Last year, 40% of Americans worked in a remote or hybrid work environment.
That number is only likely to grow. And while remote work brings with it many benefits for both employers and employees, it does also pose one major challenge:
Collaborating online.
Thankfully, there is a huge variety of software tools built specifically for this purpose.
In this article, we’re going to review seven of the best online collaboration tools and share three bonus strategies for overcoming the difficulties many remote teams face.
Tool 1: Loom
Loom is an AI-powered screen and video recording tool built to help remote teams across sales, marketing, design, and engineering collaborate online more effectively.
With features like AI-generated summaries and shared messages as well as the ability to comment, react, and respond to videos, Loom will help deepen culture and strengthen workplace communication.
Key features:
- Multiple recording options: Record your entire screen or just one section within it, and choose when and where to superimpose a webcam recording.
- Loom HQ: Take advantage of a dedicated storage space for all of your work videos.
- Engagement insights: See who has watched your video and for how long.
- Calls-to-action: Add links to files or external sources to improve context and save time.
- Superspeed: Watch videos at 1.25x-2x speed. Every minute counts!
- Easy editing: Edit by transcript, or trim and stitch videos as needed.
- Fast sharing: Automatically generated sharing links and messages.
- AI-powered: Cut out filler words and silences using AI.
Pros:
- Loom helps you cut down on unnecessary remote meetings (88% of our customers use Loom to reduce meetings).
- You can add more context than would be possible with written text, with visual expression from body language and the ability to draw on the screen as you record.
- By storing all of your videos in Loom HQ, you’ll ensure your communications can also be found when needed.
- Loom is built with a low learning curve to make it easy to get started.
- Our powerful AI engine helps you record and share videos 60% faster as well as cut out filler words and silences automatically.
Cons:
- Free plan users have a maximum of five minutes of recording time.
Pricing:
Plans for Loom start at $12.50 per user per month. We also have a free version and a powerful Chrome extension for fast and accessible screen recording.
Try Loom for Free TodayTool 2: Trello
Trello is a solid online collaboration software platform, using a simple and easy-to-understand Kanban-style layout to help remote teams manage projects, create to-do lists, assign tasks, and receive automated updates.
Key features:
- Multiple views: Organize your workflow as a timeline, Kanban, table, or even a map.
- Templates: Jump into prebuilt templates to get off the ground quickly.
- Mobile apps: Work on the user-friendly Trello apps for iOS and Android and collaborate effectively with your team while on the go.
Pros:
- Trello is part of Atlassian, meaning it integrates perfectly with other popular Atlassian tools like Jira and Confluence.
- The free version of Trello is quite powerful.
Cons:
- Trello is generally considered one of the more basic tools for project management, meaning it doesn’t come fully-stacked with collaboration features like workplace chat or video communications.
Pricing:
Pricing for Trello starts at $5 per user per month, though the platform also offers a basic free plan which may suffice for simple collaboration needs.
Tool 3: Asana
Asana is one of the world’s most popular project management solutions, serving everyone from small businesses to mid-sized agencies to enterprise organizations.
Key features:
- Workflows and automation: Create custom workflows, integrate various other software tools, and even automate reports to be distributed via email.
- Templates: Work from a set of prebuilt templates or create your own, helping your team work faster and reducing time spent on admin tasks.
- Resource management: Use time tracking, workload management, and performance reporting to manage human resources.
Pros:
- Asana is a super-flexible platform with a wide range of integrations that support cross-functional collaboration.
- Being a cloud-based platform, Asana can be accessed from any device, including on mobile apps.
Cons:
- The learning curve can be a bit steep if you haven’t used a project management software solution before.
- Asana has a per-user pricing model, which means the overall platform cost can get quite high as your organization grows.
Pricing:
Asana has a free plan for personal users, a Starter plan at $10.99/month, and an Advanced plan for $24.99 per user per month.
Tool 4: Ideanote
Ideanote is an online collaboration tool designed to help leadership collect great ideas from employees and customers to implement continuous improvement.
Key features:
- Templates: Choose from 100 prebuilt templates for collecting ideas.
- Engagement: Like or comment on ideas to collaborate, mention other users, and customize the notifications they receive via email.
- Reporting: Dig into analytics on engagement, return on investment, and innovation trends.
Pros:
- Ideanote can be a powerful way to orchestrate remote brainstorming.
- The tool offers a huge range of integrations with commonly used software like Google Workspace (Google Drive, Google Docs) and Microsoft apps (such as Microsoft Office).
Cons:
- Ideanote’s pricing structure gives you a limited number of automation and AI credits each month.
- Given that Ideanote operates in a relatively new and innovative category (compared to, say, sales CRMs or project management tools), the learning curve for new users is likely to be steep.
