Hiring remote employees? Here’s a list of must-have online tools for remote management.

The popularity of remote work and digital nomads phenomenon is rising. And digital nomadism is getting more and more heard of. We have shown that in our previous article on the digital revolution in job models. If you are considering being part of this trend and hire remote workers, here’s a list of must-have online tools to make your life easier.

First things first: communication

Communication is the key. Remote work limits face-to-face contact, but it offers new ways to communicate, and even keep constantly in touch while commuting. Strategic meetings of teams operating from different parts of the world are no longer a problem if you have your smartphone or laptop with an Internet connection. Chat with a remote freelancer is not so cost-consuming anymore. Of course, face-to-face communication is often easier, faster, and helps to understand each other better, but on the other hand — done is better than perfect. When there’s no possibility to meet up personally before some serious decisions are to be made, remote communication plays its role.

Consider these tools to communicate easily:

• Slack — probably a number one in online communication for teams. Slack has proven that the new version of something well-known (chat, in this case) can be revolutionary and can conquer the business world in no time. Slack is a great alternative to your mailbox when it comes to less important issues. Faster, easier, everyone uses it, and you should give it a try too. (Check how Calamari integrates with Slack)
• Skype — even though Skype is going out of date a little, it’s still a good and easy tool for online video-chats and video-conferences. Google Hangouts are worth trying as well, though.
• Facebook chats and groups — forget about them! They tend to get messy very quickly. And they are not professional.

Let’s get things done and make teamwork easier by considering these tools

• Trello — world’s beloved task manager, admired for its beautiful and easy-to-the-limits design.
• Asana — when Trello is not enough, take a look at Asana. Multiple projects, countless members, hundreds of tasks daily — this software can handle that. And it is the copy-paste version of Trello when it comes to design, if you really love Trello that much.
• Basecamp — a good and really similar alternative to Asana.
• Jira — programmers choose Jira. Does it need any firmer recommendation? :)
• G Suite and Office 365 — both similarly good and popular, having one of them is a must. Just remember to always have admin access to all of your employee's files in one folder, and make sure that you can fully remove any member with ease.
• WeTransfer — in case you do not know it: WeTransfer allows you to transfer big files easily (up to 2GB for free).
• WiFi Transfer app — a great tool that lets you to share files from phone to phone over a Wi-Fi connection (no cables needed!)

Do they really work? Time-tracking tools

Time-trackers are especially advised in case you outsource a creative job, which is often hard to measure. But it is also useful when your employees practice just a few days off in a month, or their work requires a lot of business trips. Let’s take sales representatives as an example — sometimes they work in the office, sometimes they are out for days. So how do you know whether they work or just hang around?

As a manager, you should know where and when your employees start to work. Our customers appreciate Calamari Mobile with GPS tracking — our app lets them know where their employees were when they turned a time-tracker on and off. Are they just where they are supposed to be? Are they late? Or maybe they spend their day in the office and you have a chance to have a coffee with them? Calamari’s Mobile will let you know!

HR and teamwork automated: leave management, payroll, entitlements, and online meetings planners

Here’s a list and a comparison of the world’s TOP 3 most popular software for HR — check and choose for yourself!

So, here you go!

You can start your fully automated, remote team management right away!

Do you still hesitate which software to choose?

You have to make this decision on your own, but here are 5 factors to consider while picking the best software for managing remote employees:

• Make sure that a chosen tool has a mobile version, so you personally can stay mobile.
• Check if the chosen software offers integration with other tools that you use.
• Handy, human support is an advantage. FAQ’s and chatbots are nice, but they cannot predict the issues you may face and problems that will occur.
• Read the newest customer reviews — it’s one of the best ways to see if the tool is worth a try.
• Remember to take care of face-to-face communication too. In our opinion, technology is there to make our real-life easier, and not to replace it!:)

Soon we will share some tips and tricks on how to start your journey with hiring remote freelancers or managing international, remote employees. Stay tuned and in the meantime — let us know what tools do you use and how do you feel about remote working in general?

What’s your experience with remote teams?

Share your thoughts!