Tools and Tips for Remote Tech Team To Increase Productivity

In the world today, a lot of businesses or companies have a standard remote work practice, and more businesses are adopting this system.

Tech companies have been at the forefront of this development because of the numerous benefits associated with it, such as increased productivity, less time spent on commuting to work, and better mental health of employees. In this article, we will be discussing ways tech teams can increase the productivity of their employees who work remotely.

Great Communication

Excellent communication is vital to increasing productivity in any business. Bad communication can have disastrous effects on businesses because projects do not get completed on time, low morale of the employees, and failure to meet sales goals.
Therefore, to enhance communication among remote tech teams, practices need to be put in place to achieve this endeavor, which includes setting specific and clearly defined roles for both employers and employees, encouraging feedback from employees, and adopting a culture of respect. Remote teams can only be as successful as the tools available to them; therefore, tools that can be used to enhance communication includes:

• Skype: This video conferencing tool helps create a more connected experience than voice calls can and help to reinforce internal lines of communication. It is compatible with almost all devices and has a lot of amazing features.
• Slack: This is an excellent platform for sharing ideas, files, staying informed on matters related to tech work. Slack also helps coworkers touch base with each other without the formality of email.
• Goal SettingTech remote teams need to be result-oriented and set achievable goals. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) goals is crucial, and it helps the team members stay motivated. Determining clear key progress indicators (KPIs) for each employee’s goals is one of the essential steps of goal setting. When creating goals, find the KPI that best represents the outcome of the benchmark set.

Effective Management

Trying to be on top of everything with a remote tech workforce is next to impossible and can quickly destroy the morale and motivation of your team. The secret to building a highly motivated and productive remote team is communication, trust, and transparency. When working with remote tech teams, avoid micromanaging at all costs, and find a middle ground that you and your team are comfortable with.
Some tools to help improve management include:

• Hubstaff: This tool makes it easier for managers to keep up with the progress of each team. It runs software on the employee’s desktop, making it easier for the manager to track their time. Features include online timesheet, screen recording, project budgeting, GPS tracking, and many more.
• Time Doctor: This is essential for the remote team as it was created for the sole purpose of tracking the productivity of remote employees. Managers can collect data based on different work habits and use that data to create analytics that points out key areas that require improvements.
• Basecamp: When there are no processes, a lot of business time is wasted. This is a management tool available to ensure your tech team is organized and on track. It works with six integral tools to help in tracking and ensuring the completion of all projects.
• Zapier: This is an essential tool for remote team management that ensures that all of your devices work together. It automates your work and connects all of your apps/tools to ensure productivity at all times.
• I Done This: This is a tool where managers can keep track of their daily activities of their tech team. The team members check in daily in their browser or through email.

Training and Development

Employee development is an integral part of making your tech team increase productivity in remote environments. It also helps in ensuring the employee remains engaged and keep up with industry standards. When the team is committed to learning new tools and finding better ways to collaborate as a team, it helps them stay ahead of the competition and motivates everyone to grow and improve

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• Proprofs: This is a knowledge-based software tool that can be used to empower teams. Using this tool, organizations can create user guides, online FAQs, and documentation for clients. This tool helps managers find information needed to generate solutions while aligning processes, staff, and technology at the same time.
• RewardsPeople love to be recognized for their efforts and achievements. It doesn’t just boost the ego of the recognized individual/team; it increases productivity and job satisfaction. Celebrating wins build team morale and strengthen bonds. Some tools can be used to recognize and reward employees which include:
• Wooboard: This is a tool that recognizes a team/employee for their excellent work. You can create a reward program for sending and receiving unlimited recognitions. The celebration of successes and initiation of conversations can also be done through the tool’s social engagement features.

Fun and Respectful Work Culture

It is important to build a happy and productive team. This impacts the work produced positively and reduces work stress. A happy team is a more productive team. Fostering respect among members of the team is also very vital.

Conclusion

Many more tools and tips can help in increasing the productivity of tech teams when appropriately used. Remote work has its benefits as well as its disadvantages, however, with the right tips and tools, the difficulties are reduced, and the benefits increased.