We received a cold reminder yesterday about one of the realities of operating a business in Canada: sometimes you get snowed out. Rather than brave the winter storm, our team all worked remotely. Our commute was a short walk downstairs. We swapped our human deskmates for furry ones. We may even have taken the "business" out of our business casual attire.
And you know what else? We got things done. The same thing happened earlier this month when the power at our office went out. We have clients all over the world, and no matter where they are, "an off day" is not acceptable. To them, or to us. So we stay integrated, connected and motivated to keep scoring wins for our clients, no matter where we work from.
So whether due to choice, snow, power failure or ongoing zombie apocalypse, it may be necessary for you and your team to work from home. These are some of our favourite tools we used yesterday to keep producing great work, remotely. (Note: coffee or hot chocolate not included because it goes without saying!)
Slack is a communication tool that comes as close as (currently) possible to replicating an office environment. Communicate one-on-one with colleagues, organize chats by project or client, send files quickly and integrate other remote tools like Github and Asana. Slack not only allows you to stay connected, but also features helpful bots such as "GrowthBot", for example, that can quickly give you information on keyword research and cost-per-slick.
Asana is a great project management tool that allows you create tasks, assign them to specific clients or projects and set due dates for each task. This is great whether working remotely or not, because it allows colleagues to efficiently track progress across projects. Individuals can conveniently track their own to-do lists and attach files to tasks from Google Drive or Dropbox.
Slack is great for digital communication, but sometimes it is necessary to speak face-to-face. GoToMeeting is a reliable tool for video or audio chats. High quality screensharing allows colleagues to get on the same page, even when they're working remotely. You can also conveniently attach a GoToMeeting as the "where" when sending meeting appointments.
Now that you've set up your tasks and communicated with your team about them, it is time to complete them and move on to the next one. Google Drive stores all your team's files, allows multiple users to work on the same document at the same time and keeps your all of your assets organized. Share files with colleagues and clients with a single click. This is truly an indispensable tool when working remotely.
These tools will allow you to weather any storm and ensure your agency remains highly-effective. In fact, nearly any type of business can benefit from implementing these tools. That way, you won't have to ever worry about having an "off day". Though it is hard to replace the camarederie that comes with a well-connected office, you can certainly replicate the output by using these tools regularly!