Managers find it challenging to adapt to the realities of handling a team that spans several time zones and geographical locations as more companies migrate to a remote workforce. Fortunately, as teams have become more mobile, several companies have created tools that make managing freelance workers almost as easy as managing in-house employees.

If you have a remote team of workers or a team of freelancers working for you, you will appreciate this guide. Take a look at five great tools that will help you manage your team of freelancers and remote workers efficiently.

Payroll software

Payroll processing is a difficult component of running a business for both small and large businesses. If you’ve ever spent hours manually inputting payroll data or been forced to pay fines due to errors in your tax return, you probably dislike this process as well.

This is where a decent payroll software solution may help. Payroll software reduces the chance of costly errors, which is one of its most appealing features.

If you make a mistake that causes your employees to be underpaid, it could harm their morale and, in the worst-case situation, result in legal issues for both your company and yourself.

Payroll isn’t exactly what we’d call a fun job; rather, it’s a necessary one, and individuals in charge of payroll usually don’t like the monthly payroll reconciliation.

The advantages of implementing payroll software include the ability to help them in making their job easier and saving them a significant amount of time that could be better spent on other aspects of the organization. When you find a payroll app for small businesses, you will keep your business compliant and your papers sorted both for in-house and freelance workers.

Management software

Having a good management system for freelance workers is an important part of business success. A freelance management system is a platform that helps businesses decrease paperwork and increase productivity by managing all of the operational, financial, and legal aspects of working with freelancers.

Managing an ever-increasing contingent workforce without it is an immensely complex and time-consuming task.

If this sounds like it could solve your problems, take a look at management software for contractors. This kind of solution should help you simplify your workflow, centralize your information, as well as handle payments, onboarding, and sourcing easily.

A reliable communication tool

Excellent communication is the most efficient way to prevent employee turnover. Businesses with strong communication protocols have a 50% lower turnover rate than their rivals, even within the same industry. It’s no surprise that maintaining and managing a mobile workforce requires good communication.

If you don’t have a dedicated communication channel, you’re probably relying on a complex system of emails, text messages, and phone calls to share information with your freelance workforce.

When you consider that your staff may be spread across multiple time zones, it’s safe to conclude that effective communication is one of your biggest issues.

Try to find an all-in-one communication platform for your team. It should offer group chat channels, direct messaging for individual communications, and even phone and video calling from within the software.

Your communication tool should also let you share documents and search conversation archives as needed.

Cloud storage

Your remote team needs a remote workplace. And this can be a virtual workplace where you will also need storage space.

In other words, you should consider using cloud storage. A good example of this kind of solution is Dropbox. After all, 97% of Fortune 500 companies use this popular cloud storage and file-sharing tool. That speaks volumes about the app.

You can grant team members access to specific folders and transfer massive files fast and effortlessly with Dropbox. You can also create a URL and share it with non-Dropbox users to encourage them to download files.

Dropbox is compatible with and supports almost all devices, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and Blackberry. Files are automatically synced between devices, ensuring that you always have the most up-to-date version of your information.

Time tracking tools

Time monitoring is beneficial to any business where employees spend a significant amount of time working on a computer or who spend the majority of their working hours away from the office.

This fits your business needs since you have to manage freelancers. You need a tool that tracks time and lets you and your team track time while doing important business tasks that you can later see and assess.

This is the best way to see where each hour goes and how you can better use wasted time to improve your productivity levels.

As a manager, a good technology like this allows you to establish bigger and better teams so you can focus on production without being distracted. It should also aid in the management of staff timesheets, billable hours, project completion, and timetables.

Final words

You won’t skip a beat in efficiency if you use these tools to interact with your remote team members. With the best tools and technology, you can dispel the idea that remote workers and freelancers can’t compete with in-house personnel.

So, go through the article again and see if you can spot the right tool for your specific business needs. There is no doubt that you will make a difference if you implement any of these software solutions.