To help you find the best tools for managing remote teams, we asked professionals from various fields, including CEOs, marketing experts and operations managers, to share their favorites. From Trello’s kanban boards and functionality to virtual calling tools for seamless collaboration, discover the tools these experts rely on to keep their teams connected and productive.
Trello: Kanban Boards and Functionality
My favorite tool for managing remote teams is Trello. The platform uses kanban boards to manage projects.
I love this tool because it acts as a self-service to-do list for remote workers. They can see the scope of the project and get guidance on tasks, and as a manager, I can see progress at a glance. There is also great functionality with tools like labels, checklists and due dates. The software makes it easy to organize projects and is simple and intuitive to use.
All of these factors are important for remote workers, where employees tend to work on asynchronous schedules and need to be more self-directed.
Carly Hill
Operations Manager, Virtual Holiday Party
ClickUp: Collaborative Features and Lists
Many good, solid tools for remote teams are out there, but I’ve discovered that ClickUp is a good one for my purposes. It is a cloud-based software with a lot of collaborative features. I like lists, so I create a lot of them with the priority listed along with the deadlines.
One of the best features is that everyone can edit a document at the same time while they are discussing it in real-time. I can control access and who can comment too, which is important for some elements of a project.
Baruch Labunski
CEO, Rank Secure
Asana: Organize Projects and Conversations
My favorite tool for managing remote teams is Asana. Asana allows users to effectively organize collaborative projects, tasks and conversations in a single platform that can be accessed from any device. It’s highly customizable, meaning you can get detailed with how work is organized and tracked.
Plus, it has several features that make collaborating with remote team members simpler—like the ability to assign tasks, comment on progress updates or answer discrete questions within threads of conversations.
Ultimately, what makes this tool great is its flexibility—Asana ensures teams remain synchronized regardless of where team members are located.
Michael Alexis
CEO, Virtual Team Building
Slack: Real-Time Communication and Channels
I can’t speak highly enough of Slack! As a personal trainer, I often coordinate with other trainers and nutritionists, and sometimes we’re all remote.
The “channels” feature in Slack is a game-changer. I remember when we organized a virtual fitness boot camp; we had separate channels for different tasks—scheduling, client management, content creation, you name it. It kept us organized and focused.
Slack allows for real-time communication, mimicking the spontaneity of office banter, keeping the team spirit alive. It’s easy to use, it integrates with other tools we use, and it facilitates quick decision-making.
In essence, Slack is like the gym for my remote team management—it keeps everything and everyone in shape!
Evander Nelson
NASM-certified Personal Trainer, evandernelson
Notion: User-Friendly and Versatile
I think Notion is the best way for a remote team to track their productivity and share it with the rest of the team. It’s user-friendly and requires very little in the way of instructions, although an onboarding video lesson is necessary.
Notion is easy to use, easy to digest, and it provides much more than a standard spreadsheet. That, coupled with another tool like Zoom, is the perfect way to keep a remote team fully engaged and working together.
Emily Onkey
Co-founder and CMO, Aplós
TaskMaster: Streamline Remote Work
My favorite tool for managing remote teams is a robust project management software called TaskMaster. This all-in-one platform has revolutionized our remote work dynamics by streamlining communication, task tracking and collaboration.
Research shows that organizations using project management software experience a 45% increase in project success rates. TaskMaster offers real-time task updates, file sharing and team collaboration features that keep everyone aligned and accountable. It also provides a visual overview of project progress and individual workloads.
With TaskMaster, we witnessed a significant improvement in productivity, with a 30% reduction in project delays. The tool’s seamless integration of calendars, task assignment and progress tracking helped our remote teams stay organized and collaborate effectively. TaskMaster has become the linchpin of our remote work success, ensuring efficient teamwork, timely deliverables and overall project excellence.
Himanshu Sharma
CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing
ProofHub: Cost-Effective Management
In my opinion, the best tool for managing a remote team is one that provides a lot of value for the money. ProofHub is my choice solution because it provides more value to customers than it does to the company.
Over the course of a year, I’ve used this software to manage projects and have a better grasp on my remote team through improved communication and streamlined workflow.
It allows team leaders and members to collaborate and share ideas, annotate drawings and documents with markup tools and review them from the convenience of their own homes.
It’s a central hub where managers and their teams can organize and schedule activities, projects and goals. Create automatic alerts for important dates, recurring tasks and special events. View all schedules at once so you don’t have to jump around from project to project.
Aleksandar Ginovski
Career Expert, Resume Expert and Product Manager, Enhancv
Loom: Overcome Time Zone Challenges
Our favorite tool for managing our remote team is Loom. With a team of six full-time employees and over 10 freelancers spanning nearly six different time zones, coordinating and communicating can be a challenge.
Loom helps us overcome this by allowing us to share information via video messages. It eliminates the constraints of synchronizing schedules for live meetings and ensures clear, detailed communication. We can demonstrate processes, present data or simply share updates, and our team can view and respond at their convenience.
Furthermore, it’s also a valuable tool for communicating with clients worldwide, ensuring seamless service delivery. Loom truly empowers our global operation.
Jaya Iyer
Marketing Assistant, Teranga Digital Marketing
Virtual Calling Tools: Collaborate Seamlessly
My preferred tools for managing remote teams are virtual calling tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoho, etc. Cloud-based tools like Microsoft Teams provide an extensive set of features specifically designed for remote collaboration and communication.
With virtual calling tools, I can easily connect with my remote team members through instant messaging, audio and video calls and virtual meetings. Microsoft Teams provides a centralized hub where we can collaborate on projects, share files and track progress in real-time.
The integration of various Microsoft applications like SharePoint, OneDrive and Planner within Teams makes it convenient to access and manage all our essential tools and documents in one place. Furthermore, Teams offers robust security measures and compliance features, ensuring our communication and data remain secure.
Overall, cloud-based tools prove to be an invaluable addition to effectively managing remote teams, promoting seamless collaboration and maintaining productivity.
Shruti Nayak
Principal Associate and Head – Assessment Practice, Naman Integrated Management Services Pvt. Ltd
