<img src="http://www.sas15k01.com/49193.png" style="display:none;">

Working remotely? Six essential tech tools every remote office worker needs

Posted by Oliver Corrigan on Feb 6, 2018 8:30:00 AM
Oliver Corrigan
Find me on:

Remote working is indisputably on the rise, primarily thanks to dramatic improvements in IT and telecommunications technology.

In 2016, the TUC found that remote working had increased by 20% (an increase of 241,000 workers) compared to the previous 10 years. This year, a new report has suggested that a significant 89% of employees see remote working as the number one motivator to boost productivity. This is a figure that many businesses will be keeping a close eye on with a view to implementing more flexible and remote working in the immediate future.


What do successful remote workers need?

The following are six of the most crucial tools that every remote office worker, and the organisation they work for, needs in order to succeed:

  1. High-speed internet. Without a reliable internet connection, remote working simply can’t happen. Without a high-speed connection, productivity and efficiency won’t be at the levels you need them to be.

 

  1. A virtual office. Many organisations with a large network of remote workers see virtual offices as an invaluable tool, and not only for establishing a physical presence for their operations. A virtual office can also provide companies with remote workers with essential facilities, acting as a central point for call handling and messaging in addition to a registered business address.

 

  1. Software and applications for collaboration. Cloud-based collaborative tools are abundant, and they can be crucial when it comes to coordinating projects and organising workloads. Team members may be working remotely, but these vital collaboration tools – from Google Docs through to specialist applications such as Slack – can streamline workflow and keep projects on track.

 

  1. Virtual meeting software. Many remote workers miss the face-to-face contact with other team members when they are outside of the office environment for a long period. Phone and video conferencing software such as GoToMeeting or Skype for Business enables team members to have a virtual meet-up, simply to check in and update on progress or to conduct in-depth meeting with people all over the country or the world.

 

  1. Time tracking, team and project management tools. Maintaining structure and productivity as a remote worker can be difficult. Outside of the confines of the office with its fixed schedules, it’s easy to procrastinate or lose focus. Remote workers can use time trackers such as Toggl or Harvest and project management tools like Trello to manage day-to-day workloads. Meanwhile, managers can assign and supervise work through team management tools like Asana.

 

  1. Space to work. All remote workers need a comfortable and distraction-free place in which to concentrate and be productive. Some without the luxury of office or co-working space use tools such as Workfrom to find suitable nearby workspaces, while others work from a home office.

Download your FREE Introduction to Virtual Offices now

 

Co-working spaces for remote teams

While remote working offers freedom and flexibility, not all organisations find it the most productive way of managing workloads. Some managers prefer to have the option to bring teams together and to establish some structured work and face-to-face time. Without an office space, this can be impossible – and meeting or working in a coffee shop is both unfeasible and unprofessional. The ideal solution for spread-out teams, when expensive office space simply isn’t an option, is co-working space.

 


If your business doesn’t currently have a well-equipped workspace, now is the time to move into a well-facilitated co-working space like Carrwood Park in Leeds.

It’s the ideal way to bring remote teams together, even if it’s just once or twice a week. To find out more about co-working at Carrwood Park, contact us online or call 0113 385 4480.

 Click here to book a viewing today


 

Topics: Co-working and Flexible Working, office space, serviced offices

Posts by Tag