ShowMojo has been a fully remote company since 2015, with staff on all continents but Antartica. So we know a bit about remote work.
Our Remote Work Tech Stack
This is ShowMojo's current stack of must-have technology systems for running a remote company. We simply couldn't do business without these.
This isn’t every system — not by a long-shot. They are, however, the most important systems that would apply to a property management office or management company that’s considering remote work for the short-term or long-term.
Unless explicitly stated, the inclusion of any system is not a strong endorsement of that system above alternative options. It’s just the one we use and are accustomed to.
Slack: For Team-Wide Messaging
Slack is the closest thing to an office that ShowMojo has. It replaces cube-side discussions, side-by-side trainings, group troubleshooting, most meetings, and any water-cooler chat.
Slack keeps people off the phone and able to maintain multiple conversions at once. No one needs to respond instantly on a topic (unless the topic itself requires immediacy). And any conversation is right there to pick up or review as time permits.
When you do need more than text-based conversations, the paid version of Slack has built-in video and audio calls for internal conversations with your team.
Hubstaff: For Time Tracking and Activity Monitoring
The biggest issue about remove work with employees is that you actually need to ensure everyone is working. That’s no issue for some team members, but can and will be a challenge for others. Hubstaff is a straightforward time-tracking system that can also monitor the activity of employees when they are on the clock.
Keep in mind that Hubstaff is not a single method (nor even the primary method) to evaluate staff performance. At ShowMojo, HubStaff is the system we consult when we are seeing mediocre or sub-par performance from a staff member. Hubstaff is best used to help investigate issues — not to identify them.
Hubstaff is a system we strongly recommend.
Zoom: For Video Meetings, Screen Share and Presentations
Zoom is the video/audio Swiss army knife that can be used for team meetings, audio-only conference calls, extended screen-share training sessions, remote tech support, online demos and webinars.
Zoom's face-to-face video meetings keep everyone engaged and keep meeting times shorter. And any time you need to virtually see a computer of someone’s shoulder, Zoom is there for you.
Zoom is far from the only video conferencing option out there. If you have or like a competing product, that one is likely just fine.
Trello: For Light-Weight Project Management
When the team is all in one office, it’s easy enough to manage lots of activities in a spreadsheet file, in a spiral-bound notebook or even using paper forms. In remote work, these approaches get cumbersome fast. Trello is another utility-knife service that helps your team meaningfully collaborate from remote locations.
At ShowMojo, we use Trello cards to plan and manage small projects. We also use Trello to scope, develop and test ShowMojo itself — a process that involves about a dozen team members and a dozen Trello boards.
We also use Trello boards for onboarding and training new team members. Anyone who starts at ShowMojo gets a fresh copy of a “New Staff Member” Trello board tailored to their position. The cards on the board walk the new staff member through setup of all ShowMojo systems and training within their particular work area.
Line2: For Good-Enough Portable Business Phone Lines
Line2 lets a staff member have a phone line anywhere, but you still have control. With Line2, anyone can dial and receive business calls from their computer or smartphone. There’s no reason for staff not to be available and no reason for them to use their personal phones for company business.
With Line2, you are at $15 per month per line if you want to easily manage each staff member’s line. But Line2 provides a huge amount of remote flexibility at a solid price versus most other options.
Canva: For Easy Online Design Collaboration
Canva let's you generate all manner of image-based content, from marketing headers to drop-in explainer illustrations. There are many templates to help those without design skills create good-looking content.
We see two main benefits for Canva in a remote setting over installable apps:
- Content in the cloud, that anyone on the team can access and is never locked down on an individual computer.
- Ease-of-collaboration, where one person can start on a project and any other team member can step in to assist.
Remote Work Readiness
Even if you don’t have a remote company, it can pay to have an office that is ready to work from home when necessary. Each staff member really should have the following:
A Computer Available Full-Time for Their Use at Home
This could be a company laptop or a home computer, but not the family computer nor a spouse's computer. The computer needs to run a still-supported version of Windows or Mac OS. Furthermore, tablets do not suffice in work-from-home situations. Too often there's web-based software that just doesn't work right.
The company might need to step up and assist on this one. ShowMojo will purchase refurbished MacBook Airs (for around $800) when employees need them. These low-end Macs need very few repairs, almost no tech support, and last a long time.
A Dependable High-Speed Internet Connection
ShowMojo usually tests this with a Zoom video call during the interview process. But one way or another, a reliable high-speed internet connection should be confirmed, as it is critical for success.
Most any staff member will have an internet connection in their home. Identifying an issue and troubleshooting the home connection before remote works starts gives the staff member the opportunity to resolve the issue without pressure. Troubleshooting may include (i) movement of a wireless home router, (ii) contacting the internet service provider about a connection that underperforms the contracted service, or (iii) simply upgrading to a sufficiently fast broadband plan.
A Quiet Place to Work (With a Door)
Remote workers simply aren't as productive if they are occupy the same space as other family members or roommates. We're all human, after all. And the same applies to the presence of children, even when there’s another family member or a nanny dedicated to the children.
Admittedly, this is something a fully-remote company can hire for, and it is less of a sure thing when office workers are working from home. But it is valuable to ask about this situation in advance and to discuss options early. This is also an easy way to step into the childcare topic, since outside of a true emergency, a company should reasonably assume that their staff member is not both on the clock and tending to children at the same time.