Remote Collaboration Tools: Enhancing Teamwork & Productivity

Add these remote collaboration tools to your tech stack, and watch your team’s productivity, communication, & creativity skyrocket.

It’s almost impossible to tally up all the benefits of remote collaboration tools.

These apps and online platforms empower remote teams to seamlessly coordinate their work, keep projects and deadlines on track, and brainstorm epic ideas. They also boost communication, information sharing, efficiency, and productivity.

Essentially, team collaboration apps ensure distance doesn’t dim your team’s ability to contribute their best work. They connect every piece of the puzzle to make it easier to achieve your company’s goals and ultimate mission.

So we’re sharing the best remote collaboration tools every team should have in their tech stack.

The Best Remote Collaboration Tools To Enhance Teamwork & Productivity

Whether you want to improve your remote collaboration or upgrade your remote work software solutions, our ultimate list has every type of app you’ll need. You’ll find everything from free remote collaboration tools to technology that feels like it comes from the future.

We organized our list by categories, including:

1. Online Workspaces

Online workspaces are like the Swiss Army Knife of productivity tools for remote teams. They make it easy for teams to share resources, files, data, and information. Employees can collaborate in real-time or use them as asynchronous collaboration tools.

The top remote workspaces include:

Google Workspace: a suite of secure, online productivity tools with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Teams can share and work together on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Microsoft Teams: Combining chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and project management tools, Teams makes a great option for remote companies using Microsoft Office products.
Mattermost: This open-source team collaboration platform was designed for remote technical and operational teams. It offers messaging, audio and screen sharing, workflow automation, and custom integrations.
Ryver is a collaboration platform that combines team messaging, task management, file sharing, voice and video calling, and over 2,000+ integrations.

2. Project Managers

Cloud-based project managers are some of the most popular remote collaboration tools. They allow teams to break down tasks, set deadlines, allocate responsibilities, and track progress. This structured approach minimizes confusion and boosts accountability, and ensures projects stay on course.

Virtual project management tools also empower remote employees to contribute and collaborate at their own pace, accommodating diverse work schedules and preferences. This flexibility leads to improved work-life balance and higher job satisfaction.

Here are our faves:

Asana: As the #1 software in product and project management, Asana improves employee productivity and company efficiency. It helps you streamline projects and drive alignment.
Trello: Using boards, lists, and cards, Trello offers a clear view of who’s doing what and what needs to get done. Keep tasks organized, hit deadlines every time, and customize workflows for just about anything.
Monday.com: This “Work OS” lets you shape and customize workflows to boost your team’s alignment, efficiency, and productivity. Teams focus on executing tasks, projects, and processes to achieve shared goals at scale.
ClickUp: As the “one app to replace them all,” ClickUp offers a wide range of features, including task management, goal tracking, chat, docs, whiteboards, and more. It’s a comprehensive solution when it comes to remote team efficiency tools.

3. Goal Management Tools

Better goals deliver better results. So one of the best practices for managing remote teams is using online collaboration tools to set SMART goals and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results).

Aligning your team on a mission helps you get more out of your remote work productivity software and leverage your employees’ talent for greatness.

We dig these remote goal-setting tools:

Tability: This AI-powered goal-tracking tool automates the boring part of OKRs to help teams cut waste and spend more time doing what really matters. Their GoalsGPT plan editor suggests action items and SMART goals in a jiffy.
Profit.co: Align your team’s goals with your overarching company mission to help everyone understand how they contribute to it.

4. Remote Team Communication Software

One of the biggest differences between working from home and the office is that remote teams have less real-time, face-to-face communication. But the right tools can empower effective remote communication and connect employees scattered across time zones and continents.

Strong relationships are the cornerstone of effective teamwork. Improving remote work communication allows employees to interact beyond work-related discussions and build personal connections in a virtual environment.

Whether it's a quick question, a brainstorming session, or a project update, these tools facilitate both immediate responses and asynchronous communication to reduce miscommunication, prevent work delays, and ensure everyone remains on the same page:

Slack. The standard in virtual watercoolers, Slack lets teams create focused channels for different topics, share files, and @mention team members. Threads keep conversations tidy, while integrations ensure your team’s virtual playground is as efficient as it is entertaining.
Loom: This async video messaging tool allows team members to record quick video messages to communicate ideas, provide updates, or give feedback. It’s a great way to add a personal touch to remote collaboration.
Flock: This team communication and collaboration platform combines video conferencing and channel messaging, voice notes, file sharing, polls, and productivity tools all in one interface.

