Over the years, the handful of businesses that use the remote work model has been on the rise. Reasons for this include the increasing trend of outsourcing talents, the expenses that companies are spared from, efficiency in times of crisis, and increased productivity. However, one of the main driving forces behind the eruption of this work style is the continuous rise of some of the best remote workforce management software solutions that make this not only possible but also effective.
We’re talking about different types of tools that are included in remote work software such as project management, collaboration, communication, document management, and more. For a remote setup to work, one or more of these software must be adopted by the organization. This will solve the most glaring issues of employees working far from the office, like communication, progress tracking, billing, etc.
Another challenge that this type of solution addresses is how to effectively handle decentralized teams. After all, professional connections are more apparent when employees are working in closer proximity. So if you’re looking to tackle this particular problem, this article can help by pointing you towards the best remote workforce management software.
All the previous data, current trends, and future projections seem to indicate that the remote work software’s market is only getting bigger. Take the survey conducted by AND CO, for instance. It says that 55% of respondents completely work remotely, while 28% work both at home and the office. That’s more than 80% of people involved in remote work. Another report that supports this notion is a study about the trends in remote work growth by FlexJobs, presented in the chart below.
Source: FlexJobs
This means that today, more than ever, is the best opportunity for working remotely—be it a permanent setup or a temporary arrangement. However, it’s not without its fair share of challenges, especially because today’s generation is practically the pioneer in this field. There will be communication problems, time zone difference headaches, and collaboration issues, among others. As it stands, it will also be harder to manage a team that is partially or fully comprised of remote members.
This is where remote workforce management software comes in. With the right combination of tools, you may not only bridge the gap between staff working remotely but also make the setup more productive than its office-based counterpart. That’s because there’s a lot of benefits to working remotely. While there are also disadvantages, using the right tools will help ensure that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
The sheer number of remote work solutions to choose from means you’ll have a lot of options, but you’ll also have a lot of filtering to do. To help you with the selection process, we’ve listed 20 of the best remote workforce management software to consider.
monday.com provides remote workers and managers with a plethora of tools that would allow them to communicate and collaborate seamlessly and effectively. It has a neat, well-organized, and user-friendly interface that end-users can enjoy in no time. It also sports an advanced scheduling capability, which can be considered as this software’s distinctive advantage compared to other solutions in the same category. Also, the platform can serve as the central place to integrate your other communication channels like Zoom and Slack. Plus, it has a time tracking feature as well, which makes it ideal for curbing the trend of workers working for longer hours in a remote setup.
monday.com is also reasonably priced. Its prices start at $39 per month billed annually, and you’ll get powerful searching capabilities, along with unlimited storage. Premium versions are also available. They come with advanced functionalities to meet the requirements of growing businesses.
Detailed monday.com Review
When it comes to managing remote teams, Asana has the tools to help you organize and make sure projects are completed on time. With this platform, you can easily know the status of a project and assign tasks even if team members are working from different locations. It allows you to assign workloads, share detailed instructions about tasks, set priorities, and deadlines, and stay on track. There’s a calendar that you can use to see the big picture, spot overlaps in your schedule, and make needed adjustments with ease.
Asana offers a free trial and a free plan, which allows up to 15 individuals to use the app. The free plan also includes a basic dashboard and unlimited tasks, projects, and conversations. For large teams, a premium and enterprise plan is available.
Detailed Asana Review
Teamwork is a user-friendly web-based solution that helps managers, employees, as well as clients to work on a project together seamlessly and effectively. It offers two modules: the teamwork desk and teamwork projects. As the name suggests, teamwork projects is designed to help end-users manage their projects. It comes with a plethora of features, such as task management tools, time tracking, charts, and reports. It also comes with file management features that allow users to access their files from one central location. The teamwork desk, on the other hand, empowers users to effortlessly manage their inbound communication and tickets. You can also communicate via email, as this solution offers email integration capability.
Teamwork provides a free trial and a free plan, inclusive of 100mb file space and other features. A pro plan, which costs $9/user/month, a premium plan, which costs $15/user/month, and a quote-based enterprise plan are also available.
