Even after years of practice, managing remote teams can feel like spinning a dozen plates: there are tools to pick, messages to send, and ways to keep everyone feeling part of the crew.
Even after years of practice, managing remote teams can feel like spinning a dozen plates: there are tools to pick, messages to send, and ways to keep everyone feeling part of the crew.
Luckily, we’ve gathered some wisdom from folks who are still doing it. Here are six elements that fellow managers and remote workers swear by.
Clear and instant communication is the lifeblood of remote work, so choose something that really clicks with your team.
Slack stands out as the go-to tool for messaging, offering real-time collaboration that helps replicate the dynamic flow of a physical office.
“Slack creates natural collaboration spaces that mirror our physical office dynamics with dedicated channels for different projects, making information accessible and searchable,” says Filippo Tonello, Head of Marketing at WeUni.
For more formal collaboration and document editing, Google Workspace comes out on top.
“Google Workspace’s collaborative docs and real-time editing features are hard to beat without paying extra fees,” admits Eugene Leow Zhao Wei of Marketing Agency SG.
Interestingly, legal teams and public sector organizations favor Microsoft Teams due to its integrated ecosystem.
“Microsoft Teams works well because it combines messaging, file storage, and video in one platform,” notes Steven Rodemer of Rodemer & Kane.
Once the team members are connected, task management tools are crucial.
Many prefer more visual tools, such as Trello, Asana, and Miro, over Google Sheets or Excel. These platforms help remote teams track progress without the need for constant video calls—especially useful for managing multicultural and multilingual teams.
“Using Trello’s visual interface makes it easy for team members to understand project status regardless of their location or language” says Tonello.
Miro comes in a close second for organizations that need creative brainstorming or bigger-picture planning.
“We use it for sprint planning, brainstorming, and even ‘virtual coffee chats’,” says Sienna Hart, PR Director at Chatrandom.
Meanwhile, Miriam Groom, CEO of Mindful Career Counselling, adds that “digital stand-ups” in Trello replaced daily meetings, improving productivity while respecting time zones.
Remote team managers may be tempted to adopt every new tool, but experts advise against it.
“One common misstep is overloading teams with too many tools at once. I’ve seen organizations introduce separate platforms for chat, video, task management, and file sharing—only to have employees feel scattered and resistant,” claims Groom.
“We experimented with specialized tools for every niche, but this quickly became cumbersome. We’ve since consolidated to fewer, multifunctional tools,” reflects Edward Hones, Founder of Hones Law PLLC.
Aiden Freeborn from The Broke Backpacker advises choosing one platform capable of handling everything over juggling multiple apps: “Best advice: get one platform that can handle it all, even if it has a steep learning curve; it's well worth the effort.”
Besides all the tools and practices, trust is the foundation for smooth remote teamwork. Micromanagement through mandatory daily check-ins is widely rejected, the experts confirm.
Instead, successful remote teams prioritize trust and clear goals, supported by asynchronous communication.
“We initially tried overly structured daily check-in meetings, but this quickly became counterproductive and felt like micromanagement to our team members,” notes Jayson DeMers, Founder of EmailAnalytics.
Maintaining a sense of connection in remote settings requires intentionality. Rituals like virtual coffee breaks and casual chats help foster the camaraderie that office workers often take for granted.
“We host ‘Digital Coffee Breaks’: 15-minute optional video calls where team members can join to chat about non-work topics. It's particularly effective in maintaining team cohesion while working with our 16 million users across 21 countries,” Tonello explains.
Hart adds their monthly “Digital Campfires,” where teams share memes, pets, and rants, with leadership responding playfully.
However, be mindful that extracurricular activities are not equally appreciated by all employees. Some prefer sticking to their tasks, so if you schedule virtual coffee breaks, make sure it’s during work hours.
