Essential software tools for working from home

Are you working at home and have to adjust to changes in how your business works?  Or do you manage a team who now is beginning to work remotely? If so it's essential you have the right tools to do so. 

There is an abundance of software tools out there to aid your business in working remotely, and we at Wurkhouse wanted to outline the areas to address most and essential software we used to adapt.

Read: COVID-19: We're all in this together

Communication channels

Keeping in touch with your staff, colleagues and clients is probably the most important element to consider when working from home. 

Being totally accessible during WFH is vital to ensuring engagement is at its highest level and also there's nothing being missed when it comes to tasks. Communication channels such as Slack allow colleagues and clients alike to communicate in real time and are a great way to cut through any issues relating to working remotely. 

The great thing about Slack is that it allows you to separate conversation between clients and colleagues within channels. 

Slack alternatives include Microsoft Teams, Flock and Google Hangouts 

Video conferencing

Despite not being in the same room as clients or colleagues, there are still tools available to help you emulate a meeting room experience. With one of the most popular applications being Zoom.

One of the main reasons Zoom is rated as the top video conferencing tool is that it's free. However that doesn't mean it isn't a high quality alternative to face to face meetings. It offers a lot of handy extras such as large scale conferencing (up to 100 attendees, free for 40mins) and the ability to screen share, record conversations and chat live in conference. 

If like us at Wurkhouse, you rely on video communication for both clients and work colleagues, then Zoom is a great tool for managing expectations when working from home!

Read: Working From Home: 5 steps to structure your day

Zoom alternatives include Google Hangouts, Skype and TeamViewer.

Project management 

Working on numerous projects and with a lot of different stakeholders at play means it can be difficult to stay organised. This becomes even more so a challenge, if you're working from home for both staff and employers. 

Having project management software means you can set up,track and monitor projects while also efficiently managing spending. Making sure there is access and co-operation in updating this kind of software is essential for staff working from home. 

With software like Celoxis you can add jobs, assign hours and track progress anywhere, so it's a vital tool to be able to update when working from home. 

Celoxis alternatives include Workfront, Monday.com and Trello.

Shared drive access

Our final point on the list of essential software tools for working from home is just as important as the rest. Shared access to folders and workplace applications is vital to ensuring all work is connected via cloud etc. 

Microsoft OneDrive for example, allows you to share and collaborate live with colleagues and gives remote access to users to update and edit documents or share projects. Much like other cloud services OneDrive offers a level of free storage (up to 15gb) and the ability to contain any files from photo to video and access from your device. 

One of the key reasons why we at Wurkhouse, feel OneDrive is so effective when working from home, is its ability to be versatile in usage from IOS, PC, Mac or Android.

Alternatives to OneDrive include Dropbox, Google Drive and Cloud Storage.

Summary

Working from home can be an adjustment for the majority of employers, clients and staff to deal with. However with the correct tools in place you can find that the transition can be seamless and as all of our examples above have highlighted, help you can maintain a strong working relationship with both clients and colleagues alike.