Pricing:
There is a free version of Ideanote available. Paid plans start at $49/month and scale up to $2,899 monthly for the enterprise plan (with unlimited users).
Tool 5: Morningmate
Morningmate is a project management and communications platform that seeks to combine what PM tools like Jira, Asana, and monday.com do with a workplace chat solution like Slack.
What’s more, instead of being a heavy tech-focused tool with a steep learning curve, Morningmate serves a non-tech audience with a user-friendly interface inspired by social media platforms.
Key features:
- Team collaboration tools: Send direct messages, tag team members in a task, and use tools like polls to engage employees.
- Integrations: Connect with file-sharing solutions like Dropbox and video conferencing solutions like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
- Customizable dashboard: Create a personalized homepage in Morningmate so you can see what you need at a glance the moment you log in.
Pros:
- Morningmate can help you combine project management and workplace chat into one platform, reducing software spending.
- The platform offers some cool messaging features like auto-delete and read receipts.
Cons:
- Morningmate launched on ProductHunt in August 2023, so they’re still a relatively new platform; the tool might be lacking in some features or integrations seen in more established solutions.
Pricing:
While there is a free version of Morningmate available, the Business+ plan at $15.99 per user per month is what you’ll most likely need.
Tool 6: Slack
Slack is perhaps the most widely used of all communication and online collaboration tools.
It is primarily a workplace chat solution, but it now offers much more than just text-based communication. You can integrate all sorts of existing collaboration tools, form voice chats or video calls (huddles), and even record voice clips directly in the app.
Key features:
- Multiple communication options: Slack offers several options for asynchronous collaboration, including text and voice communication.
- Robust automation: Build your own workflows and connect your existing tech stack to Slack for more efficient online collaboration.
- Slack AI: Save more time with channel and thread summaries and a powerful AI-based search engine.
Pros:
- The free version of Slack is very usable.
- Slack is pretty much a standard in remote and hybrid work environments, so new employees often already know it inside and out.
- The tool is incredibly flexible, and you can organize the workplace with as many channels, threads, and groups as you like.
Cons:
- Some teams find Slack to be quite distracting from deep work, as anyone can message you at any time. However, you can set your status to “away” or pause notifications to get around this.
- As Slack is primarily a written communication tool, there is often the capacity for misunderstanding or misinterpreting when there is no expression or intonation present.
Pricing:
Slack has a decent free option available, with paid subscriptions starting at $7.25 per user per month.
Tool 7: Miro
Miro is one of the best online collaboration tools for whiteboarding.
Think of it as a replacement for a traditional whiteboard, designed for digital, distributed teams. You can drag and drop sticky notes, add arrows and lines between items, create timelines, and add comments, all within a single online tool.
Key features:
- Jira integration: Experience a powerful two-way sync with Jira. For example, import cards from Jira to a Miro board just by pasting a URL.
- Endlessly flexible: Work without boundaries; you can make a Miro page as small or as large as you’d like.
- Diagram embedding: Design the perfect diagram in Miro, then embed it directly onto your website or into a Coda or Notion doc.
Pros:
- Miro is a great option for enabling real-time collaboration that feels just like working together in the meeting room.
- You can add interactive videos to your diagrams with Miro’s new “talktracks” feature.
Cons:
- Miro is a very feature-rich platform. Some users may find the learning curve steep.
- While Miro offers a lot of connections with other tools, many users score the platform low on its ease of integration.
Pricing:
Miro costs $8 or $16 a month per user, depending on the features you require.
3 strategies for overcoming common remote work challenges with technology
1. Leverage integrations
Most online collaboration tools offer native integrations with other commonly used software products.
When choosing a given tool, look for those with prebuilt connections to tools already in your tech stack.
Then, when you’re in the implementation and onboarding stage, dedicate some time to setting up and testing integrations between your new and existing tools.
This will prevent double handling of information, reduce data errors, and speed up workflows.
2. Create and share SOPs
SOPs (standard operating procedures) are documents that explain to employees the specific processes and workflows they should follow, as well as how to get the most out of a given software tool.
They’re usually written documents, though a quick Loom video is often a great way to provide visual context, especially when guiding users through software workflows.
To build successful remote teams, you need well-documented and easily accessible SOPs.
This will help prevent human errors and minimize the number of questions you get over Slack asking for a reminder on how to use that new tool.
3. Cut out the meetings
It’s a safe bet everyone has experienced a meeting that could have been an email.
Unnecessary meetings are a huge time-killer that zaps energy and can cause remote productivity to plummet.
Where possible, choose asynchronous communication over synchronous meetings.
Elevate your remote team’s performance with Loom
Loom is the perfect place for inspiring remote teams to collaborate online.
Anyone can create a quick screen recording in minutes using Loom, giving maximum context to workplace communication and ditching unnecessary meetings and long email threads.
Try Loom for Free Today