Since the pandemic, remote working has become an established part of business. Today, many employees have definitely adopted this way of working. According to the Telework and Hybrid Organisations 2022 barometer carried out by Malakoff Humanis, 38% of employees were working from home by the end of 2021. After having been subjected to this way of working during the crisis, 68% of employees have now chosen to work from home after realising its many advantages. On average, the number of days worked remotely is two per week.
However, for a team to be effective and productive when some of its members are working from home, it is essential to provide them with the necessary and appropriate tools for remote working. These digital solutions allow employees to communicate with their colleagues as if they were in the same office, exchange information, share documents and easily access the tools and applications they use on a daily basis.
Whether it’s a collaboration suite, corporate social network, communication software, storage space, HR platform, etc., here’s a comparison of the top 10 remote working softwares to help you choose the ones your team needs to be successful every day.
1. Wimi, a sovereign collaborative suite
Task manager, shared diaries, private messages, video calls, document sharing, etc., Wimi is a collaborative suite that brings together in a single space all the tools your team needs to manage its projects effectively, even from a distance. One of Wimi’s strengths is that it is a 100% French company for whom the protection and security of your data is a priority. Wimi guarantees that your data is hosted by a French service provider physically located in France. The company was one of the first to take steps to obtain the SecNumCloud and Cloud de Confiance qualification.
Wimi’s clients include Vinci, Sephora and the Musée d’Orsay.
Main features
- A Gantt chart-like task manager.
- An online co-editing tool to work together on the same file.
- A shared calendar with the key dates of your project.
- A reporting tool to monitor the progress and performance of your collaborators.
- An instant messaging and video conferencing solution to communicate easily with your team.
- Access rights management to invite outsiders and control who can access your data.
Rates
- Paid packages from €3 per user per month. Decreasing price according to the number of users.
- Special rates for students and associations.
- A 14-day free trial period.
2. Jamespot, a modular digital workplace
To be productive while remote working, you need to have all the files, documents, tools and applications you use on a daily basis at hand. The digital workplace is a virtual workspace that allows you to bring all this together on a single, easily accessible platform, no matter where you are. Jamespot facilitates collaboration and communication by offering a French digital workplace that is fully configurable to your requirements and needs. You can choose from four independent and complementary modules (corporate social network, communication Intranet, meeting facilitator and online collaborative editing) to build the digital workplace that suits you.
Among the companies that have chosen Jamespot are Apec, the department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the Renault Group.
Main features
- A single access point to all your tools and applications.
- A document bank that centralises all documents.
- A survey and quiz system to find out what your employees think.
- The organisation and management of your events.
- A multitude of business applications to increase team productivity.
Prices
- Different offers from 4 € per user and per month.
- Special rates for associations, NGOs and public organisations.
- Free 30-day trial.
3. Slack, a team messenger for better communication
Communication is essential at work. For a team to function effectively from a distance, it is essential that team members can easily communicate with each other, exchange documents and share information as if they were working next to each other. However, it’s not always easy to communicate with colleagues when you’re remote working. Slack allows you to streamline your internal conversations and organise your exchanges in customisable chat channels. This means you can find all the people, messages and files related to a project in one place, allowing you to improve your productivity.
Slack customers include M6, Veepee and BlaBlaCar.
Key features
- Channels to organise your work by project or topic.
- Calls and screen sharing to make it easier to talk.
- The ability to schedule written or visual messages and send them off-line.
- Adding people from outside the company to simplify collaboration.
- Integration of software and applications directly into the platform.
Pricing
- A basic version is free.
- Solutions with more features from €6.25 per month per user.
- A free 30-day trial.
4. Livestorm, a French video conferencing software
When your employees work remotely, the best way to exchange and share ideas is by organizing a video conference. Livestorm is a French video communication platform to easily organise, animate and analyse your meetings, webinars and all your virtual events (training, online courses, interviews, etc.). This tool allows you to customise invitations and registration pages for your events, and to announce them on social networks. But above all, it helps you design interactive meetings thanks to multiple functionalities.
Veolia, Leboncoin and Air Liquide are some of Livestorm’s customers.
Main features
- Manage all your events from start to finish.
- Invite participants via email, registration pages, forms or calendar integration.
- Customise your event rooms.
- Facilitate meetings with interactive features (polls, Q&A, chat, emoji reactions, virtual whiteboards, etc.).
- A tool to analyse the performance of your meetings.
Pricing
- A free version for up to 30 users.
- More complete packages from €79 per month.
- A free trial.
