Upgrade your work tools: Productivity tools for hybrid teams
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When it comes to improving the productivity of your hybrid team, you might be inclined to add all the best productivity tools to your tech stack – after all, if each helps you gain 5%, if you use 10 tools, your team’s productivity will increase by 50%, right?
Not quite. The truth is, in most cases, simplicity wins.
The most successful hybrid workplaces don’t drown their people in software; they pick a few tools geared toward their exact needs and remove all other distractions. Being intentional and discerning with your tech stack choices is key to enabling everyone to work efficiently – and to making sure everything is up to date.
In this article, we’ll cut through the clutter and focus on tools that genuinely make a difference, from desk booking to communication and collaboration.
We’ll explore nine categories of software for remote and hybrid teams, but this doesn’t mean you need to pick a tool from each one. On the contrary, we encourage you to first define your team’s specific requirements and then pick the types of software that most make sense to you.
What do we mean by hybrid workplace productivity tools?
Hybrid workplace productivity tools are apps designed to help hybrid teams work together efficiently, stay focused on their goals, and ensure everyone’s on the same page, regardless of the physical location of each team member.
Not all productivity software will work for hybrid teams; when some of your employees are working remotely on any given day, you need to make sure the apps you’re using can meet the specific challenges of hybrid work, like efficient communication and video conferencing, desk booking, and tracking project progress in real time.
Officely: Desk booking system that works with Microsoft Teams and Slack
Hybrid teams thrive on clarity and transparency, especially when it comes to schedules and planning in-office days. Nobody likes to commute to an empty office or come in only to find out there aren’t any available desks left, so you need to make sure your team has an easy way to book desks and see when others will be in the office – and, ideally, do that directly from an app they’re already using.
That’s exactly why we created Officely, a desk booking system designed to make hybrid work simple, intuitive, and productive for everyone – and that lives in the communication tools your team already uses (Microsoft Teams and Slack).
With Officely, your team and admin staff can:
Book desks, meeting rooms, parking spots, and shared spaces in seconds, directly within Slack or MS Teams
Plan and organize meetings, group events, and workshops
Track space utilization and allocate resources in a way that makes sense to everyone
We believe that hybrid work shouldn’t be a guessing game, so we’ve created an app that can do the heavy lifting, figuring out the best days for in-office work so your team doesn’t have to.
Officely lets your people know know when their favorite coworkers will be in the office, which helps boost attendance and employee engagement
Project management tools
The timely completion of your projects depends on how well your team can plan resources, communicate, and tackle challenges. And, with some members in the office and others working remotely, you cannot just call a quick snap meeting to make sure everyone’s on track – so it’s crucial to have the right project management software that keeps everyone accountable and clear on what they need to work on.
Project management tools are designed to help teams manage workloads, tasks, and priorities, and track progress in real time. Look for a tool that enables you to break projects into smaller chunks, assign work, receive automated reminders, and visualize progress.
Here are our top picks:
Asana, for its advanced timeline and workflow features to simplify managing complex projects
Trello, for its simple, visual Kanban boards that make tracking tasks feel almost intuitive
ClickUp, for its combination of task management, time tracking, and goal-setting
Monday.com, for its visual boards and automations
Each of those apps has a free version, which you can use to test it and see whether it fits your use cases and the work style of your team.
Time management apps
Time management apps are designed to help your team members track their hours, plan their workdays, and minimize wasted time. Essentially, those tools should be for them, rather than for you – if you try to micromanage each person based on the time they spend on each task, this will almost certainly backfire.
However, it enables you to get a general idea of everyone’s workload and of how your team is using its most precious resource – time.
The best time management apps go beyond simple timers and have features like detailed reporting, scheduling, client billing, and integrations with other tools your team already uses.
Here are our top picks:
Toggl, for its easy-to-use interface and detailed time-tracking reports
Clockify, for its robust free plan and team-friendly features
RescueTime, for automatic tracking of time spent on apps and websites to improve focus
Team communication tools
Without the right communication tools, conversations can become fragmented, updates get missed, and collaboration breaks down. And for hybrid or fully remote teams, having the right communication app is absolutely critical.
Team communication tools help your team stay on track by centralizing conversations in dedicated channels, enabling real-time collaboration, and providing quick updates on everyone’s availability.
Here are our top picks:
Slack, for its organized channels and extensive integration options
Microsoft Teams, for its seamless collaboration features, including messaging, meetings, and shared files
Chanty, for its focus on simplicity and value, with task management built in
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New Office Management Handbook for Flexible Workplaces
Packed with actual experts insights and pro tips, this guide is here to help you find out all about managing a flexible office!
For hybrid and distributed teams, effective meetings require structure and clarity – otherwise, everyone will start suffering from Zoom fatigue sooner or later. Meeting management tools provide exactly that, helping teams stay focused on agendas and minimizing friction when booking calls; taking notes, or following up.
