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If your business has remote employees or is planning to hire some, you have reached the right article. From team collaboration to project management, businesses need a variety of tools to keep their distributed teams productive and engaged. In this article, we have handpicked 20 top remote workforce solutions that can streamline operations for businesses of all sizes. Let’s explore.
Note: The prices of all remote workplace solutions are checked and updated on October 18, 2024.
Project Management + Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams
Here are some of the best task management and collaboration tools for remote teams. These types of remote workforce solutions enable teams to
stay organized
streamline workflows
maintain clear communication
track progress
manage tasks
collaborate in real-time
1. Microsoft To Do
Category: To-do Lists / Task Management
Key Features: Task creation, recurring tasks, subtasks, reminders, and integration with Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook and Teams. It supports collaboration for shared lists and allows syncing across devices.
Best Use Cases: Managing simple to-do lists, setting reminders, collaborating on shared tasks, and organizing personal projects.
Pros: Seamless integration with Microsoft 365, intuitive interface, excellent for users already in the Microsoft ecosystem, and available for free.
Drawbacks: Limited advanced task management features compared to other apps like Todoist.
Key Features: Task management, document collaboration, goals tracking, time tracking, workload views, automation, and over 1,000 integrations (Slack, Zoom, Google Drive).
Best Use Cases: Managing complex projects, team collaboration, task tracking, and goal setting for remote teams.
Pros: Highly customizable workspace, supports multiple project views (List, Board, Gantt, Calendar), built-in time tracking, suitable for both small teams and enterprises.
Drawbacks: Steep learning curve due to the abundance of features. Some users find the interface overwhelming. This tool is effective only when each user consistently updates their task statuses, as the tasks are intricately interdependent and rely on the progress of others.
Pricing: Free plan with essential features; premium plans start at $7 per user/month.
Monitoring and Time Tracking Software for Remote Employees
These types of remote workforce solutions let management gain insights into how time is being spent across projects. They provide in-depth insights into work hours and progress.
Caution: Management may encounter resistance from remote employees when implementing time-tracking and real-time monitoring software. Employees often feel that their flexibility and autonomy are being undermined, leading to concerns about micromanagement.
8. Clockify
Category: Time Tracking
Key Features: Time tracking, reporting, project tracking, task-level time logging, and billable hour tracking.
Best Use Cases: Tracking time spent on various tasks or projects, generating timesheets, and managing productivity insights.
Pros: Free and unlimited time tracking, detailed reports, integrates with popular project management tools like Trello and Asana.
Drawbacks: Limited advanced features in the free plan.
Pricing: Time tracking is free. Other plans with advanced features start at $3.99 per user/month. Timesheeting and Billing plans start at $5.49 per user/month.
Category: Time Tracking and Productivity Monitoring
Key Features: Time tracking, productivity monitoring (screenshots, activity levels), GPS tracking, invoicing, and reporting.
Best Use Cases: Tracking employee hours, managing remote teams' productivity, automating timesheets, and monitoring project budgets.
Pros: Detailed activity tracking, automated payroll, integrates with popular project management tools (Trello, Asana), supports both remote and field teams.
Drawbacks: Some employees may find the monitoring features intrusive. Live screenshot-taking may look like micromanagement to employees.
Key Features: Automatic time tracking, focus sessions, website, and app blocking during focus periods, detailed productivity reports, and goal setting for improved focus.
Best Use Cases: Tracking and analyzing time spent on different tasks, minimizing distractions by blocking distracting websites, and improving work-life balance.
Pros: Detailed productivity insights, allows blocking distracting websites, great for tracking habits over time and setting productivity goals, highly customizable.
Drawbacks: Can feel intrusive for users uncomfortable with tracking their activity, premium features come at a cost.
Remote Access Device Management Solutions for Remote Teams
These IAM and MDM tools ensure secure access management, device control, and endpoint security for remote teams. These tools are essential to protect your organization’s resources, data, and online assets, mitigating unauthorized access and data breaches.
11. Pomerium
Category: Identity and Access Management (IAM), Identity-Aware Proxy / Zero Trust
Key Features: Secure access to internal applications without a corporate VPN, integrates with existing Identity Providers (IDPs), supports Single Sign-On (SSO), policies based on identity, and context-aware access.
Best Use Cases: Securing remote access to applications, protecting internal resources, implementing Zero Trust access for teams, and eliminating the need for enterprise VPNs.
Best Use Cases: Monitoring and managing remote devices, ensuring endpoint security, tracking compliance across all devices (laptops, mobile, desktops).
Pros: Open-source, real-time device visibility, lightweight agent-based architecture, integrates with other security tools.
Drawbacks: It may require technical expertise for setup and maintenance, and limited support for certain mobile platforms.
Pricing: Open-source; pricing for Fleet Premium is available at $7.00/host/month for additional features and support.
Key Features: Device and application management, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, conditional access, integration with Azure Active Directory, compliance tracking.
