Top Tools for your Hybrid Workplace

If your team is like ours here at Spark Group, you likely have times when you work remotely and in other situations where you are in person. Sometimes, when working with clients, we work with individuals in-person and virtually simultaneously. Below are our picks for the top tools that help facilitate meaningful hybrid workplaces. 

Google Drive

Many of these tools may be used in your day-to-day operations. One of the first tools we picked was Google Drive. We host a shared drive and keep all of our docs, sheets, jamboard, slides, slides, and more in one place. We work simultaneously on one document, which removes the need for 75 copies. So whether your group is in person, remote, or both, open up a shared document and get moving. 

Asana

Asana is a cloud-based project management software that allows us to stay on top of who is working on what task during the week. Our team gets together on Monday and talks through the individual tasks. Then, whether in-person or remotely, we check off the tasks as we accomplish them throughout the week. We like Asana because there is a free version for small teams. 

Loom

Loom is a new tool for our team, but we’ve already found numerous ways that it facilitates our work. For example, loom allows you to take short videos of your entire screen or one tab at a time and then share them easily with staff and stakeholders. I personally love Loom because it adds captions automatically, making the videos accessible to our Deaf clients. Last week alone, we used Loom to make standard operating procedure videos to save time when explaining team tasks, and we used the tool to create promotional videos and webinars for our clients. 

Notion

Notion is another project management software that we use specifically to house our communication calendar. Notion allows us as a team, whether sitting around a conference table together or literally across the world, as happens with our staff, to outline the content we will share on numerous platforms throughout the week.

Squarespace

Our team uses Squarespace to house our website, analytics, blog, and resources. But we also use this software to handle all of our e-mail campaigns. So, for example, on Monday, we outline our communications for the week over a Zoom call, and then our marketing staff create the graphics and place them in Notion (see above) for us to pull down and send to our email subscribers through Squarespace. 

Canva

Canva is your home for graphic design. There is a free and nonprofit version to make beautiful, eye-catching social media posts or interactive slide decks for webinars. However, if you aren’t comfortable with graphic design, then Canva is your friend because it offers thousands of templates.

Mentimeter

Mentimeter is our favorite tool for making presentations interactive. We use this software with virtual groups and in-person. Participants type the provided web address into smartphones and then play along with your presentation by answering poll questions or responding to prompts in real-time. This tool is excellent for engagement and facilitates lively discussions. 

Slack

Many of our clients use Slack to keep in touch with team members throughout the week. Slack allows you to set up channels that will enable you to customize your communication. Our clients and partners use Slack to share program wins, update teams on important announcements, gain feedback, and more. 

Remo

We all know about Zoom and Google Meet platforms; therefore, I won’t spend time on them today. However, Remo takes the virtual meeting to an entirely new plane. Participants log on to Remo like you would a virtual meeting but then enter a welcoming virtual room set up with tables and couches for smaller conversations. So, you can start with the whole group to give instructions, then allow participants to hop from smaller conversations around the room. This tool is great for networking events or meetings where you need significant interaction between small groups. 

Owl Labs

Many nonprofit leaders are looking for ways to host meetings in a conference room with individuals at home, and everyone can participate meaningfully. One suggestion is to have everyone sit with their laptop in front of them and mute all microphones but one and treat the meeting like you would any other virtual meeting. Another option we’ve seen that works well is purchasing the 360-degree camera from Owl Labs. This camera allows the camera to focus on whoever is speaking in the room and simultaneously stream to remote participants. 

You may already use some of these tools, and some are likely new. The point is not to force your teams to learn several new software at once because that will probably lead to confusion. Though pick and choose the tools that will help facilitate better communication and workflow for your group and go from there. Hybrid workplaces are here to stay, and these tools can help your organization remain productive amidst the many changes. Contact us at Spark Group today for more information on facilitating hybrid teams!

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