Below are examples of software that virtual teams can use to get their work done effectively and efficiently, regardless of how many miles there are between them.

Communication Software

Slack

Slack is one of the best communication tools in the industry today. It’s relied upon daily by millions of remote workers. It’s excellent for remote teams in large part thanks to its intricately designed features. The platform provides teams with:

• Channels where teams can communicate and share files
• Voice and Video call function
• App Integration with other platforms such as Google Suite
• A workflow builder which automates processes such as communication.

Slack offers remote teams better and faster communication, more efficient organization and decreases the reliance on email.

Microsoft Teams

Teams is the core communication product of Microsoft, specifically developed to streamline communication between remote teams. It allows you to chat with team members, video call, and even collaborate on projects through Excel and Powerpoint.

Users can share files, easily arrange online meetings and host webinars. It also offers a workforce management feature that makes work more seamless. Managers and employers can also use Teams to monitor their teams’ performance and optimize productivity.

Zoom

Zoom is a popular video-sharing application used by both virtual and in-house teams. The application became quite popular during the Covid-19 lockdown because it efficiently facilitated communication between people in different locations.

Zoom has revolutionized the way we communicate, connecting people across different locations. Today, remote teams use it to host online meetings and webinars. It’s user-friendly with a simple yet elegant design and is available on desktop and mobile.

Productivity and Time Management Software

Workpuls

Workpuls is an employee productivity tracking software designed to optimize and streamline employee performance by monitoring productivity and time efficiency. Employers enjoy features such as:

• Screenshots and real-time monitoring that provide insights into how employees use their time
• Automated time and attendance that eliminates timesheets
• Productivity metrics and benchmarking
• Time tracking for individual employees, projects and tasks

Workpuls allows managers and team leaders to more effectively manage, improve performance and support greater productivity.

Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a productivity and time tracking tool used by employers to monitor virtual employees’ performance. The platform equips users with features such as:

• Automated time tracking
• A dashboard where you can monitor the entire team
• Inbuilt to-do list where users can schedule pending tasks
• Employee timesheets.

Hubstaff offers clients a desktop and mobile version allowing them to track performance from any location. Hubstaff integrates seamlessly with Quickbooks so you can sync the time tracked in Hubstaff as well as pay rates and pay periods to Quickbooks. This makes it easier for you to run your payroll in Quickbooks Online.

ActivTrak

ActivTrak is a notable productivity tracking software used by employers to monitor and evaluate performance insight. It features a dashboard where users can view trends in performance and workflow efficiency.

What’s more, you get access to productivity reviews which help identify and resolve bottlenecks. Lastly, ActivTrak provides employers with real-time activity reports, which allow you to keep tabs on your remote team without disrupting their workflow.

Collaboration tools

Google Suite

Google Suite, now known as Google Workspace, is a collection of Google products designed to optimize workflow and collaboration. It’s a perfect addition to any remote team’s selection of software. It comprises:

• Gmail – for communication through email
• Docs – to create and edit documents
• Sheets – for making and editing spreadsheets
• Slides – for PowerPoint presentations
• Drive – for document sharing and storage
• Meet – for videoconferences
• Chats – for communication
• Calendar – for scheduling events and tasks.

These features make Google Suite a mainstay for remote teams. The functionality Google Suite offers can act as the foundation for effective remote work.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is another noteworthy collaboration tool. It allows remote teams to collaborate across various file formats, take and share notes, communicate, and store files in the cloud. Users can also share files and integrate other apps available in the Microsoft store. The most popular Microsoft 365 collaboration tools include:

• Excel
• Word
• OneNote
• Outlook and,
• OneDrive.

Teams can also use the Microsoft suite to schedule tasks and keep track of their performance. The all-encompassing functionality of Microsoft 365 makes it the backbone of many remote teams.

Onboarding tools

Remote

For a remote employee, the initial onboarding process can often feel tedious and time-consuming, with various HR necessities to be ticked off and training-related tasks to be completed. That’s particularly true if you’re a remote employee working for an employer based in another country — as there are additional complexities to consider — but that’s where the employer of record provider Remote comes in, streamlining remote onboarding and taking care of essential compliance requirements.

Remote enables businesses to:

• Hire full-time remote workers legally in other countries
• Run payroll for international employees in their local currencies
• Handle benefits for global workers
• Comply with international tax laws and regulations
• Manage international contractors

Project Management tools

There are so many different kinds of project management solutions available online, which can make it difficult to find the one that suits your business the best. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here are 5 great project management tools that you need to include in your workflow.