Best Use Cases: Managing and securing both company-owned and personal devices, enforcing security policies for remote work, integration with other Microsoft 365 services.
Pros: Deep integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure, comprehensive policy management, supports a wide range of devices (Windows, iOS, Android).
Drawbacks: Best suited for Microsoft-centric environments, requires Azure Active Directory for full functionality.
Pricing: Included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium; standalone pricing starts at $8 per user/month.
Screen recording tools are vital for remote teams to create detailed tutorials, document workflows, and share presentations asynchronously. These types of remote workforce solutions help capture and communicate complex information effectively across distributed teams.
15. Loom
Category: Screen Recording / Asynchronous Communication
Key Features: Quick screen recording with audio and video, webcam integration, link sharing, annotation tools, and viewer engagement insights.
Best Use Cases: Recording product demos, tutorials, team updates, and quick walkthroughs for remote employees.
Pros: Fast, user-friendly, and ideal for asynchronous communication, easy sharing via link.
Drawbacks: Limited editing capabilities and lack of key features in the free version.
Pricing: Free plan with a 5-minute recording limit and up to 25 videos/person; premium plans start at $12.50 per user/month.
Whiteboard and mind-mapping tools are essential for remote teams to brainstorm ideas, visualize concepts, and collaborate in real-time. These types of remote workplace solutions provide a dynamic space for creative problem-solving and planning.
17. Miro
Category: Online Whiteboard / Mind Mapping
Key Features: Collaborative whiteboard, real-time brainstorming, sticky notes, flowcharts, mind mapping templates, and integration with tools like Slack, Jira, and Google Drive.
Best Use Cases: Brainstorming sessions, mind mapping, project planning, remote team collaboration, and visualizing ideas.
Pros: Highly interactive and intuitive, supports real-time collaboration, extensive templates for various use cases, works well for distributed teams.
Drawbacks: Free version limits the number of editable boards, can become overwhelming with complex diagrams.
Pricing: Free with limited features; paid plans start at $8 per user/month.
Key Features: Mind mapping, real-time collaboration, task management integration, presentation mode, exporting to PDF, Word, and other formats.
Best Use Cases: Visualizing ideas, brainstorming, planning, and organizing thoughts or tasks in a structured way.
Pros: Easy to use for mind mapping, offers various styles and customization, allows real-time collaboration, integrates with task management tools like MeisterTask.
Drawbacks: The free version limits the number of mind maps, lacks some advanced project management features.
Pricing: Free for basic features; paid plans start at $3.50 per user/month.
Payroll and Compliance Tools for Global Remote Teams
Here are two of the excellent payroll and compliance tools for managing global remote teams.
19. Remote.com
Category: Global Payroll and Compliance
Key Features: Full-service payroll, compliance management, local benefits administration, and legal support for hiring employees in multiple countries. Remote.com also provides contractor management, ensuring tax compliance and proper classification.
Best Use Cases: Hiring and managing full-time employees or contractors internationally, ensuring legal and tax compliance in different countries, and managing benefits for global teams.
Pros: Comprehensive legal and HR support, seamless payroll management across various countries, easy-to-use platform for both employees and contractors.
Drawbacks: Pricing can be higher for smaller companies or those with minimal international needs.
Pricing: Starts at $299 per employee/month for full-time employees and $29 per contractor/month.
Category: Global Payroll and Contractor Management
Key Features: International payroll, compliance management, contractor payments, automated tax filings, and local contracts. Deel also offers a global infrastructure to ensure compliance with labor laws, enabling businesses to hire full-time employees and contractors from anywhere.
Best Use Cases: Managing payroll and compliance for a mix of full-time and freelance workers across different countries, ensuring local law adherence, and automating global payroll.
Pros: Easy onboarding of international contractors and employees, robust compliance and tax features, flexibility to pay in local currencies, and scalable pricing.
Drawbacks: Some advanced features are available only in higher-tier plans. The contractor plan is priced higher than Remote.com, yet it offers the same set of features.
Pricing: Starts at $49 per contractor/month; full-time employee pricing is custom-based on the country.
Both Remote.com and Deel.com simplify the complexities of payroll and compliance for global remote teams, making it easier for businesses to manage international employees and contractors while staying compliant with local laws.
Conclusion on Top Remote Workforce Solutions
This is the summary of our research on the best and most affordable remote workplace solutions.
Global Payroll and Compliance Tools: Remote.com, Deel
Monitoring and Time Tracking Software: Clockify, Hubstaff, RescueTime
Project Management + Collaboration Tools: Microsoft To Do, Notion, Todolist, Trello, Monday.com, ClickUp, Slack Remote Access Device Management Solutions for Remote Teams: Pomerium, FleetDM, Okta, Microsoft Intune Screen Recording Tools for Remote Teams: Loom, Camtasia Whiteboard and Mind Mapping Tools: Miro, MindMeister
By integrating these top remote workforce solutions, businesses can enhance productivity, streamline collaboration, and ensure security in managing remote teams.