5. Video Conferencing Tools

From face-to-face meetings and webinars to screen sharing and non-cheesy team-building activities, video meetings empower teams to collaborate effectively, stay connected, and find community when working remotely.

Whether everyone’s discussing strategies, sharing victories, or just enjoying a virtual coffee break together, these video conferencing tools may turn colleagues into friends:

Zoom: The gold standard in video meetings, Zoom helps make meaningful connections with meetings, team chat, whiteboards, VoIP phone calls, and more in one platform.
Around is video collaboration reimagined for the remote-first era. Hold or record meetings and use their immersive playback experience to make viewers feel like they were actually part of the original gathering.
Remo is a virtual event platform that provides an interactive virtual space for remote teams to host meetings, workshops, and conferences. It simulates a physical event space, fostering networking and engagement.
Parabol is a retrospective and agile meeting tool that helps remote teams facilitate productive standups and team check-ins. It offers a structured, efficient approach to reflection and improvement.

6. Brainstorming Tools

Who says you have to give up the magic of brainstorming sessions around a whiteboard in the remote world?

Digital collaboration platforms facilitate the exchange of ideas and creative discussions. Remote teams with access to these tools can gather diverse perspectives and experiences, leading to more innovative solutions and outcomes.

To amplify your team’s creativity and encourage innovation, check out:

Miro: This virtual whiteboarding and collaboration platform is your team's visual platform to connect, collaborate, and create. Brainstorm, mind-map, design, and bring ideas to life when employees visually organize their creativity.
Whimsical is a hub for visual collaboration. It allows teams to create flowcharts, diagrams, wireframes, and mind maps together. It’s excellent for translating complex ideas into visual representations.
Deepstash is a knowledge-sharing platform that encourages team members to curate and share articles, quotes, and insights. It’s like a virtual library for continuous learning and inspiration.

7. Time Zone Managers

With remote work, the sun never sets on your team’s ambitions. Time zone-friendly collaboration apps transform your team into a crew of time travelers, ensuring everyone works together without forcing anyone to attend a midnight or sunrise meeting.

These tools make working across different time zones a breeze:

Time Zone Ninja helps you coordinate collaboration sessions around the world and respect everyone’s work schedule.
World Time Buddy lets you identify overlapping work hours among different time zones, ensuring that meetings happen when it’s most convenient and productive for everyone.
Clockwise uses AI to optimize calendars, intelligently schedule meetings, help remote teams find focused work times, and reduce meeting overload.

8. Cross-Cultural Team Collaboration Tools

Remote collaboration tools provide an inclusive workplace platform for all team members to contribute, regardless of location or circumstances. This creates a sense of belonging and equal participation, enhancing morale, team cohesion, and emotional intelligence.

Use these tools to better manage cross-cultural teams and make more magic happen:

Notion is an all-in-one, AI-driven workspace for note-taking, project management, and collaboration. It allows teams to create customizable databases, wikis, and docs. Consider asking your employees to write guidebooks with fun facts about their culture. Teams will learn to communicate, motivate, and appreciate each other in new ways.
Slite is a knowledge-sharing platform for remote teams to create and share collaborative documents. It’s like blending a note-taking app and a wiki, perfect for learning more about each other.

9. Industry-Specific Collaboration Tools

Whether your crew collaborates with different departments or needs a laser-focused tool for a specific need, these are worth adding to your tech stack:

GitHub: This AI-powered developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure software lets techies collaborate on projects, review code with finesse, and watch their coworkers’ coding prowess shine brighter than a double rainbow.
Linear is touted as the new standard for modern software development. It helps streamline issues, sprints, and product roadmaps. It offers a simplified interface for managing and discussing tasks and includes features like built-in workflows to create focus and routine.
Figma is a collaborative design tool that enables teams to develop, prototype, and collaborate on user interfaces in real-time remotely.

Top Teams Deserve the Best Remote Work Technology

Remote collaboration is the future of work. By investing in the right tools today, you can prepare your team for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

Just as a chameleon adapts to its surroundings, agile collaboration is the key to staying ahead. Encourage your crew to embrace change, explore new tools, and adjust their workflows to remain nimble and resilient in the face of uncertainty.

Continue experimenting, learning, and fine-tuning your approach to create a remote work environment that’s not just functional, but extraordinary. Remember: you’re not just choosing the best collaboration tools – you’re crafting a virtual universe for your team to thrive in.

Above all else, keep that virtual high-five chain going! 🙌