Tag Archive for: Communication Solutions

Must Have Apps For Managing Remote Teams

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Managing Remote Teams With Must Have Apps

The shift toward a digital age has been long in the works, however, 202 has accelerated that transition. This is, in part, due to COVID-19 and the way that our society has shifted to limit person-to-person contact. As such, companies have had to embrace the digital age as well. This has brought many to adopt a variety of applications for managing remote teams.

As with any new process or system, there are challenges that come with managing remote teams. For example, one challenge that companies must address in managing remote teams is keeping communication channels open. Many companies have addressed communication challenges with multiple apps.

Solving Communication Challenges

Communication has always been an integral aspect of business. However, as the transition to the digital age continues communication’s role is becoming even more emphasized. One of the most popular apps in 2020 was Zoom. The digital-conferencing and video-calling features have helped communication lines stay alive across the country and even the world. Likewise, they’ve helped professionals in managing remote teams and staying connected both internally and externally. This is significantly important as Zoom has set a variety of user-records in 2020 with an astronomical growth spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated shift into the digital age.

Beyond using Zoom, Slack is another extremely popular application for communication. Slack works as both an email-replacement and an instant-messaging platform for internal business purposes. It’s a great application as it offers users the ability to create and manage multiple channels. Then those channels are populated by team-specific personnel. Administration can limit and control access as well, making sure that only the right people are involved in the right conversations.

Additionally, companies still need to successfully manage projects. Zoom is great for holding and hosting meetings. Slack is a strong collaboration and internal communication solution for teams. Trello, however, remains a strong project-management software. Trello allows for easy scheduling and tracking of project progress. This keeps everyone on the same page. Simultaneously, these three applications in concert makes managing remote teams easier.

The final aspect of communication that businesses and companies need to rely on is document sharing. While there are plenty of options for mass-document sharing, and file-sharing solutions one of the most prominent is the Google-Docs Suite. Using Google Docs, professionals can share access to important files like proposals, and presentations, spreadsheets, and any type of document you might need to create.

Wrapping Up

The application industry has taken off during 2020. Specifically, this is because of the reliance that the business community has had on communication solutions. Zoom is an extremely popular video-conferencing software that businesses use to conduct video-calls, Slack is a great collaboration tool for internal teams. Meanwhile, Trello and Google Suites tackle the project-management and file-sharing aspects of managing remote teams.

In addition to keeping communication channels wide open and operating smoothly, there are even more applications that managers and team-leaders can use to promote team-bonding and team building. One great example of this is using Dungeons and Dragons as a team-building exercise. And with the development of Roll20, even this can be taken remote.

Of course, even beyond all of these solutions, custom apps are still widely in use as well. For more information on managing remote teams and communication solutions, visit NS804 today.

Internal Communication Solutions

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Communication is arguably the most important aspect of any company. The ability to collaborate, delegate, inform, and present are just a few of the common functions internal communication enables. Being able to communicate across teams and between departments is absolutely essential to the survivability of companies and the success of projects. Especially in today’s volatile economy dominated by work-from-home roles, and remote operations. Communication software is vital to ensuring that teams can continue to function, and deliver on expectations. Mobile apps offer a versatile and robust internal communication solution to companies that need to stay up-to-date with constantly shifting deadlines without hindering a busy professional’s ability to stay focused and efficient.

Most communication software designed today has some integrated productivity tracking functionality. This could include something as basic as a to-do list function. It could also be as robust as project-management software capable of generating complex production schedules, and designed specifically to improve efficiency and productivity. Designing innate productivity tools creates a more robust and comprehensive communication software, that allows business professionals to streamline activities, and keep communication focused.

Without strong communication channels enabled, customer requests can be ignored, projects can derail and productivity can come to a screeching halt. Both could spell disaster for a company striving to Consumers and customers both need reliable avenues to get in touch with knowledgeable support staff to handle any issues that may arise on the user-end of things. Consumers should also always, and without fail, have access to a sales-staff equipped to help them through any issues, and convert them into customers, or in the case of mobile apps: users.

Internal communication channels for personal connection, the development of company culture, and team building should also be made a priority during these unprecedented times. Building a robust and exciting company culture has been a mainstream focus for the better part of the past decade. As the workforce has become empowered with access more information than ever before employees no longer settle for hostile or subpar work cultures. Keeping this in mind, businesses need to emphasize personal connections in order to stay competitive and attract top talent. Especially during the global pandemic, it’s more important than it ever has been to make a palpable effort to support virtual-socialization in a time of almost pure isolation.

