Top 10 Apps for Team Communication and Remote Work

Published on: 18 August 2020 Last Updated on: 30 June 2021

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced businesses to adopt new ways of functioning and look at newer models of operation. With employees no longer sitting under the same roof and working from different parts of the world, Remote Working has become the norm.

While working remotely can be a safe option during the pandemic, and allow work to continue, it can also be very challenging. Managing different people, processes, assignments, and so on, can lead to a drop in efficiency levels and contribute to decreased productivity.

In this article, we are going to discuss the Top 10 Apps, which can help businesses promote effective team communication and remote work. However, before we do that, let us first look at what these Apps mean and represent.

Team Communication Apps: Meaning and Definition

Team communication apps are commercial -messaging apps, which promote cooperation and coordination, between different team members. They are software, which helps in an interactive workflow, has project statuses, active chat functions, task completions, collaborations, storage cloud, and other important functions that help in working efficiently.

One thing, which needs to be pointed out is that Team Communication Apps are not just about texting. If it would be the same, we would not need anything apart from WhatsApp. They are much more than that.

Remote Working and Team Communication Apps are a business setup, which presents in one unified dashboard, all or most of the business processes, that you need to get your work done efficiently and productively.

List of 10 Best Team Communication and Remote Working Apps

1. AirSend-

AirSend

A relatively newer entrant in the field, AirSend is slowly emerging as one of the most sought after remote working apps. This is because the software boasts of an impressive list of features, is easy to use (great UI and UX), and prioritizes security and cloud storage. You can use AirSend to carry out team collaborations or conversations, organize files as well as for project assessments and tasks.

2. Slack-

Ever since Slack was introduced back in 2013, it has become a mainstay of many small businesses. The software is easy to use and intuitive and offers great customer support. However, when compared to newer products and platforms, Slack has been found wanting in terms of its features, efficiency, and security. Newer updates are solving some of the issues.

3. Trello-

Many businesses, especially agencies preferred Trello for its task management features. Listing tasks, assigning the same and managing project flows made Trello a popular choice. In recent years Trello has also added chat functions and calling to help in improving remote working capabilities. Trello’s free plans allow many of the features to be used making it a good choice.

4. Zoho-

India based Software Company, Zoho’s remote working software, Zoho One is easy to use and integrates a host of functions, including scheduling social media posts and integrating support and chat features all in one platform. However, not all the integrations are up to the mark. The price point also makes it beyond the reach of small businesses who have to look elsewhere.

5. Asana-

Another new entrant to the world of remote working apps, Asana is exciting, fun, and trendy to use. It also allows for work management, assigning tasks, and following ups. The custom chat feature between teams assigned on the same task adds to its functionality in a major way. However, the user interface can be tricky and complicated to understand for some employees.

6. Basecamp-

Basecamp’s forte lies as being one of the most efficient project management tools or software. The scheduling of work with time frames, adding meetings (just like Zoom), and documentation make it a great remote working app. It also helps higher management with time tracking and can be useful to check and improve efficiency and productivity in organizations.

7. Monday-

Quirky as the name suggests, Monday is one of the most interesting and engaging new work management and remote working platforms in the market. With easy log-ins and dedicated graphics to make work exciting, many younger start-ups are gravitating towards using it. However, it still has a long way to go when it comes to competing with AirSend or Trello.

8. Zapier-

One product, which has been in the market for a very long time is Zapier. What Zapier has been successful in doing is integrating various apps, including Gmail in one single platform. Zapier is not your typical remote working app; it is like an overarching framework, which helps in bringing together apps like Trello, Asana, and more. However, it is not for first-time users.

9. Zoom-

One software, which has made the most impact during COVID-19 on work, is Zoom. In many ways, Zoom has redefined work culture and promoted cross-functional capabilities. In addition to mere Video Calling, Zoom has also started easy chat support to promote instant messaging within and between teams. Zoom’s greatest advantage is its ease of use.

10. Skype-

Even though Skype was one of the oldest tools and software, which could be called a remote working tool, lack of innovations and updates have made it fall out of the league of the big boys. Microsoft is trying to revive the old warhorse and we will have to wait and see how far the product is going to improve. However, many of us still use Skype for video calling and messaging.

Conclusion

Many of the bigger tech organizations including Twitter, Facebook, and Google have announced WFH schedules until June or July 2021. With the pandemic redefining how we work, how we live, and how we party, remote working is going to play a major role in the next few months.

Which of the above-mentioned software do you think are the best communication and remote working tools on the market? Let us know in the comments below.

Read Also:

Abdul Aziz Mondol

Abdul Aziz Mondol is a professional blogger who is having a colossal interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, he loves to share content related to business, finance, technology, and the gaming niche.