Detailed Teamwork Review
Managing a remote workforce is made easy with Basecamp. This solution offers tools for managing your projects and your employees. The myriad of features available allows businesses to efficiently monitor projects and ensure that things are finished on budget and on-time. With this innovative solution, you can organize tasks in to-do-lists, include due ranges and dates, assign them to employees, reorder or prioritize tasks, and even customize the system to meet your business needs.
The platform also offers communication capabilities so you can make sure everyone remains in the know. To top it off, this solution can serve as a document and file management system where you can store, share, tag, like, or comment on documents when needed. These capabilities can prove to be especially useful in helping employees get used to remote work.
Basecamp offers a flat fee of $99 and a 30-day free trial you can use to check out the features and see if they suit your needs.
Detailed Basecamp Review
These four products are only among the most popular tools among the market however, there are still plenty of great options out there. So, if you’d like to explore more products, be sure to check out our compilation of online project management tools.
Loaded with information management and business collaboration features, Wrike is a powerful tool that can help you to effectively manage a remote workforce. It’s also one of the best agile project management software today. It comes with color coding and label tools to help clarify task priorities on an individual or team level. And when there are discussions, you can easily engage your team members by mentioning their names. Accessing and working on a single document together is also made possible by this platform. Additionally, you can generate and send progress reports and update emails to your team members to keep them informed.
You can try Wrike features for free through its free trial offer. A free plan is also available, which is great for a small team with up to 5 users. For bigger teams, there are four different pricing plans to choose from. The price ranges from about $10 to $35.
Detailed Wrike Review
Jira is an agile system that can be used by software teams that create and ship products. It comes with features that streamline the process of app development, from conceptualization to execution. You can install the system on Windows and Linux. If your team members are working from different locations, you can benefit from the system’s mobile version.
Mobile apps are as powerful as the on-premises and desktop versions of the system and can be used to complete all tasks and operations. This tool helps its users attain transparency in project progress tracking, achieve seamless team management, and make data easily accessible.
Jira also offers a free trial, a free plan, and four paid packages.
Detailed Jira Review
Xoxoday Empuls is another platform that delivers collaboration and communication tools to its end-users. But what’s probably unique about it is that it helps you ensure that your team members remain engaged. It comes with a pulse survey feature that allows you to collect feedback from employees at every stage of the work cycle. There are also gamification tools that make the platform more enjoyable to use. You can motivate your team by rewarding them with badges, awards, or any gift, such as merchandise, and more. Of course, just like other similar solutions, it offers group chat as well as personal messaging features and file management tools.
Xoxoday Empuls costs $3 to $5 per user per month. A 21-day free trial is also available if you want to check out the software before subscribing.
Detailed Xoxoday Empuls Review
Trello is a cloud-based task management app that uses Kanban boards for organizing projects, cards for tasks, and lists for tracking the status of a project. Since it is cloud-based and can be accessed from a desktop browser, it’s proven to be useful to managers handling remote employees. It also comes with mobile apps, giving end-users more flexibility.
When it comes to managing and organizing projects, the platform makes the task less arduous by giving you boards to put projects in. To assign tasks, you only need to add a new card, type a title on it, and put a label on it. You can also add attachments, checklists, deadlines, and other relevant information on the cards. It’s pretty easy to use, plus, the platform has a neat interface. And to make task management fun, you can add stickers to the cards, such as a thumbs up for a job well done, or customize the backgrounds.
No free trial is available, but there is a free plan, which includes unlimited boards, lists, cards, members, checklists, and more. There are also two pricing plans that provide users with more advanced functionalities. The price starts at $9 per user/month.
Detailed Trello Review
Of course, don’t limit yourself to just these top platforms. In case you feel like these aren’t suited to your workflow or don’t fall within your budget, you can always take a look at these leading collaboration software solutions.
RingCentral Video is a web conferencing app that does not only let you host online meetings, but also share screens with your teammates, and communicate with each other through chat. The screen sharing capability is proven useful when conducting presentations. You can even let participants join your conversations through telephone dial-in.
This application is ideal if you have a huge team as it allows you to accept up to 500 attendees in your online meeting. You can also conduct online training and live webinars using this tool as it supports up to 10,000 individuals. It is also good for one-on-one meetings. For such, you can use the app free of charge. The free plan also includes screen sharing functionality and allows you to accept up to 100 participants in a meeting. If you have a bigger team, you can get the paid plans. The prices start at $14.99 per user/month.