Effective Business Communication With Mobile Apps

Mobile apps can be life-saving for companies looking to pivot to remote operations and implement work-from-home roles. Working in tandem with desktop communication platforms like Slack and Zoom, companies can build an infrastructure of communication that competes with traditional in-person communication. One thing to note regarding Zoom and Slack is that they actually both offer their platforms in a mobile-app format; which gives companies a nice array of options when utilizing these platforms to supplement communication processes within an organization.

One of the strongest arguments for pivoting to mobile-app for business-communication solutions is that they are offer push-notifications. In the world of instant-gratification that we live in; smartphones have almost become an extension of our hands. Considering that the majority of workers have their cell phone within 3 feet of them at any given point during the day – the feature of a push-notification ensures that important communications are never missed.

Hipchat is another name in the internal-communication game. Offering a myriad of products that target internal communication, collaboration, and file-security. Hipchat is another player that provides both desktop and mobile app platforms and a nice suite of functionality that’s both user-friendly and corporate oriented. Enabling companies to communicate between departments and individuals while also offering file-storing and file-sharing capabilities that boost efficiency and encourage collaboration.

Internal Communication and Team Building

The work-from-home trend isn’t going anywhere. Not any time soon. With that in mind, companies need to get creative when it comes to team building. The traditional after-hour happy-hours, company-wide pizza parties, and team-specific outings are quickly being phased out of company cultures due to the pandemic, social distancing, and the remote-operations craze. The disappearance of traditional team-building activities leaves a glaring void that needs to be filled. Regardless of industry or profession, top talent candidates still expect a certain standard of company culture that both rewards performance, and promotes socialization.

Instead of heading to the bar after work for a few drinks, managers and team-members are replacing these in-person experiences with virtual happy hours that still promote socialization and team building. While nothing can replace the experience of going to the local watering-hole with your co-workers. Virtual happy hours and virtual pizza-parties are swiftly becoming a relatively popular alternative in order to promote social distancing and employee safety, while also encouraging team-building and internal socialization to bring employees closer together.

As the popularity of mobile-app communication soars, there’s a wide breadth of opportunity for developers and mobile appreneurs. While the virtual happy hours and pizza parties discussed above certainly offer some sense of normalcy – there is an abundance of possibility for bolstering mobile-app communication as it relates to team building. Beyond video conferencing, and instant messaging; mobile apps are capable of delivering real-time experiences to c0-workers, like gaming, going head to head in problem solving activities, or any number of other functions that have yet to be widely implemented in corporate communication solutions.

With work-from-home accommodations, and remote operations becoming the norm for most companies during COVID-19, and likely into the foreseeable future, reliable and reputable communication capabilities are more than essential. The ability to collaborate, conference call, and conduct normal business activities from virtually anywhere is invaluable to companies. This trend in the workplace should continue to grow in popularity over the years to come. The integration of business activities, communication, team building and productivity tracking all into a single mobile app could be the next evolution in the mass-communication industry. This would empower companies, professionals, and individuals alike to maintain the same levels of productivity from anywhere around the globe. An all-in-one communication app would also significantly contribute to a work-teams ability to conduct team-building activities, offer personal connection, and deliver a sense of community in a time of severe isolation to the point that it’s nearly crippling to some.

With new adversity comes new challenges, and 2020 has been chalk-full of surprising new challenges that are universal in nature. The world may never be the same again, and as is natural, the burden of inventing and adjusting to our new normal falls on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. Once again it is the duty of early adaptors, appreneurs, entrepreneurs and pioneers to maintain a sense of curiosity and invention in these dark times so to pave the path ahead by taking the first steps forward.

Wait for the “right” opportunity, and spend a lifetime waiting. There has never been, and never will be a “right time” to take on a new venture, and the risk is all a part of the journey, but with COVID-19 keeping the majority of people confined to their houses, while most businesses remain closed to the public, consumers and companies alike are turning to mobile apps for communication solutions, entertainment, and much more.

Contact NS804 with a mobile app idea and get professional consultation from tech experts dedicated to making mobile app development accessible to the average person with a great idea.