View all posts

Google Meet Code 101: Learn All About The Platform’s Meeting Code

Google Meet is a popular video calling platform created by Google. Whether you are an individual or you are a business, you can connect with others on audio calls and video calls through the platform. Currently, Google Meet is mostly used for video conferences among friends, colleagues, or professionals. One person creates a meeting and sends a unique Google Meet code to others as an invitation to join. In this article, you will learn about the Google Meet platform and the utility of the Google Meet codes that are offered through a Google Meet invitation. Furthermore, you will also learn how the Google Meeting code works on the platform. Finally, you will find out how to join a meeting on Google Meet with the help of a meeting code. Hence, to learn more about the Google Meet code, read on through to the end of the article. What Is Google Meet? Larry Page and Sergey Brin launched Google in 1998 as a search engine. Since then, in twenty-five years, Google covered a lot of milestones, as it is now offering platforms for advertising, cloud computing, quantum computing, computer software, social media, eCommerce, and many more. Google created the Google Meet platform for video calling and video conferencing. Both individuals and businesses commonly use Meet for video conferences, meetings, and discussions. Although created as an extension of Google Hangouts, which is a messaging platform, Meet comes with its own sets of unique features. To log in to Google Meet, one needs to have a Google Account. Your Google account is the same as your Gmail. You need the same during Google Hangouts login as well. Google Meet is also known for enabling users to engage in secure conversations. Although Google sucks in certain cases when it comes to innovation, Google Meet is surely something that stands out. It is one of the most trusted platforms for holding video conferences. Even some of the biggest companies hold big video conferences through Google Meet. What Does The Google Meet Code Mean? According to Google Meet’s official sources, “Meet uses the same protections that Google uses to secure your information and safeguard your privacy. Meet video conferences are encrypted in transit, and our array of safety measures are continuously updated for added protection.” This is where the Google Meet code comes to play. Once you create a meeting on Google Meet, you will get a meet code, which you will need to share with the people you want to invite to the meeting. The Meet code and the Google Meet link are encrypted and hence provide essential protection for security. Basically, Google Meet codes act as meeting identifiers, which users use to invite and interact at meetings in which they are called upon. Every single meeting that took place on Google Meet, and all the meetings that will take place in the future, have a unique meeting code. This is done to offer security to the meeting so that someone does not get unauthorized access. How Does The Google Meet Code Work? If you observe the different Meet codes carefully, you will see that all of them are of ten letters that are divided into three parts in 3-4-3 order of the type xxx-yyyy-zzz. The dashes are given for ease of reading. While you enter a code on a Google Meet link, you will not need to enter the dashes, as Google Meet supports only codes of 10 characters. The link will look like this: https://meet.google.com/xxx-yyyy-zzz. Once you click on the link that you received as an invitation on your device, you will get to a page where you will need to enter the unique code. After you enter the Meet code of ten-letter, you will get access to view and interact with the meeting. However, you will get to the meeting only after the host approves of your joining and participation. After you get inside the meeting, you will find the Google meeting code at the bottom-left portion of the screen. To allow others to participate, you can share this code with others. Does Google Meet Have A Time Limit? Yes. Google Meet codes have a time limit. You cannot enter a meeting link with a meeting code after the code has expired. As per the claims of the official website of Google Meet, “Each meeting is given a unique meeting code which has an expiration time based on what Workspace product the meeting is created from.” To know more about the time limit of the Google Meet code, you can check Google Support. How To Join A Google Meet Conference? The following are the major ways through which you can join a Google Meet conference: 1. Using A Computer Browser Open the Google Meet website from your website browser, or type meet.google.com on the URL. Once you get to the Google Meet page, click on the ‘New Meeting’ option. If you want to join a meeting, click on the ‘Join with a code’ option, and enter the code. 2. Using Mobile App Download the Google Meet mobile app on your smartphone. You need to launch the application and sign in to your account. On the page, you can either create a New Meeting and if you want to join an existing meeting, you need to click on 'Join with a code.' 3. Using Mobile Browser Open a web browser app on your smartphone, and access the Google Meet website. Check the website as a desktop site. Otherwise, the link will ask you to download the app from Play Store. To create a meeting, tap on the New Meeting option, and click on ‘Join.’ Summing Up Hope this article was helpful for you in getting a better idea of what the Google Meet code is and how to use it. This code is unique to every meeting and actually helps to secure the meeting from unauthorized access. You will get access to the meeting only when you enter this ten-letter code after clicking on the link. Do you think Google Meet is secure and useful enough? Share with us what steps Google can take to make Meet better. More Resources: Best Business Meeting Agenda Examples How To Plan A Successful Corporate Event Looking For A Gardener: 8 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Professional

App for Tracking Time at Work: Must-Have Features You Should Know About!

