Top Online Communication Tools For Remote Teams

How do you communicate effectively while remote?

Distributed teams have to rely on communication and transparency to function effectively.

But communication is hard when you have team members who can’t meet in person, spread all over different timezones.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards remote. As a result, the need for communication tools has skyrocketed.

Technology can help distributed teams stay connected. So let’s see the top communication tools that can be used in a remote setting.

How did we choose these tools? The criteria used are the following:

• Must be business-oriented communication tools;
• Easy of use and setup;
• An offer of features that can help remote teams specifically;
• We actually tested them out in our team while remote!

#1 Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is built to work in the Microsoft ecosystem. Its popularity soared in recent times, and it’s widely used not just in companies, but also in schools and other institutions.

In Microsoft Teams you can organize the work in channels. It offers several features like sharing and editing files. Video calls and team chat is available inside the tool, and it supports multiple users on call at a time. 

For those who use Outlook Calendar and Microsoft Planner, both of the tools are integrated into the app.

There’s also an impressive choice of apps you can add to your Microsoft Team account.

For example, you can add the Timeneye app to Microsoft Teams to track your time and be more productive!

Better for: companies who need to keep a 360 vision on the team’s work, and use several Microsoft products

#2 Zoom

Zoom was founded in 2011, and quickly became the raising start in the conference call tools field. And, like many other tools of its kind, its popularity exploded recently.

In Zoom you can schedule and host video meetings with one or multiple users. You can invite participants to the meeting by simply sharing the link to the meeting, with as many people as you need. Zoom supports up to 100 participants in the free plan, and it reaches 500+ with the paid enterprise plans!

During the meeting, you can share screens, chat, and files.

Better for: conference calls, webinars

#3 Slack

Slack is the leader among the chat tools for business, but it’s more than just a chat tool. It offers team channels, file sharing, and automation with its numerous bots and commands. 

Users can start conversations and keep them organized by topic, project, or teams thanks to the channels to keep all the conversations and files in order. Its search features make it easy to retrieve documents and conversations in the archive.

Better for: messaging and file sharing

#4 Skype 

Well-known, and owned by Microsoft, Skype has a version for Businesses and did some restyling and rebranding. In recent years. Skype is still a solid solution for calls and video calls.

Skype has a mobile app for quick calls, and the desktop app offers easy-to-use screen-sharing functionalities.

Better for: one-on-one virtual meetings

#5 Google Meet

Previously called Google Hangouts, Google Meet is a tool for group video calls and meetings. It pairs with the Google Chat app, and it’s integrated with several other G Suite products, such as Gmail, and Google Calendar.

For example, when you create an event  — like a meeting  — on Google Calendar, you can add the link to the Google Meet call directly on the event details.

The Presentation feature of Google Meets allows you to share your screen with the other participants.

Better for: businesses who use the Google suite and need seamless integration with Google products 

Have you tried all these tools? Did we miss any? Let us know your favorite communication tools for remote teams!

Cover Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash