The global labor force has undergone dramatic changes over the past two decades, with none more prescient than the gig economy. According to an MBO survey, over half of the US labor force will have worked as an independent contractor in the next five years.
According to a Gallup poll, not only are more people working remotely each year, but they are also working for longer periods, often weeks at a time. The rise of enterprise software, creative shared office spaces, and a labor shortage have incentivize more companies to employ remote workers and freelancers.
Unfortunately, remote work comes with its caveats. While significantly more cost-effective, issues, such as employee accountability and company values are harder to impart on remote workers than inhouse staff.
But remote work can be very rewarding for team members and employers alike. Not only does remote work offer flexibility, but it encourages a healthy work-life balance. With this in mind, we thought it would be beneficial to outline some of the best tools on the market to manage remote staff and encourage greater accountability.
Evernote
Evernote is the ideal app for entrepreneurs and workers who want to balance their ideas and manage them all in a single platform. But Evernote also offers the capability to bring in ideas from each individual member into a real-time collaborative platform.
Much like Google Docs or Google Suite, agile workforce team members can edit, organize, and add recommendations to papers and presentations in real time. Evernote is an effective app for capturing and tracking ideas from ideation to action.
Google Suite
Honestly, how would we be anywhere without email, more specifically Gmail. Google Suite offers a free and real-time collaborative solution to Microsoft 365 and an assortment of tools from spreadsheets to powerpoint for any purpose. The ability to share and collaborate on documents in real time, makes Google Suite the ultimate way to assign, collaborate, and track tasks.
Gatekeeper HQ
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Trello
Trello is an all-in-one platform that connects everything from Evernote to Google Drive and organizes them. Using Trello boards, you can track the progress of tasks and evaluate the progress and results of each project. Label each project by department and project and then develop checklists and dates to make sure that no project, big or small, ever slips through the cracks.
Slack
We’re certainly all aware of the office Slack culture that’s taken the world by storm. With the ability to integrate with Asana and Google, Slack is an all-in-one messaging platform that provides real time alerts on project status and an area where project details can be organized and discussed amongst staff. It’s an essential for anyone working offsite; just go on Slack to see if they’re actually logged on and working.
Asana
Asana is a project management platform that rivals Trello in many ways. Using a more linear, checklist format, Asana is a great tool for assigning out tasks and updating team members with progress over Slack and email.
Toggl
Finally, Toggl is the ideal app for freelancers, consultants, and contractors who need to track the amount of time they spend on each project. Just startup the app and all of your work time will be tracked and uploaded into an easy-to-read spreadsheet.