Are you tired of constantly losing track of time at work? If so, you might find an app for tracking time at work to be quite useful. However, choosing the right one can be challenging with the many options available. Don't worry; I've got you covered. In this post, I'll guide you through the process of building the perfect time tracking toolbox so that you can effectively boost your productivity and efficiency. App for Time Tracking at Work: How They Make a Difference? Workplace time monitoring applications are crucial because they benefit organizations and workers in a number of ways. They give employers a comprehensive view of how staff members spend their time, including which jobs take the longest and which ones could be distracting. By identifying inefficient areas, managers can set more realistic timelines and increase productivity, which can result in improved project management. These apps can be eye-opening for workers. This is because they show how much time they have spent on certain tasks. This can enhance their workflow and help them concentrate on the tasks they do well. Time monitoring also guarantees accurate billing, which helps businesses avoid overpaying or losing money due to errors and ensures that workers are paid appropriately for the time they have worked. The Core Features and Functions of Time Tracker at Work Let's start with the foundation - the core function of any app for tracking time at work. The basics should allow you to capture the time spent on various tasks effortlessly. And here's how the top time tracking apps achieve this in three main ways: Simple timers: You can quickly start and stop timers with just one click or keystroke. This is perfect for tasks with clear start and end points, like phone calls or writing reports. Automatic tracking: This function is great for repetitive tasks requiring constant focus as it will help detect your activities, such as using specific software, and automatically log the time, reducing the need for manual intervention. Manual entry: Despite automation, there will always be times when manual entries are necessary. A user-friendly interface for logging time spent on various tasks or breaks is essential. Analytics and Reporting Raw data is helpful, but the critical aspect lies in its analysis. A great time tracking app should give you visible and clear reports to help you understand how time is spent. Time distribution reports: This feature shows where your time goes on projects, clients, or different tasks. You can spot where you are spending too much time and where you can do better. Activity breakdown: This is like a detailed diary of your day. You can see how much time is spent on emails, meetings, real work, and not-so-productive stuff. Trends over time: These reports help see patterns in time use over weeks, months, or even years. It's like a map of where you lose time and how to be more productive in the long run. Collaboration and teamwork In fast-paced work setups, it's super important to track time across teams smoothly. Team dashboards: This helps you clearly see how your team uses time to boost accountability and make projects run even smoother. Shared projects and tasks: You can monitor time spent on shared work to spot issues and ensure efficient collaboration to produce seamless results. Billable hours tracking: Easily track time spent on client projects and create precise invoices for billable services. This is a great way to ensure fair compensation and simplify the billing process. Usability and user interface The best app for time tracking at work becomes an extension of your workflow, not a cumbersome add-on. Here's what to look for in terms of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX): Intuitive interface: A clean and intuitive UI is key. The app should be easy to navigate and allow you to start tracking time with minimal setup time. Customizable dashboards: You should be able to personalize your dashboard to display the information that matters most if needed. This ensures you have a quick snapshot of your time usage at a glance. Multiple platform availability: To work seamlessly across devices, it is suggested to choose an app that offers desktop, web, and mobile versions for effortless time tracking, regardless of location. Security and data privacy Time tracking data is sensitive on so many levels, so it's important to keep it super secure and private: Secure login and data encryption: Look for an app with strong encryption to protect your data. It's also good if the app offers extra security, like two-step verification. Following privacy regulations: It is always mandatory that the app comply with rules like GDPR and CCPA. This way, you have control over your data, and it stays safe. Integrations Establishing connections between your time-tracking software and other everyday tools can improve how well you track your work hours, increase productivity, and provide insightful data. Sync with your calendar: This feature lets you link your time-tracking software with your calendar to automatically track the amount of time you spend on planned tasks. This gives you a thorough picture of your time usage. Combine with communication tools: You can monitor the amount of time you spend on particular discussions or tasks by integrating your time-tracking software with communication platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack. This will help you see where your time is being spent. Link with productivity apps: Being able to integrate your app for time tracking at work with productivity tools such as project management platforms, to-do lists, or mind mapping software helps break down data overload and boosts your overall efficiency. Advanced Features of Time Tracking App for Work You should know that a perfect time-tracking app does more than just log your hours. It should be able to take control of your time and work smarter. If you're someone who loves having control and flexibility, you'll be glad to know that some apps offer advanced features that take time tracking to the next level: Idle time tracking: Ever wonder how much time you spend scrolling through social media or taking unplanned breaks? With idle time tracking, you can pinpoint periods of inactivity and learn how to minimize distractions to stay focused. Offline tracking: A bad internet connection disrupts your productivity. A few apps let you keep tracking your time even when you're offline and then sync the data once you're back online. Customizable reports: You should be able to tailor the app's automated reports to your unique needs. This function allows you to analyze your time usage from different perspectives and gain valuable insights to help you work more efficiently. Categorization and tagging: This will help you organize your tasks by project, client, or type of work. It makes reporting more insightful and helps you understand where your time is best spent. Detailed notes: Sometimes, a time entry needs a little extra context. With detailed notes, you can capture important details about your tasks and make better time estimates for similar future situations. Bottom Line Investing in a well-equipped app for tracking time at work is a significant step towards greater efficiency and productivity. With the right features in your toolbox, you'll clearly understand where your time goes, determine areas for improvement, and ultimately achieve more in less time. So, explore the options and find the perfect time-tracking app to unlock your full potential. If you have any other questions related to the same, please feel free to let me know. Scroll down until you reach the bottom of the page. Then, leave your comments and queries in the box below. I will be there to answer them all for you! Learn More About: How to Get Your Employees to Use a Time Clock App Is A Time Card App Really Necessary? Data Points To Yes! Enhancing Team Collaboration With Managed Services For Microsoft Teams

