Managing employees who are working in different locations and possibly even different time zones is far more difficult than managing in-office staff. Most companies rely on tech to overcome the challenges they face and facilitate remote work.

If you’re planning on finding the right tools for remote team management, here are 6 essential types of tools that should top your list:

1. Communication tools

Effective communication is key when employees aren’t in the office and can’t just walk over to each other’s desks or hold meetings in the meeting rooms. Tools such as Slack can be used for sending quick messages, or Zoom for face-to-face meetings via video conferences.

2. Project management tools

Project management tools such as Asana or Trello can provide the ability to keep track of tasks, milestones, projects and deadlines. This is critical for managing remote workers, as it lets both employees and managers stay on top of the tasks their assigned and track progress.

3. Employee monitoring software

Using employee monitoring software such as Controlio will give you the means to track employee work hours as well as their activity. This can be used to monitor attendance, measure productivity, track total work hours, improve security, optimize workflows, identify potential issues, and a whole lot more.

The features in Controlio will let you track work hours, active or idle time, app usage, browsing history, emails, IM chats, file transfers, downloads, and various other types of activity. On top of that it can capture keystrokes, screenshots, or screen recordings as well as set up behavior rules and alerts or even block certain apps or websites.

4. File sharing and collaboration tools

When employees work remotely they need to be able to share files and work together on documents and other media. There are quite a number of tools that make this possible, including Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, or Notion.

5. Security tools

Security is a huge concern for remote teams as potentially sensitive data is going to be accessed from a wider range of locations and devices. To improve security these teams often use a mix of tools for password management, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), identify and access management, two-factor authentication, data loss prevention, and more.

6. Team engagement and culture tools

Remote workers often feel disconnected and isolated, leading to decreased engagement levels. That is why team and engagement and culture tools such as are important, including tools to recognize and reward employees, take pulse surveys, enable socialization, as well as improve mental health.

All these different types of tools have an essential role to play if you want to manage your remote teams effectively. At the end of the day however, you should tailor your tool stack based on your team’s specific requirements in terms of its size, industry, tasks, and goals.

Make no mistake, the right tool stack can make a world of difference and help to ensure your remote teams thrive while enabling them to succeed.