their progress becomes effortlessly easy. 

Pricing: Trello is available for free with limited features, while the paid pricing plan starts at $9.99 per user per month. 

For team communication

5. Skype

If you are looking for a free option to communicate with your remote team members, then you need to try Skype. This communication app by Microsoft that lets you make free audio and video calls with your team members. You can even make calls to mobile phones using Skype. 

It lets you record your calls and even share screens for easy collaboration. You have the option of live subtitles during video calls. Skype is completely secure for communications thanks to the industry standard end-to-end encryption.

Pricing: available for free download on all the platforms be it Windows, OSX, iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox or in your browser. Paid plans available for mobile calling options. 

6. Slack 

Slack is one of the popular team communication apps that lets you make voice and video calls to bring all your remote team communications together and continue to work without any barriers.

It lets you create channels to keep individual topics from getting jumbled up. You can even create shared channels to collaborate with different team members. Slack integrates with several apps like Google Drive, Office 365 and more.

Pricing: Free basic plan with one-to-one calling. Paid pricing starting at $2.67 per user per month.

7. Chanty

Chanty is a team communication and collaboration app that makes it easy to work with your remote or in-house teams. Exchange chat or voice messages and have audio and video calls with your team. Manage tasks from a single place - you can turn messages into tasks and assign them to your team members, all within the Chanty app.

Boost your productivity by connecting Chanty with some of the many integrations, including G Suite, Dropbox, Asana, Trello, Github, Zapier, and many others.

Pricing: free plan with unlimited messages and chat history; paid plans start at $3 per person per month.

For cloud storage 

8. Box

Box is a cloud storage app that lets you store all types of files and safely access them from anywhere. It lets you collaborate with remote team members in real-time using shared links.

It comes with an integrated file view option that lets you instantly view files from your browser. You can also use the integrated file view option for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, and Flash video content. 

Pricing: Free Personal plan with 10 GB storage and Upload limit of 250 MB. Business Plans with more storage and features starting at $4.75 per user per month. 

9. Google Drive

With Google Drive, you can keep all your important files, documents, images and videos safely in the cloud. You can organize your files in folders to keep things from getting messy.

It lets you share files and folders with your team members and collaborate easily without having to use emails. Since everything is stored in the cloud, so you can access it by simply logging in to your Google Account.

Pricing: Free personal plan with 15 GB of cloud storage. Paid Business plans starting at $8 per user per month.

Time Management 

10. Teamwork

A lot more than just a time tracking app, Teamwork lets you keep track of time spent on tasks so that you can stay on schedule and complete your tasks and projects on time. It also offers several advanced task management and collaboration features.

You can create tasks, communicate with team members, log time, create invoices, and do a lot more using this easy time tracking app.

Pricing: Teamwork is free for up to 5 users, and their paid pricing starts at $9 per user per month.

11. Harvest

Harvest is another popular app that remote teams love to use for time tracking. With an easy-to-use start and pause the timers, it lets you record time data into visual timesheets that you can use for reporting and invoicing.

Harvest easily incorporates into any team’s workflow as it offers integration with popular apps that teams already use.

Pricing: The basic version is free, whereas the paid version is available at $12 per user per month.

Featured Image by jcomp on Freepik