Jira

Over 65,000 companies use Jira. It’s an efficient project management software that pioneered the project management software movement. Today, Jira is used by thousands of agile remote teams to:

• Plan and organize tasks
• Keep track of performance
• Create and execute workflows

Jira’s scrum and kanban boards allow team managers to monitor and evaluate staff productivity based on the insights generated in real-time. Another defining feature is its automation capabilities which enable users to automate work functions.

Trello

Trello is a kanban-based project management software popular with remote teams for its efficiency in planning and managing projects. It’s available on desktop and mobile (iOS and Android). The platform’s drag and drop project and task cards make it incredibly user-friendly.

Trello allows users to collaborate on tasks, monitor performance, and integrate with other apps. It has an automation tool that makes completing tasks much more accessible. Users can even customize tasks, adding a personal touch to their work.

Asana

Asana allows remote teams to organize their projects while collaborating on tasks through its fantastic range of features. Team members can plan and assign tasks amongst themselves and also automate repetitive workflows.

Asana has over 100 integrations that remote teams can use to communicate and collaborate on tasks. It also offers real-time reports where you can check to estimate your team’s progress.

Comindware Tracker

Comindware Tracker is a drag-and-drop workflow management software that allows teams to speed up the creation and automation of workflows and forms without the need for a tech team. It also includes a number of workflow management capabilities and tools that make it a solid choice for teams looking to create high-impact business apps that support their needs. The software can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud.

Xebrio

Xebrio is a project management tool with a complete requirements management ecosystem that can manage your whole project or product development process from start to finish. Instead of using different tools, Xebrio has everything you need in one place.
Xebrio has a vital collaboration feature. It involves all stakeholders in the requirements approval process. This ensures everyone is updated on the project’s progress and can work together regardless of the team’s location.
Xebrio’s real-time collaboration feature is intended to increase remote teams’ productivity and keep all project-related discussions structured and open.
It also integrates seamlessly with GitHub and Jira to ensure your projects get completed without missing a beat.
Xebrio offers a free trial for 14 days so you can test out all the features.

Wrapping Up

There has to be communication and a sense of fellowship for remote work to be seamless without any hitches. What better way to facilitate these qualities than with efficient software and apps designed to automate and optimize functions? With constant use, you will notice significant improvements not only in communication but time management and productivity.

The post The Best Software for Remote Employees appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

Many parties need easy access to information about the number of hours they have worked, any time taken off, and the like. This will determine how much the employee earns during a pay period and helps the finance department with payroll. However, when a human being is responsible for managing this task, there is room for error and it can take time. Say you want to check on your time off or you see an issue with your timesheet. For many, the only option is to get in touch with human resources or whatever department is in charge of this task, inquire, and wait for an answer.

It is the waiting part that causes issues as there can be significant delays in getting queries answered and lag in fixing any potential issues there might be with an employee’s timesheet. Thankfully, there are more modern and convenient ways to manage timesheets.

Reasons to Change the “Old Ways”

There are many reasons to modernize parts of your business operations, whether it be to improve efficiency or to stay ahead of the proverbial curve. When it comes to timesheets, well, paper is a technology of the past. It has to be stored and managed and kept in a location where any party that needs to can have access to them. You can already see how this can cause trouble when these departments are awash in this type of documentation.

There are a number of problems with using paper or even card-based timesheets. These are manual and an employee can forget to clock in. Not to mention, people in human resources must look at each timesheet and this takes time and can leave room open for error. This is inefficient and should an error be detected, it will take even more time to resolve the issue.

Automate for Efficiency and to Reduce Error

Thankfully, there are powerful software tools that allow you to reimagine how to manage employee timesheets. Automation software, such as offered by Comindware, can completely automate this process. This will make timesheet management far more transparent to the employee and any other party that may need access to these documents.

Automation software, as the name implies, allows businesses to automate timesheet management which frees up human resources for other tasks that cannot be done by a machine. This gives them more time for other important aspects of their job and will also reduce the amount of communication and back and forth they have to do with employees to answer questions about timesheets.

With automation software, errors are largely non-existent and it takes a fraction of the time to produce employee timesheets than when done by hand. Increasing efficiency is one of the best ways to help a company stand apart from the proverbial crowd. And this software also means fewer errors, which reduces the amount of time needed to manage timesheets, as well as frustrations with employees over errors.