Pros and Cons on Google Translation Accuracy

Every person learning a new language through a class or instructor is told right from the beginning today not to use Google translator. It’s a powerful tool for a quick understanding of words or phrases written in another language, so many people think it’s also just as good for translating their language into something else. However, while the power of Google makes their translator fast and comprehensive, it’s also inaccurate. Unfortunately, instead of putting in the extra effort, a lot of students use Google anyways thinking it’s a viable shortcut. The tool gives them away because it is inherently incorrect from the perspective of a native speaker. And most language teachers tend to be native speakers. So, cheating gets caught very quickly and exposed, which is unfortunate. Students caught this way end up embarrassed, usually drop the class or try to get out of it, and then never try to learn a new language again. Another potential translator ends up lost to what never came to be. The Intention of Google Translate: As an online free tool, Google Translate was basically made available to help people find information. It’s consistent with Google’s general product delivery as a search engine. Used in that context, Google Translate works just fine. It carries the ability to roughly translate well over dozens of languages between each other and others. And that makes the tool particularly useful when just trying to understand content from a website or a message sent in another language. Even with the limitations of Google Translate, one can at least figure out what the message is basically trying to communicate. Google Translate also comes with other benefits as well: It’s free and has no cost to use. Just like Google’s search engine, Google Translate works just as easy to access. As long as one has Internet access, he or she can get to the tool through Google’s website, similar to other apps provided by the site. Google has made sure all of its tools work extremely fast with very strong online support. The only problem anyone will have will be based on their own bandwidth and Internet support. It can handle thousands of queries hitting it at the same time, and the tool can handle as much as is copied into it all day long. A typical translator at best moves about 2,000 words per day, fully translated. Google translate is able to adapt and evolve over time because it utilizes a statistical tool that lets the tool’s reference database grow with use and translations. This programmed approach creates matches between words between different languages which it then references again and again with future searches. The Downsides of Google Translate: The first big problem with the online translating tools is that meaning and the relationship to context are lost with Google’s software. It doesn’t know how to automatically sense, understand and build in context. As a result, anything that is even remotely structured or otherwise complex ends up looking like gibberish. The general message will be understood most of the time, but it won’t be anything close to being accurate. This kind of sloppy translating doesn’t happen with professional translators who are worth their salt. Google’s ability to translate is only as good as its database reference pairing words together. So, word for word, if the database has it, will match up. However, that still doesn’t help when one is trying to translate entire phrases or paragraphs correctly. The more common languages in the West tend to be stronger and better in terms of reference. Languages that are far more distant or less used will be harder or may even be non-existent in Google Translate. Google has a poor record when it comes to grammatical accuracy. Again, this comes from the fact that Google’s reference is only at the world level, not the phrase or sentence. As a result, it will frequently produce conversions that have serious sequence and grammar problems easily visible to the native speaker. Worse, Google doesn’t have anything built-in that can fix translation errors, even when identified. There’s no button one clicks on to tell Google the translation is wrong and how it should be fixed. Without that feedback loop, the Translate tool can’t improve on its own. How Google Translate Should be Used: For the average person, Google Translate works very well just to get a basic idea of what someone or a website might be saying in another language. It provides a user a quick understanding. However, there is no place for Google Translate in the professional translating world. It fails even a basic translation passing level. On the road or traveling, Google Translate mobile can be handy as well just to figure out a quick phrase in a pinch. But for essay and document work, it should be avoided. For these types of translations, your best option will still be to hire a professional translation agency. Read Also: What Should my Content Cover to Rank on Google? How To Use Google Ads To Your Advantage The Basics on Google Local Algorithm

Top 10 Apps for Team Communication and Remote Work

Team Communication Apps: Meaning and Definition