Top Remote working tools to use in 2022
Ever since March 2020, more people than ever before began working from home, and with very little warning. Organisations and their staff didn't have time to prepare for remote work or think about the best ways to transition teams, processes, and culture to an online-only environment. No one knew (or yet knows) how long the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory remote work would last.
If you're new to the work-from-home lifestyle, whether due to COVID-19 or because you've managed to find a remote-based job, you may have found that you need to change your habits and routines to make working from home a success.
We’ve listed our top 3 tools to help you make this transition
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is, undoubtedly, one of the most popular communication tools used throughout this pandemic. With Microsoft Teams, users can meet, call, chat and collaborate in one space. Teams is ideal for groups looking for a secure platform to collaborate on, and its especially helpful for those of us that are already inside the Microsoft system.
There are many benefits of using Microsoft Teams, but we have listed a few of our favourite features below
You can co-author files in real time with teammates, this makes remote collaboration a whole lot easier! You can see who has edited the files and when, making reviewing changes and communicating a lot easier
You can share files with a few clicks and go from a chat message to a meeting in a matter of seconds.
You can integrate other tools into your team's experience, such as Trello, adobe CC and more, allowing you to use all your regular tools in one place.
Offline Autosend – Whether you are working from home, in an office or on the road, this new capability enables users to stay productive even without an active internet connection. When a user is offline, their teams' messages are queued on their local device and automatically sent when the device is back online.
Regardless of the size of your business, if you have not yet found the right communication tool to manage your team, we strongly suggest you look into Microsoft Teams. With new features being added all the time, this already top of the market tool can only improve.
Microsoft Teams App
Whilst perhaps not the first tool that jumps to mind when thinking about working remotely, LinkedIn has arguably been a major positive asset to companies and individuals throughout this pandemic.
We have noticed in the past 2 years the need to rely more on virtual platforms to deliver your personal brand at work. When it comes to showcasing your brand, connecting with others and building professional relationships, LinkedIn is the perfect platform.
LinkedIn has many features that can help you with this.
Your Profile
Yes, Simple! But it’s worth mentioning that the quality and content of your profile can be really important, now more so than ever. In today's world where face to face meetings have become sparse, your first impression is almost certainly going to be delivered online. If you’re working with new clients, there is a good chance they’re going to google you or check your LinkedIn profile. Your profile is highly likely to show up at the top of search results when someone is looking to learn about you, so it's worthwhile having your profile looking sharp.
Kudos
Acknowledging your staff is an important part of leadership and ensuring that your staff feel appreciated. It normally happens as part of your regular day to day activities when working in person. However, when working from home, the opportunities for this impromptu gratitude are limited, so it requires a bit more thought. Lucky for you, LinkedIn makes it easy with a feature called Give Kudos. You can find this under ‘Celebrate a Teammate’ in the Post menu option. You can choose messages such as ‘Thank you’, ‘Going Above and Beyond’, ‘Great Presentation’ and more, and you can customize the message that goes along with this.
Networking
Whilst we may be seeing the return of in person events gradually reappearing, the way we network has definitely changed for the long term. Prior to Covid-19 people were not as comfortable networking online, as it can be viewed as ‘unnatural’ and ‘impersonal’, now however, we have been forced to change this mindset. LinkedIn allows you to connect, chat and network with likeminded individuals in your business sector. This can be beneficial for general networking, or if you're looking for help or advice on a specific topic. LinkedIn’s ‘Find an expert’ feature is aimed at helping users find a service provider for a task they want completed. this option allows you to ask your network and also the wider LinkedIn audience for their recommendations on who could provide the service or support you are looking for, such as an accountant, a marketing company etc.
LinkedIn Profile Page
NetSuite
Of course, at 3EN we would say NetSuite – but this is true! Many companies have seen the benefit of using NetSuite throughout the pandemic, and we’ve seen this first-hand. NetSuite allows you to have a 360 view of your business on a single screen. We strongly believe in practicing what we preach, and therefore we have many internal examples of this. Our C-Suite team have noted how having personalised dashboards, which allow you to view progress on specific tasks, has been a lifesaver throughout the pandemic. Not seeing people in person can often leave you feeling a bit out of the loop with what is going on, but NetSuite takes away this pain.
Some management feel that with their staff working from home, they have a lack of control over delegating tasks. NetSuite ensures that this doesn’t happen, allowing staff members to designate tasks to their colleagues, with space to allow for full detail on what is required along with attachments and deadlines.
Equally, with NetSuite tracking each departments processes in one platform, whether that be warehouse, finance, projects or sales, this means that you can have full access to the information you need, from your home set up. Meaning that while working from home, you can keep the traction going on major or minor business decisions, and enable yourself to analyse your best next steps, without having to be ‘in the office’.
Here’s what one of our clients had to say about having NetSuite implemented throughout the pandemic;
“Here at Medguard, it's been hugely beneficial to have NetSuite implemented throughout this pandemic. The ability to work remotely using NetSuite has minimised the impact to business operations and allowed a seamless transition from Office to remote working. Using NetSuite as a platform for our business operations has been of immense benefit to our business organisation. We have found working with 3en and NetSuite through this crucial time has helped transform our business.”
As much as we might not like to admit it, for many of us, remote working is definitely ‘the new normal’ and therefore having a system such as NetSuite can be a real help when it comes to keeping everyone in the loop. Not only that, but NetSuite is extremely customisable to your business needs, which means you can focus on running your business, whilst we manage your software!
NetSuite Capture
If you want to find out more about NetSuite, and how 3EN can help you, click the “Learn more” button below and contact us today!
Thousands of companies like yours are investing in their future success and adapting to the times. Oracle NetSuite is the #1 Cloud business management software that has helped 26,000 businesses turn remote working into a superpower instead of an inconvenience.
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