By Kamy Anderson
The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has caught the world off guard. With public health at stake, governments and businesses are doing what they can to stop the virus from spreading further.
Primarily, this means flattening the curve by limiting movement of people and enforcing self-isolation. While this is the best course of action to control the pandemic, it’s already had great economic repercussions.
If you’re a small business owner who wants to keep your business afloat, the best thing to do would be to take your business online, and for that, you need the right tools.
Online training platforms are an ideal solution that allow you to continue with your business as usual. Take a look at the best platforms that can help streamline your processes and allow you and your employees to keep your productivity at an all-time high.
ProProfs Virtual Classroom Software
While “virtual classroom” is in its name, ProProfs software isn’t solely designed for schools or educational institutions. It can be a great asset to your business during these trying times.
It’s perfect for employee training, and for online collaboration with your newly formed remote team.
With its extensive collaboration features, you and your team can stay connected 24/7. It’s easily integrated with other software and productivity tools, so your employees can access this online training platform from any device that they might have at home.
Users can customize the platform, design training courses, upload documents, videos, and presentations, create tests and quizzes, and more.
You’ll get access to advanced reports that inform you about your employees’ productivity levels and task performance, and you’ll be able to monitor each employee’s activity.
Creating a virtual office with ProProfs is rather easy, and since there’s a free trial available, you can check it out to see whether this software suits your needs.
Trello
Trello has fewer features but will allow you to manage your projects and employees completely remotely.
You can create tasks, add project descriptions, and prioritize more important actions that need to be completed, and your employees can access all of this online.
There is a card system that allows your employees to include links, share files, and add comments on specific tasks. This ensures easier collaboration and faster project completion.
It has a user-friendly interface and almost no learning curve. Even computer illiterate employees will find the software relatively easy to use.
Trello comes with three pricing plans – Free, Business Class, and Enterprise, and the features you get will depend on your subscription plan.
DeskTime
DeskTime is a basic time tracking software that’s affordable, easy to use, and convenient. It works flawlessly and can be a valuable tool for a company of any size.
It has an automatic time tracking feature that becomes active as soon as an employee’s computer is turned on.
DeskTime tracks apps and URLs that your employees use, records document titles and even offers an offline time tracking feature for projects that need to be finished away from the computer.
A feature called Private Time will give privacy to your employees when they’re doing something unrelated to their work. No apps or websites will be tracked and recorded when the feature is turned on.
Overall, DeskTime can help you boost your employees’ productivity levels and help them stay focused and efficient while they’re working from home.
Zoom
Zoom grew in popularity at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. It’s a video conferencing tool that can be a good fit for big and small companies or educational institutions.
It has affordable pricing plans, and a feature-packed free plan as well. If you opt for the free version, you can have virtual meetings with up to 100 participants without spending a dime.
Of course, paying members have access to a wider variety of features. You’ll receive transcripts of your recorded calls, VoIP service, 24-hour meeting duration limit, vanity URL, and more.
Whichever subscription model you choose, you’ll have a stable connection during meetings with HD audio and video.
Mailbird
Mailbird is an email app designed for Windows 10 that’s proven to be a preferred alternative to programs such as Microsoft Outlook.
It can be integrated with apps such as Facebook or WhatsApp for better convenience, and it offers you access to a wide variety of useful features.
Of course, you can send and receive emails with Mailbird, but you can do much more than this. Snooze emails, manage your contacts, create a unified inbox, make use of the speed reader, and more.
It’s an extensive email client with regular updates and constant introductions of new features. You can try out this tool for free and see the advantages you can leverage.
Google Doc
If you have only basic software needs for creating a remote team, Google Docs can be the only tool you need.
As a document management system, it facilitates streamlined collaboration between team members, but its features are somewhat limited.
With a free plan, you can create, edit, share, and store documents and spreadsheets, and easily access them online from anywhere.
Determine who can access your files, grant editing rights, and view the full editing history of each and every document.
It’s a simple tool that can make it easier to work remotely, regardless of your business niche.
Choosing the Right Employee Training Tools for the Job
Whether you’re looking for a virtual classroom software to enhance your employee training, or for a user-friendly video conferencing tool that allows you to work remotely, any of the tools discussed above can be valuable assets during the coronavirus outbreak.
Having said that, you’ll have to decide which tool suits your needs the most, as using all of them at the same time can be difficult and confusing to your employees.
The best tool will allow you to seamlessly switch to an online working environment without losing your productivity or effectiveness. And for that, you’ll need the right features.
When choosing the best online tool for remote work, look for the following features:
- Live conferencing
- HD audio/video
- Easy file-sharing
- User-friendly interface
- App integration
- Compatibility with different devices
Since most of the online training platforms offer free versions, it’s best to test them first and ask for employee feedback before you commit yourself to one.
Using Online Tools After COVID-19
Many of these tools will prove to be extremely valuable even after things return to normal. Collaboration software is always a welcomed addition for your in-house and remote teams, and employee training solutions can help you retain top talent.
Time tracking tools can help you keep an eye on employee productivity and efficiency, while project management tools will simplify task delegation.
All of this will result in improved productivity, lower costs, and more employee satisfaction.
The Bottom Line
Although we’re all struggling during this pandemic, we’ve never been better equipped to deal with it. With new software solutions, businesses can stay operational while following the best safety and health measures.
If you want your business to stay afloat, online tools such as ProProfs Virtual Classroom, Trello, DeskTime, Zoom, Mailbird, and Google Docs can help you out.
Give them a try and make sure that your remote team is just as productive as it was in the office.
Author Bio : Kamy Anderson is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging
technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning
management system & eLearning authoring tools – currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker