How To Make Remote Work Smarter

The COVID-19 crisis is shaping the future of how we work and how we’ll continue to work post-pandemic. These changes are resulting in more and more companies considering remote operations for work. As with any large-scale organizational change, there are inherently some challenges your company must address. However, at Parklife, we understand what success looks like in diverse environments and have compiled a catalog of tools that can successfully aid any business owner dealing with challenges facing remote business environments.

Utilize Project Management Apps

When deciding how best to manage projects, the leading tool for managing remote work—and my personal favorite—is Basecamp. Juggling multiple clients or simply managing the various facets of your company’s workload has never been easier using Basecamp. It allows users to divide the workload into projects, and within each project are tools for maximizing organization and efficiency including message boards, to-dos, doc and file storage, and scheduling capabilities. It’s our preferred tool for project organization, empowering us to establish not only personal growth, but organizational growth across the board.­

Centralize Communication

Centralized communication is key when managing a remote environment. In fact, it may determine whether your company will prosper in an environment of separation. When face-to-face communication is no longer optimal, finding efficient ways to consolidate and communicate information isn’t always simplistic. Establishing a consistent network for communications will help with maintaining productivity and minimizing the disconnect between members. We’ve found success with platforms that encompass these capabilities and allow use across multiple devices. A tried-and-true app that can assist in centralized communication is the business messaging app Slack. Slack’s platform is highly customizable and allows for the separation of messages into channels and direct messaging capabilities between team members.

Manage Social Media Strategies

For marketing agencies and small to mid-size businesses, Sendible creates avenues that enable you to easily combine social media scheduling and publishing needs. Included are features aimed toward engagement, as well as options for monitoring and insights. Sendible creates a simple solution to social media management. A great feature included with Sendible is their tool for queuing content, which allows users to backlog posts and configure a schedule for when each post is to be published. Companies with multiple social media platforms can benefit from a streamlined management process, and such processes can be employed through features offered by Sendible.

Plan for Team Meetings

By now, many of us have either used or heard of Zoom, which has undoubtedly changed the meaning of team meetings. Zoom allows users to join anywhere on any device. The streamlined scheduling function along with other notable advanced features creates a pain-free experience for users. Zoom is useful when generating and realizing quality video and audio playback for remote communications. Supporting features allow for up to 1,000 participants during a conference call, which is perfect for businesses of any size.

We understand the complexities of managing a remote business and recognize that most companies are eager to reestablish a more traditional work environment for employees. In the meantime, we hope these tips can provide support and utility for your business while navigating the challenges of remote work. We believe incorporating tools like the ones mentioned throughout this piece can help position yourself and your company for success.

About the Author

Taylor Farace handles project management and creative support at Parklife.