Look for features like automatic transcription, shared notes, and integrated scheduling to take the stress out of meetings and help teams make the most of their time.
Here are our top picks:
Fellow, for organizing meeting agendas and assigning follow-up tasks
Otter, for its AI-powered meeting transcription and collaboration features
Calendly, for its user-friendly scheduling that works across time zones
Zoom, for its excellent video conferencing features combined with scheduling and recording tools
Google Meet, for its simplicity and efficiency
Visual collaboration tools
In hybrid work environments, visual collaboration tools can help bridge the gap between remote and in-office teams, making it easier to brainstorm and create ideas in real time, over a Google Meet.
And, for design and marketing teams, remote visual collaboration is crucial in creating marketing assets that are in line with your brand image.
Here are our top picks:
Miro, for its flexible online whiteboard, which is perfect for brainstorming and planning sessions
Figma, for real-time design collaboration and AI features
Canva, for its user-friendly design templates and simple user interface
Lucidspark, for its intuitive diagramming tools
Figma enables you to build simple prototypes with the help of AI and work on them in real time, regardless of the physical location of each team member
Workplace knowledge sharing platforms
In hybrid work environments, easy knowledge and information sharing is essential for the functioning of teams. Information needs to be accessible, organized, and easy to share – but, importantly, it also needs to be secure and well-protected against unauthorized access.
Workplace knowledge sharing platforms act as the central hub where teams can store, organize, and collaborate on important documents, guides, and resources, without needing to send documents as email attachments.
Because, let’s face it, it’s incredibly easy to send all your payroll data to the wrong Steve, if you’re storing it in an Excel table and relying on your email’s auto-complete features – and there’s no way to recover it afterward.
Plus, for distributed teams, version control can be a nightmare, so you need to make sure you have a single source of truth that has all the latest versions of everything.
Here are our top picks:
Confluence, for creating a shared space where teams can collaborate on documents and project updates
Scribe, for its step-by-step guide creation that’s perfect for process documentation
Notion, for its customizable databases that combine note-taking, task management, and knowledge sharing
Google Drive, for its real-time collaboration features and granular access control
Real-time video conferencing tools
Hybrid workers know this all too well: video calls are inevitable. To make the most out of them, you need a video conferencing app that has an intuitive interface and the right functionalities for your team, such as recordings and polls.
Here are our top picks:
Zoom, for its extensive feature set, including breakout rooms and real-time polls
Microsoft Teams, for its efficient integration with Microsoft Outlook and all other Office apps
Google Meet, for its hassle-free setup and built-in Google Calendar syncing
Thanks to its minimalistic UI, Google Meet is extremely easy to use
Why is productivity tooling critical for hybrid success?
Now that you know all the best-in-class apps, it’s time to make some tough choices. Because every app comes with a cost, and we’re not talking about its price tag, but rather the time and energy it’ll take your people to learn, use, and manage it.
With the right team productivity tools, you’ll be able to simplify workflows and reduce distractions. The right software helps teams stay connected, plan effectively, and manage resources without adding anything extra to anyone’s workload.
Intentional tech choices mean your team can focus on collaboration instead of wrestling with an overstuffed tech stack. With the right apps, your team will be able to:
Save time and efforts on locating information and knowledge
Work together efficiently, even when work doesn’t happen at the same time
Plan ahead and ensure they have sufficient resources for each project
Stay on top of office space logistics and book desks and equipment as needed
Tackle challenges quickly, without having them impact overall progress
But for this to work, you need an overall strategy, rather than simply “grafting technology onto existing operations”. So, rather than simply pick an app for each process, first look at the processes themselves and see how you could simplify or improve them in a way that’s meaningful to your team. After that, selecting the right software to boost focus and productivity will be easy.
Make hybrid work really work with Officely: The best productivity app for hybrid teams
The right tools can help you manage projects better, improve communication, and build a strong hybrid culture where everyone thrives. The key is to pick solutions that fit your team’s needs and workflows and look for ways to simplify work, rather than add more steps, apps, and sources of information.
That was our guiding principle when creating Officely: Build an app that’s incredibly easy to use and easy to adopt, and that makes hybrid work actually work – for everyone.
It integrates with existing communication tools such as Slack and MS Teams and makes it easy to spot the best time to come to the office. Plus, it enables you to make sure you have the right amount of office space for your team’s needs – and that you’re not paying for rooms and desks that nobody’s using.
Book a demo today to see how easy it can be to manage a hybrid workspace with the right desk booking app for your team.
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Try Officely Today
See who's in the office, organize socials and events, and increase your office attendance all within Slack.
Max is one of the cofounders and CEO of Officely, a flexible work enablement platform. He has helped thousands of businesses not only transition to flexible work but instil it at the core of their culture and brand.
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