In the last few years, more and more people are switching to work remotely. About 30% of American employees were working from home at the beginning of 2020. As of March 2020, it skyrocketed to 58% with the COVID-19 outbreak. That’s about 190 million people.
Businesses around the world needed to change how they ran their companies. If you’re an employer, who recently started handling remote workers, you understand that communication can be a challenge.
Before, you could hold a meeting or go to a person’s desk to ask them a question. Now, you have to rely on technology. Luckily we live in a time where there are many online platforms to use that make working from home straightforward.
If you don’t know which ones to use, we’ve put together the toolstack to improve your business’s communication today.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft, as a company, has been reliable for years with its computers, smartphones, Office tools, and more. It’s created a one-stop spot for all types of communication for your company called Microsoft Teams.
It puts together other Microsoft applications into a cohesive place so you, the employer, and employees can access all the information they need to perform smoothly. Microsoft Teams has sections for emails, calendar, video calls, documents using Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, a planner, analytics, team building, and more.
When something new happens, your workers will get a notification about a new assignment, an upcoming meeting, an emergency announcement, and more. All of these features will take some time to learn, and you’ll have to train your employees.
If you’re still confused on how you can manage Microsoft teams pop up notifications, set up video calls, assign tasks, use the analytics, or use another feature, you can get support from Microsoft directly.
Google Applications
Google takes in 3.5 billion searches per day, but it has a lot more to offer than just a search engine. There are an extensive amount of applications that can be used to help operate your business.
If everyone on your team has a Google account, many things can be shared. It offers documents, email, calendar, video meetings, and much more. It’ll be easy to communicate and view resources as a team.
A great feature is that it’s all saved and run through the internet. All of the information will be there regardless if a computer breaks, is stolen, or is forgotten somewhere. Your employees will be able to access their work from many devices.
Zoom
Zoom is a great resource to use for communication purposes for your business. It’s a straightforward system that’s perfect for companies with a limited budget.
If you hold large business conferences, have frequent professional development classes, or even one-on-one meetings, Zoom is the perfect platform. It’s primarily a video calling application but has other features as well.
There’s a chat room, so your employees can send direct messages and don’t have to waste time using email. Also, you can share documents so that everyone has access to them.
As far as video calling aspects, there are break out rooms, which are great for team building. You can also share your screen, which allows everyone to see a Powerpoint or other documents together. This is an excellent feature for a large meeting.
The admin of the group can also mute others, so there are no distractions while the conference is going on. You can select individuals to unmute when it’s time for a conversation. As far as online video calling is concerned, Zoom is the best one.
The Bottom Line
Communication is the key to any successful business. Everyone working with you should be informed, and your clients want their needs met. Face to face conversations are the most efficient; however, it’s not always possible.
Luckily, we live in a time where technology is advancing exponentially. Almost anything that you can do in an office, you can do in the comfort of your own home. If your business has recently moved remotely, some of the best toolstacks are Microsoft Teams, Google Applications, and Zoom. Once you start using one of these platforms, everyone you work with will be successful and have better communication with one another.
