Many employers still do not see that the experience of modern employees demands more autonomy and flexibility than their presence. Not surprisingly, since the epidemic hit, technologists have been working hard to create collaborative tools to support the distributed hybrid future of work.
Here’s a look at some of the virtual collaboration tools available to companies
Why this tool is important
Each survey suggests that employees are more willing to look for new jobs than to go back to the bad old days of attendance-based micro-management. Arguments that increase collaboration back in the workplace may carry some weight, but much of it relies on old-fashioned emails and virtual meetings held from the office rather than at home.
Even at Apple, about 76% of employees are not happy about going back to work with a frog-march. A recent Futures Forum survey found that staff experience scores have declined across the board because employees have been forced to return.
As Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said, “There is no point in hiring intelligent people and then telling them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. ”
What makes returns difficult to swallow is that many managers have not begun to use readily available projects or task management tools to help optimize team management in this remote work age. A recent survey found that about 60% of project management professionals now rely on meetings as the primary means of collaboration. But do those meetings need to be real or virtual? And how much can emerging families of remote collaboration and productivity solutions help managers feel better about their hard-working remote employees?
We don’t know the answer yet, but some of the tools below can help us find out.
Walkout workplace
It’s a browser-based virtual office environment that combines presence with secure video conferencing, screen-sharing, chat and file / document exchange, so you always know who’s available in real-time.
What is good for: Workgroups that want to maintain a sense of presence when working remotely, but also need flexibility to support a flexible approach to asynchronous work types and times and goals.
Unique points: I like the virtual receptionist and guest room features. These provide a sense of occasion and place, even for remote meetings.
Additional features: Group messaging, personal and open channels, support for corporate branding, conference rooms and the ability to “lock” yourself in a room when you need to focus or engage in a private virtual meeting.
Cost: কারী 13 per user, per month for the first 50 users, (after that the price goes down a bit). A free trial is available.
Where: www.walkaboutworkplace.com
Work patterns
This solution seems a little more ambitious than some. The company develops tools for meetings, feedback, goal management, and more because it aims to fill the void management gaps of distributed asynchronous teams. You will receive one-to-one meetings, continuous feedback and support for project management in one place. WorkPatterns is not an office goal, but an interactive and shared environment where goals can be agreed upon and progress can be monitored.
It’s good for what: It seems great for managers who want to gain control over their team; This seems to be a convenient accessory for team members who can gain insight into how they are contributing to the overall goals. This seems to be especially important for remote and hybrid workflows.
Unique points: Reporting tools seem to be particularly powerful, while collaboration and document sharing tools are committed.
Additional features: It integrates great and well with productivity: Google, Microsoft Team, Office, Salesforce, Zoom, Slack, Skype and more.
Cost: Free for up to five users, 25 8 per month for up to 25 users.
Where: www.workpatterns.com
Teamflow
This option virtualizes the presence and is well understood as a virtual office space that tries to function in the same way as a real space. This means you can see who is “in” in the office at any time and hear someone working near you in that virtual space. Want to talk to someone? Take your avatar to where they are and start a conversation Teamflow is an app and currently available for Mac and Windows. iOS and Android versions are currently in beta
It’s good for what: A good tool for remotely working companies that do not rely too much on distributed teams to work in asynchronous time. This is a virtual office space.
Unique points: I like the clever use of videos and words. To hear (or hear), you must bring your avatar closer to others. Document sharing and collaboration, support for meeting rooms and whiteboards make it a good collaborative environment.
Additional features: Support for integration with local audio, scheduling, and chat tools and native collaborative apps, including Slack, Office, Trello, Google Docs, and more. You can personalize your own virtual office environment.
Cost: Free for up to five users, বড় 15 per user per month for large groups.
Where: www.teamflowhq.com
Mexico
Moxo is built as a client-interaction solution that also integrates some team collaboration features. What’s great about this is that the service is designed to help provide white-gloss treatment throughout the client engagement process – it includes document collection, form filling, meeting rooms and task management.
It’s good for what: With a sleek user interface, Moxo provides a professional-grade user experience to help strengthen your brand.
Unique points: Online and available as an app, Moxo supports your client-oriented activity with a number of tools designed to streamline documentation, to-do lists, and business processes. You also get access to the SDK so you can build this experience into your own client-oriented apps, allowing businesses to provide an impressive client support experience.
Additional features: In this solution you will find content sharing, digital signature, document collaboration and useful team management and supervision features.
Cost: From $ 120 per month for 10 users.
Where: http://www.moxo.com/
Miro
Already used relatively well, the Miro is less about creating a virtual space because it focuses on optimizing and supporting collaboration with support for whiteboards, video conferencing, shared workspaces, and asynchronous teams. It is not about rebuilding a virtual office, but rather providing tools for starting collaborative activities.
What is good for: A glamorous environment that wraps an attractive digital cover around your existing apps and workflow patterns. It helps to create a collaborative space that does not interfere with your personal space. It should fit very well with any organization that comes with goal-oriented terms rather than presence-based management.
Unique points: Miro seems to have done a lot of thinking on its software, including the development of training materials for managers and staff to optimize collaboration in hybrid workspaces.
Additional features: Integrated endless workspace and integration with key tools, including most brands’ interactive displays, mobile devices and video conferencing apps. All are presented in a clean user interface.
Cost: Free for an unlimited number of users, but with limited features, up to $ 16 per member per month for the business package, which includes SSO, Okta support and smart meeting tools. Only enterprise accounts offer some of the most exciting features.
Where: www.miro.com
Seats
Asana avoids virtual environments to provide a powerful solution, providing tools to help teams stay focused, understand the significance of their work, and get things done. Part Project Management, Part Process Management, Part Reporting and Workflow Management are integrated with Asana Key Collaborative App.
What is good for: It’s a chic suit that puts everything in one place. However, I included it early in this roundup as an example of how an integrated collaborative project management environment can enhance remote work practice.
Unique points: While Asana is more of a project management tool than a human and collaboration support, it helps explain how digital technology is bridging the gap between presence-based and remote collaboration and team management.
Additional features: There are many things here. Create built-in Gantt charts, useful process automation, tools and goals for workflow / workload management. It is weak in terms of video support, but provides a number of in-app messaging and commenting tools.
Cost: You can use it for free to get used to it, but expect to pay around $ 15 / user / month if you want more sophisticated features.
Where: www.asana.com.
Honorable mention
I recently discussed the magic of the Flow Club, which could be a tool to help digital nomads stay at the top of their game. While researching this section, I came across a handful of other solutions worth considering, including:
If you come across a similar service, let me know. And then consider how AR will be useful in the new remote work era.
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