Remote working, necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic, has greatly impacted the way businesses operate. Hybrid working is a mix of in-office and remote working, which remains a popular choice for 84% of workers in a 2022 survey.

As a business owner, you may be concerned about security issues, communication problems and the hardware needed to ensure successful remote working. However, there are many options available for those looking to adopt a remote-friendly working environment.

Cloud computing technology provides computing services, such as storage, servers and software over the internet, meaning that remote workers can access all of the resources they need. Dropbox users can access files on any device, with up to 1 terabyte of free storage, meaning a remote worker could access the same documents at home as someone else working in the office.

ClickUp allows you to track time and priority on tasks, and assign projects to your team members. You can even add clients so they can see what you’re working on. You can get started for free, before upgrading to their advanced features.

Trello is a similar online service which acts just like a bulletin board – you can add events and meetings, and depending on how many employees you have, it can be scaled up or down. Other popular project management tools are Asana and Monday.com, but there are countless others to choose from.

Giving employees the resources they need to work remotely can boost productivity up to 77%. Using cloud-based apps such as Google Docs allows employees to edit collaboratively. One person can make a document, share the link with others, and everyone can add, remove or modify text if you give them editing permissions. In fact, Google Workspace has pretty much anything you’d ever need all in one place!

One of the most important aspects of teamwork is communication – don’t let remote working become a barrier to this! Whether it’s an employee needing to ask for clarification on a task, or a client who wants a piece of work revised, if they can’t get in touch with the relevant people, a lot of time could be wasted.

Slack is the perfect tool for workplace communications, with the ability to send messages and files to groups or specific team members. There are also many different types of video calling software for having meetings with your team or with customers, like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.

Automate tasks to make remote workers as efficient as possible. Text expansion tools like autocomplete save time when writing, and can also include built-in grammar checks to ensure written projects are as top-notch as can be.

PhraseExpress, Breevy and many others on the market are built to increase productivity – and there are even free options that come with phones or laptops. These can autofill responses to ensure that communication is quick and easy. If you’re looking to take automation to the next level, Zapier remains the best automation tool on the market.

There you have it – a list of the best tools to use when working remotely. Your team will find it a lot easier when making good use of cloud computing and mobile tools available, meaning that no matter where they work, they can utilise remote office technology to maximise productivity and make working life easier for the whole business.

Find out how you can access these tools with the Lincoln Be Smarter scheme! We provide grant funding of up to £50,000, as well as academic support from the University of Lincoln’s computer science department – why not book an online chat with us to discuss your needs?