This software usually involves the use of an app where employees can easily track and manage the hours they work. All necessary parties will have access to the information entered into the app for each employee. If everything checks out, the timesheets can even be approved automatically, meaning no delays in pay, which everyone likes.

Managing the hours employees work to ensure they get paid and know the status of their time off is just one of the many functions human resource professionals must manage. Using automated timesheet management software reduces the amount of work and effort it takes to efficiently and properly manage this aspect of the business. Knowing that the process is streamlined and accurate gives everyone the peace of mind that they will be paid for the hours they work.

With automation software, you can dramatically increase the efficiency of timesheet management, cutting down the time it takes to perform this vital task significantly. It also helps to reduce delay and error in reporting of hours worked to ensure that employees are paid for the time they put in, without delay. The associated app allows both employees and human resource professionals to keep an eye on the timesheet and can address any potential issues as they come up far easier. Not to mention, machines make far fewer errors than humans do.

The post Alternatives to Traditional Employee Timesheet Templates appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

ProcessMaker Alternatives

For those who are looking for an alternative to ProcessMaker that has excellent reviews, powerful tools, and a proven track record, Comindware Tracker is a great choice. The software has received incredibly user reviews, which are highly appreciated as feedback helps us to improve the product. It is a fraction of the cost of ProcessMaker. With ProcessMaker, you are looking at over $1000 a month, along with a fee levied per user.

With Comindware Tracker, you can use the software for a flat rate of about $25 a month, per user, without the ridiculous fee as well. Business process management and workflow software are incredibly versatile but that doesn’t mean that you have to break the proverbial bank in the process.

Users across a host of different industries, large and small, swear by Comindware Tracker as a great alternative to the pricier ProcessMaker. Users love the easy-to-use interface that provides powerful tools that can be integrated with a variety of other technologies.

Benefits of Comindware vs ProcessMaker

You can easily set your own rules and controls, customizing the software to each company, and the project’s individualized needs. Users of ProcessMaker point out that the software doesn’t have much in the way of compatibility, whereas Comindware allows for easy integration. ProcessMaker has no mobile app and remote interface, which Comindware does have. ProcessMaker takes a long time to load and there are issues with its auto-posting functionality, leading to bottlenecks and inefficiency.

Another key difference between Comindware Tracker and ProcessMaker is the skill level needed to use said software. With Comindware, even a computer novice can make use of the tools and metrics, whereas with ProcessMaker, you will need at least a basic level of understanding and ability to code. This dramatically reduces the number of employees who can use and take advantage of these software tools.

User Experience

Those who use Comindware love its control panel which provides access to all business processes, making it easy to track progress and change anything that may need adjustment along the way. These user reviews have helped us learn what works with this software and what areas need improvement. Companies that have integrated Comindware and similar software suites swear by the increased productivity and the reduced amount of time spent on repetitive activities like data entry.

With this type of software, you can automate and streamline a whole host of business operations, from simple to complex. This reduces the number of times employees must spend on repetitive tasks that leave room for human error. Companies who have integrated this type of software into their organization reduce error and streamline operations. This leaves more time and opportunity for innovation and creativity.

Comindware Tracker is also lauded for coming with excellent customer service and support, available anytime, day or night, to assist users with any issues they may be experiencing. The workflow software allows for easy customization so you can tailor the software to the exacting needs of your company and a given project. While this is also possible with ProcessMaker, users will need to have a level of technical proficiency that isn’t required for users of Comindware.

Comindware Pros

While cost, for many organizations, is the biggest deciding factor in choosing which software suite is right for a company, it isn’t the only factor in the decision-making process. When it comes to cost, Comindware wins, hands-down, costing a fraction of what ProcessMaker and other software suites cost monthly. However, there are other reasons to choose Comindware as an alternative to ProcessMaker.

Firstly, it has an easy-to-use interface that makes the software accessible to many more people within an organization. With software suites like ProcessMaker, users will have to have at least a low-level proficiency in coding and understand how the individual processes work. This limits the number of employees in an organization that can benefit from or even uses the software. Comindware is accessible so employees across the organization, not just IT, can utilize these powerful tools. The software can be easily customized to meet the needs of each organization and even the individual process being automated.

Organizations that utilize business process management and workflow automation software see dramatic increases in efficiency across many areas of their business operations. Processes that used to require actual people to enter in data by hand, or start and end certain basic processes, can now be handled automatically. This saves a ton of time and also helps reduce errors, which is unavoidable when humans are entering data or managing processes by hand.

The post Alternatives to ProcessMaker in 2021 appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.