5. Workplace, the corporate social network from Facebook
When remote working, you need to ensure that your employees are connected to each other and to the company. Internal communication is even more important with teams working remotely as it keeps employees informed about company news and strengthens team cohesion and a sense of belonging. A corporate social network such as Workplace is essential to maintain this link with the company and colleagues. Designed by Facebook, this CSN works like the American social networking giant. It integrates with your favourite tools and helps you improve your internal communication on a daily basis.
Spotify, Estée Lauder and McDonald’s are among the companies that have chosen Workplace.
Key features
- Live streaming of internal events.
- Knowledge library that brings together all your company information in one place.
- Create groups to manage a project or develop company culture.
- News feed to keep up with the news that interests you.
- Automatic translation into 91 languages for international companies.
Rates
- From €4 per person, per month, with the possibility of adding add-ons.
- Free 30-day trial.
6. Klaxoon, a French tool to boost meetings
Although an effective means of communication, meetings are often time consuming and unproductive. And with a dispersed team, remote meetings can be boring. Klaxoon is a workshop platform that revolutionises your meetings by transforming them into dynamic workshops. You have a variety of tools at your disposal to organise interactive and effective meetings with your team or your clients, wherever they are, on site or remotely.
Companies that trust Klaxoon include Microsoft, LVMH and L’Oréal.
Key features
- A digital whiteboard for live communication.
- Voting, idea sharing and brainstorming in real time.
- Challenge creation to stimulate and start your meetings efficiently.
- Text, drawings, photos and videos to express yourself freely and instantly.
- Use polls and quizzes to collect feedback from your employees.
Rates
- A free version.
- Offers from €14 per month per user.
7. pCloud, a Swiss online storage solution
To ensure that your telecommuters have easy access to all the files they need to perform, they need secure online storage. pCloud allows you to store, share and access all your files and documents using a simple and highly secure platform, anytime and anywhere. Easy to use, pCloud is accessible from any device and guarantees the protection of your data by hosting it within the European Union (in Luxembourg).
pCloud counts Coca Cola, Adidas and BMW among its customers.
Main features
- Sending and receiving large files.
- A platform that is accessible on all your devices.
- Search and filter functions to quickly find your documents.
- Manage access permissions and invite outsiders.
- Management and storage of different versions of your documents.
Rates
- Packages payable annually from €49.99 or in one go for a lifetime from €175.
8. MeisterTask, a task management software
MeisterTask is the ideal tool to manage your tasks and monitor the progress of your projects, whether you are working remotely or on your company’s premises. This Austrian task management software works with Kanban-style boards and allows you to view all your tasks and their status (to do / in progress / completed). This way, project managers know at a glance who is doing what and whether deadlines are being met. They can ensure that their remote working teams are synchronised and efficient every day.
Companies that rely on MeisterTask include Allianz and Ritter Sport.
Key features
- Customisable design to fit your needs.
- Task planning in Gantt mode with the Timeline function.
- The ability to automate repetitive and recurring tasks.
- A tracking tool to evaluate the time spent on a task and the productivity of your team.
- Hosting of your data on European soil (in Germany).
Rates
- Packages starting at €8.25 per month.
- A basic version is free.
- Special rates for students and teachers.
9. Factorial, an HRIS software
The digital transformation has pushed human resources to digitalize their processes to be more efficient and improve their productivity. Now, all their tools are grouped together on a Human Resources Information System or HRIS. This means that even when HR teams are teleworking, they can continue to perform their tasks remotely and be efficient. Factorial is a Spanish HRIS software that has all the features to help small and medium-sized companies better manage their human resources while teleworking.
Main functionalities
- Personnel administration (pay slips, expense reports, etc.).
- Clocking in and out and monitoring of working hours.
- Management of absences, holidays and schedules;
- Talent management from recruitment to onboarding.
- Electronic signature of documents.
Rates
- Several offers depending on your needs, starting at €5.25 per employee per month.
- One free trial.
10. Dashlane, a password manager
When remote working, security and privacy can be an issue, especially if your employees are using an unsecured connection and/or device. So, to protect your data, it is highly recommended to use long and complex passwords. However, if you have a lot of them, it can be difficult to keep track of them. The Dashlane password manager allows you to manage all your passwords efficiently and securely. It analyses their effectiveness, notifies you of suspicious activity on your accounts, and allows you to easily change your passwords with the password generator.
Key Features
- Controls the effectiveness of passwords.
- Sending personalized security alerts when vulnerabilities are detected.
- A dashboard to assess the health of your passwords.
- Securely share passwords with new recruits.
Rates
- Rates start at €5 per user per month.
- A free trial.
Improve the productivity of remote working teams with the right tools. Before making your choice, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the free trial to choose the solutions that will suit you best.