Workplace management is hard enough as it is in person. You attend to people, you oversee projects, you contact clients, you manage finances – this fact was true then and remains true now, perhaps made even more complex with the advent of digital advancements that have slowly become integral to our working lives. COVID-19 hasn’t been kind either, because truly, any and all office problems have been made a wee bit worse by the fact that we now have to live in and adjust to an arrangement largely unfamiliar to many in the labour force: Remote work.
Thankfully, these digital advancements include workplace management tools that help make online collaboration and remote project management a little less unbearable for everyone in the team. There are a lot of apps for you out there, so here are a couple of things to keep in mind when choosing the platform that would work best for you.
Do a headcount: How big are your teams?
While it would certainly be on a case-to-case basis, smaller teams and companies usually don’t need much by way of management tools which means you can strike out larger enterprise-level apps from your list. Aside from these apps being a lot more expensive, small-scale companies are more likely to underutilise them, and that’s just money down the drain.
(Make no mistake: Paying for your platform usually means paying for a lot of features and conveniences you may not easily find in other no-cost software, but before you get there, it’s probably great to try out some of the free ones before shelling out some cash. Platforms like Discord and Telegram are great starting points!)
Bigger companies, on the other hand, need platforms that cater to a larger user base, with the capacity to handle volumes upon volumes of data that teams will be constantly sending each other. Ideally this means platforms that let you add as many users as you possible and supports sending media and file attachments, and has excellent integration with any other apps and tools your team uses for every day operations.
Pro-tip: the smaller your team is, the better it would be to also consider doing an audit of your existing communication lines. Try to look for the kinks and pain points that stall project developments, and see if there’s anything else you could do to smoothen out your processes. It’s very much like brushing hair: You need to sort those knots out first!
Map out how your teams work
A centralised platform does wonders for increasing remote workplace efficiency and fixing communication woes – so figure out what kinds of teams are in your company. Some of them will be amazing at adapting to remote work, while others… Decidedly less so. Ask them about their biggest remote work concerns. Check out any apps or programs they’re already using, how long they’ve been using it for, and why they chose it. Once you get a general idea of your company’s needs, you can start mapping out features from there.
Look for a platform that meets everyone’s needs as much as possible. The goal is one that functions as a virtual headquarters for everyone in your company. Remote work is new territory, which means you’ll need the transition to be as quick and painless as possible.
The catch: You will need to be wise about it, because it’s very likely that you’ll have to compromise.
Door locks versus steel vaults: Assess your privacy and security needs
If it were as simple as an email replacement to speed up normal memos and bring up urgent issues ASAP, basic chat platforms are anyone’s best bet – after all, plenty of companies out there make do with simpler chat apps that serve their needs amply. But alas, such is not the case for remote work.
Especially since all of the ensuing communications are going to take place in virtual spaces, you have to ensure that your correspondences are safe from prying digital eyes. In such cases as these, looking into a prospective platform’s security and privacy features become top priority. Some of the boxes that you’ll probably want checked: End-to-end encryption, data ownership, and security compliance certificates. Enterprise collaboration tools normally already come with a whole host of safety and privacy features, but you’ll find a few rare gems that do the job just as well for less (or none at all).
Integration Options
Most platforms already integrate well with other bigger and more commonplace software, particularly if they’re cloud-based, but if you have custom backend tools and find yourself stranded in the middle of remote work transition, it gets a whole lot trickier. You’ll have to do a quick assessment: Can you live without that tool for the duration of remote work? Or can you migrate it to a new platform you’re looking to use? Can you make do with a more compatible software?
If yes, then great! You’ll find a suitable match in no time. But if you find yourself shaking your head and staring dejectedly into space because your tool is a few decades too old and probably won’t integrate with any of the platforms you’ve seen so far, fear not! There are always platforms that do custom integrations with your existing backend tools – look into those, instead.
And if all hope is truly lost, well… It’s time to face the music and look into shifting gears or updating your software. And give your team a heads up, too.
The Price (Should Be) Right
Good platforms rarely come for free, and while that doesn’t mean you have to pay an arm and leg for one, you shouldn’t skimp on the costs either! Choose wisely and reasonably within your budget. Some platforms charge a flat fee, while others have a per-user pricing plan. Take into account everything mentioned so far, and then pick out the one that offers you the best value for money.
We’ll have to be realistic here: None of these existing platforms are going to be faultless.
There will always be certain features you’ll miss and have to compensate for – but it beats having to wrangle remote work with nests upon nests of workplace emails following up this and that, or having to be on seven different chat apps for seven different projects with personnel overlaps.
Here’s a quick list of tool options:
Here’s a quick guide to your friendly neighbourhood workplace chat apps, if you want to get to know these platforms more. Rule of thumb: Anything to make remote work more manageable makes working more fun and productive for everyone involved!
Didn’t find a platform that works for you? Campgrounds can make one for you – tailored entirely according to your remote work needs, in record time, and for a flat pricing plan.
Learn more at www.campgrounds.works and get started.