The past few years have shown a huge change in the implementation of Remote working. With COVID-19 having changed the working environment immediately, many businesses around the world have had to rethink their policies and adopt a more flexible way of working. 

According to Upwork, it is estimated that 30% of American workers will work remotely in 2023, and 85% of managers expect company teams with remote workers to become the norm. 

As per Global Workplace Analytics, a remote workplace setting has its pros and cons, but some of the major benefits include:

• Almost 77% of workers consider themselves more productive in the remote environment 
• 74% of the employees become more loyal to their workplace 

As a result of people working from home, remote collaboration is an area that many businesses need to focus on. 

This post will discuss why collaborative leadership is important and the tools required to make work operations easy for everyone.

What is Collaborative Leadership?

Collaborative leadership is a paradigm for coordinating and distributing organizational resources, connections, and authority. It is a Management technique designed to break down barriers between managers, executives, and employees so they can collaborate. Information is organically exchanged in collaborative organizations where everyone assumes responsibility for the whole. This contrasts with conventional top-down organizational models, where the information flow is managed by a few executives.

Importance of Team Collaboration

Team collaboration is a mix of project management and teamwork practices intended to get the most out of employees. The growing importance of effective teamwork within the workplace is reflected in the huge surge in demand for team collaboration tools. 

Businesses and companies with high levels of team collaboration and leadership see numerous benefits, including: 

• Engaged employees 
• Improved flexibility 
• More productive meetings

A collaborative leadership culture among office and remote employees also increases job satisfaction, improves several work-related skills, and helps companies align their work goals.

Tools for a Collaborative Leadership Within a Remote Setting

Below are some effective tools for a collaborative leadership culture in a remote setting:

1. Team Communication Tool

Communication is the key to the success of every business and organization, and effectively communicating the message through the right medium of communication is essential to making the work process smooth and easy for everyone. Encourage employee chat so that remote employees do not feel isolated and can stay up-to-date on daily work processes. 

Chanty

Chanty is a team chat app that lets you streamline all your communication and collaboration efforts efficiently. With a promise to increase your productivity by 55%, it’s a great tool for teams of all sizes and hierarchies.

The best thing about the app is that you don’t have to worry about your team going through a tough learning curve to understand it because it’s extremely easy-to-use. With over 75,000 companies using Chanty around the world, you can make great use of it by seeing everything from a bird's-eye view. The in-built task management lets you assign, set due dates, and monitor task progress at all times.

Key Features

• Screen sharing
• Text and voice messages
• Turn any message into a task
• Public and private conversations
• Unlimited searchable message history
• One-one-one and group audio/video calls
• Guest users and multi-conversation guests
• Kanban board to streamline all your workflow

Pricing

• Free plan offers up to 10 members with limited features
• Paid plan includes all features for a business plan of $3/user/month (paid annually) and $4/user/month (paid monthly).

2. Project Management Tool

Starting with the basics, the foundation of a great work culture lies in trust. If you are constantly asking remote employees about their progress on a project, it is going to feel like distrust and micromanagement. 

Leaning on project management tools can make the work easier for employers and their workforce. 

Basecamp

Basecamp is primarily a project management application designed for medium and large-sized businesses. Its features include goal monitoring, file sharing, document management, chat functionality, and task management. Similar to a remote assembly line, it enables team members to assign tasks to coworkers and effortlessly transfer them to others as the project advances.

Basecamp is a great tool for managing project deliverables and goals, helping you stay organized and on top of your team's time management. Both project managers and non-project managers can easily use this tool.

Key Features

• Task management
• File sharing and document management
• Chat features
• The app focuses heavily on task assignment and completion of deliverables
• The ability to chat with product managers referencing deliverables
• Easy to use file sharing, so all important documents can be accessed by all team members

Pricing

• Free plan for up to 20 users
• Paid plan for $99/month

3. Real-time Collaboration Tool

Real-time collaboration tools are also effective when it comes to discussing important things without any discomfort. When two employees are working on a project together, it can sometimes be tough to interact without being at the same desk. Tools like Google Docs solve this problem for you. 

It allows individuals to make real-time changes and add comments, or feedback, so that other people can view the suggestions at the same time. This saves them from more potential miscommunication. 

Google Chat

Google changed the app's name from Hangouts Chat to Google Chats. As a Google product, it links with other Google services like Google Meets and Google Drive. It is Google's version of a messaging app.

You can share spreadsheets and other files from your Google Drive profile in chats. Additionally, it contains a predictive text feature that creates auto-replies, much like Gmail does.

Key Features

• Custom and secure email messages
• Video/audio calls
• Security and management control
• Lets you share files and high-resolution photos
• Video recordings
• Voice messages
• Screen sharing
• Storage capabilities

Pricing

• Free plan with limited features and seats.
• Paid plan starts at $6/user/month, $12/user/month and $18/user/month for different team sizes and features.

4. Time Management Tool

It is very easy for managers to lose track of how much time their workers are spending on different tasks. Time management tools are an efficient way to keep track of a worker’s performance. 

Time Doctor

In order to increase their productivity and competitiveness at work, managers, employees, leaders, and even independent contractors are always looking for new strategies.

You should be mindful of how you use your time to better arrange it.

To help you better manage your time at work, Time Doctor keeps track of all of your everyday activities and gives you real-time, useful information.

Key Features

• Comprehensive reports
• Project and task management
• Silent and interactive time tracking
• Detailed reports that aid in the understanding of time management
• Accurately bills all your clients with a robust invoicing management system
• You can keep track of time even if you don’t have access to the internet

5. Work Management Tool

It is seen that work and project management issues cost over 10% of a business’s investment and pose numerous challenges. This impacts a company’s productivity and its return on investment, and it destroys its reputation within the sector. 

Workplace management software and tools are excellent for every workplace, including those with remote employees, to monitor the work from beginning to end.

Trello

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Trello assists teams in managing projects with the use of straightforward Kanban boards that show how tasks are progressing along the timetable. Tasks can be delegated to team members, procedures can be adjusted, files can be attached, and comments can be made.

It lacks some of the sophisticated tools needed to handle more difficult projects nevertheless. Trello is a more expensive alternative for teams because, like Wrike, its plans charge based on the number of users.

Key Features

• Kanban boards
• Workflow automation
• Custom fields
• Multiple project views
• Workspaces

Pricing

• Free plan includes up to 10 boards per workspace
• Standard plan starts at $5/user/month, Premium plan starts at $10/user/month and the Enterprise plan starts at $17.50/user/month

Last Thoughts

In a workplace environment, employers and managers need to keep track of the work process and performance of their workforce, including the remote employees. Taking care of their health and safety needs and making them feel like a vital part of their company is the key to the success of an organization’s growth. 

These were our picks of collaborative tools, among other categories, not mentioned in the article are cloud storage services, screen recording software, whiteboards, and video conferencing software.