Detailed RingCentral Video Review
Effective communication is essential to the success of remote workforce management. Slack is the solution that connects team members who are working miles apart from one other. It is a messaging application that offers real-time messaging, search features, archiving tools, and file-sharing capabilities. What’s more, you can extend its functionalities by integrating the platform with any of the 1500+ supported applications and services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub, and Zendesk. It also offers mobile applications so you will remain up-to-date even while on the go.
Slack offers a free trial, so you could check out its features before making a purchase. A free plan, which allows for unlimited users and time on the app, is also available. For more advanced functionalities, you can choose between Standard, Plus, and enterprise plans.
Detailed Slack Review
Skype is another tool designed to help remote workers stay connected and effectively work together. With this solution, you can share files and communicate with your remote team via video chat, call, and text. You can also use it to conduct online meetings. Up to 250 individuals can join a Skype Conference. What’s more, this solution can be easily installed on your Personal Computer, laptop, and Smartphone.
But what really makes this solution popular is its pricing. You can get the basic features, such as chat, calls, web conferencing free of charge. Advanced functionalities like enterprise-level technical phone support, high-definition video and audio calling, and 1TB file storage are also available, but they will cost you some bucks. The platform’s plans start at $5.50 per user per month.
Detailed Skype Review
GoToMeeting is the platform to use if you need to talk to your team face-to-face but cannot be in the same office. This web conferencing solution is packed with international features so it’s an ideal option for businesses with offices across multiple locations. It offers multi-national toll-free numbers for international participants. Its interface is also user-friendly so even the least tech-savvy end-users will more likely learn how to use the platform in no time.
Hosts can easily create an online meeting and invite attendees by providing them with a custom URL. Sometimes, a PIN is needed to join a conversation, which makes the platform more secure. It is compatible with personal computers, Macbook Pro, as well as mobile devices.
There are three paid pricing plans available. The price range is $19 to $49 per month. If only three individuals need to participate in meetings, you can get the free plan. A free trial is also available.
Detailed GoToMeeting Review
As you can see, there are plenty of channels that you can leverage to communicate with your remote team. However, in case you want to expand your list of options, feel free to check this list of communication software.
PandaDoc is a web-based solution designed to help you manage your documents. You can use this tool to create, share, and deliver documents with your remote team online. It supports various document forms, such as Docs, PDFs, and other pre-existing online documents. What’s more, you can use this app to capture legally-binding electronic signatures. You can get documents signed by your team members if needed, without commuting to the office.
PandaDoc does not offer a free plan, but it does come with a free trial. You can take advantage of it to know whether the solution fits your team’s needs or not. If you want to continue using the app, you can choose between three pricing plans. The price starts at $9 per user/month.
Detailed PandaDoc Review
Zoho Forms is a flexible and user-friendly online solution that allows users to create forms in a breeze. Thanks to its drag-and-drop functionality, all you need to do is drag or move your desired elements onto your form. This feature also gives users the freedom to make forms more personal if needed. The created forms can be easily shared both online and offline. What’s more, the platform allows you to accept digital signatures. So you can enforce paper trails and approvals with less effort.
Zoho Forms offers four pricing plans, ranging from $10 to $100/month. A free trial is available if you want to check out the features, and if you only need to create up to three forms, you can get the free plan. It already features unlimited reports, 500 submissions per month, and 200 MB file storage.
Detailed Zoho Forms Review
Google Drive is a storage system where you can keep your files, such as documents, music, and photos, all in one place. This solution is cloud-based, which means you can easily access it from any mobile or computer device. The platform automatically syncs all your files in all the devices linked to your account. So whether you use your mobile phone or PC, you’ll always get to see the changes made in your account.
Not only can you keep files, but you can also share them with ease or work on a document with other team members in real-time. What’s more, the platform is loaded with features for internal communication and business collaboration, such as Hangouts and Google Calendar, which are essential to managing remote teams.
This solution offers a free trial and a free plan. The latter is inclusive of 15GB storage, but if you need more storage space, you can choose between the three available plans. For $89/month, you can get 100GB. For $479/month, you’ll get 1TB. If you need more, the platform offers 10TB for $4,799 per month.
Detailed Google Drive Review
Dropbox Business is a file-sharing solution that gives users ample storage space, making it ideal for businesses and teams that need to transfer and store large files. It also allows users to recover as many files as they need even months after they deleted them. So there will be no worries when you accidentally delete files.
Another thing that is worth mentioning is the platform’s unlimited file version history. With Dropbox Business, you can easily store even the most complex file versions. What’s more, you can set permission or put a password on confidential files to protect them from unauthorized access. And to make sure your files remain secure, the platform gives the admin full control of the membership, device connection, setting permissions, and other similar activities. So even if the members of a team are working remotely, they can still easily share and access files, and you don’t need to worry about security.
A free trial is available if you want to check out the platform. The pricing starts at $15. You can ask for a quote if you want to get all the features that the system has to offer.
Detailed Dropbox Business Review
Managing your documents is no easy task so it’s pertinent you have a good platform in which you can organize them. However, keep in mind that these top software solutions are not the only reliable options out there. To help you browse for other tools, check out our compilation of document management tools.
BambooHR is an online HR software that delivers an end-to-end solution for workforce management. Considered as one of the best human resource management software, this solution is packed with powerful features. It comes with an Applicant Tracking System to help you administer all aspects of an employee’s life cycle. Additionally, there are personnel data modules, tracking capabilities, as well as advanced reporting opportunities. This platform, however, is built only for small- and medium-sized businesses.
BambooHR’s pricing plans are available only upon request. They also offer discounts depending on the number of employees you have and the additional features you get. You can also get pre-payment discounts, not-for-profit discounts, and a free trial to check out the platform’s features.
Detailed BambooHR Review
Eddy is a cloud-based HR management solution that can help you with the hiring, onboarding, as well as people management processes. It comes with an intuitive interface and offers a myriad of powerful features to make the aforementioned processes simpler. You can use this platform to post job vacancies on different online boards, filter candidates, and welcome new team members. You can also keep all employee-related information on this platform.
Moreover, you can create a profile for every employee hired, which contains contact information, social security numbers, and more, and keep them in your employee directory. This platform also provides a communication module that allows your team to communicate via chat, comments, and reactions. It will help you keep your team constantly informed.
This platform offers a free trial and quote-based plans. If you want to know more about the app’s price, feel free to reach out to the vendor.
Detailed Eddy Review
UltiPro provides your business with a people management platform designed to simplify remote workforce management. The solution caters to the need of CFOs, human resource employees, supervisors, and executives. It is packed with human resource management capabilities that give end-users complete visibility over their employee’s data. You can view and access all employee-related information, such as contact data and productivity rating, from one convenient interface so you can guarantee compliance and consistency.
Checking employee attendance is also made easy with the platform’s time and attendance module. With it, you don’t have to spend much time on time tracking and scheduling because the processes are automated. There are also analytics and reporting tools that give end-users insight and complete visibility into their workforce.
UltiPro pricing is available only upon request. If you want to get more details, simply contact the vendor.
Detailed UltiPro Review
Kronos Workforce Central, as its name suggests, delivers a single central platform where you can manage all aspects of an employee’s lifecycle. It is completely automated with configurable integrated components that make implementations seamless and reduces errors. The platform also gives its users easy access to information from any device anytime they need it. Furthermore, reporting and analytics are available, giving executives and managers instant access as well as visibility into accurate and standardized information. In a nutshell, this platform is designed to address common issues faced by modern organizations.
Kronos Workforce Central’s pricing is available only upon request. If you want to get more details, you can contact the vendor.
Detailed Kronos Workforce Central Review
Do you think these HR systems are not ideal for your virtual team’s requirements? In that case, make sure you expand your options by taking a look at these 20 best HR software solutions.
There you have it, a set of reliable tools that could help weather the productive but challenging field of remote work. However, at the end of the day, they’re still simply just tools. Useful, yes, but should always be used in conjunction with proper strategies to maximize the benefits of remote work and thwart the troubles it brings.
With that said, here are some ideas to consider for managing a remote team:
Of course, these are only a few tips to consider. To learn more about the topic, check out our guide on how to work remotely from home.
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