10 Best Remote Working Software of 2024 for Distributed Teams

Deel is a remote working software solution that helps organizations manage and pay distributed teams. Using their global-first, all-in-one HR platform you can hire remote employees and contractors from anywhere in the world and Deel will manage your international tax and compliance obligations on your behalf.

Their platform covers both HR and payroll functions and includes additional tools such as their '1 on 1' feature that integrates Deel with Slack to enable easy team communication and coordination. This feature is part of their Deel Engage plan, which has a strategic focus on supporting remote teams more effectively. Other features within that module include employee engagement surveys, paid time-off management tools, and automation for common HR tasks.

Deel Engage also helps distributed teams coordinate meetings across different time zones, and easily share talking points and agendas in advance of each team meeting. By integrating '1 on 1' with Deel Engage, their global platform becomes even more supportive of an essential digital hub for truly remote organizations.

Deel Standout Features and Integrations

Features include international hiring tools, onboarding & offboarding workflows, global payroll functionalities, multiple currencies and payment methods, remote communication tools, tax and compliance management, international benefits, meeting collaboration tools, and advanced IP protection.

Integrations are available with Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, Slack, Xero, Workday, and Workable. They also have an Open API that supports additional custom software integrations as well.

Sift is a people search engine that includes employee profiles and a dynamic org chart that helps remote employees get to know their colleagues and familiarize themselves with how they connect with other people at their company.

Why I picked Sift: This software provides a useful database for remote staff to figure out who their colleagues are, figure out who to go to for certain things, and generally get to know other remote team members. Users can share information like their skills and experience, interests, photos, contact info, and more.

The advanced org chart capabilities of the software allow users to visualize and navigate the entire workforce in a digital environment. Staff can be grouped by departments and teams, and you can easily keep records of who’s who as your company grows.

Sift Standout Features & Integrations

Features include customizable employee profiles, dynamic org chart visualizations, directory search, custom filters, analytics dashboards, and mobile and desktop apps.

Integrations are available with various HR and IT systems, such as Microsoft Teams, UKG Pro, Azure AD, Google Workspace, OKTA and more.

Slack is a communication and collaboration platform that allows teams to communicate and work together in real time through instant messaging, file sharing, and integrations with other tools and services.

The software provides public channels for members across organizations to start multiple conversations. In addition, private channels enable interaction within smaller teams, and direct channels help send messages directly to colleagues.

Slack incorporates feeds from social media into the application and blends them with ongoing conversations in various channels. Plus, files such as PDFs, images, documents, and spreadsheets can be shared easily via drag and drop.

Slack archives messages, notifications, files, and projects, all of which can be searched for later. Slack allows users to customize their notifications and reduce their scope. All changes are reflected in the native applications available for iOS and Android.

Slack Standout Features and Integrations

Features include real-time messaging and communication, channels, file sharing, voice calls, and video conferencing.

Integrations available natively include Asana, BambooHR, Github, Google Drive, Help Scout, HubSpot, Jira, Salesforce, Trello, and Zendesk. 

Miro is a visual collaboration tool for small to midsize businesses. The software features a digital whiteboard that can be used for research, idea creation, building customer journeys, defining user story maps, wireframing, and other collaborative activities.

Remote team members can collaborate easily using Miro whiteboards. They can draw with a stylus, write on sticky notes, or drop files into the conversation. The whiteboard toolkit enables users to write down ideas, create mockups and schemes, and leave feedback on the input of other team members. You can create boards using preloaded templates, convert them into presentations, or save them as PDFs. 

Miro includes an integrated library of icons, wireframes, and other content. Users can also upload files, images, and documents from their computer or Google Drive. The software offers advanced security and management features, including secure sign-on and auto logouts.  

Miro Standout Features and Integrations

Features include screen sharing, embedded video, a large library of content, pre-built templates, frameworks, and widgets.

Integrations include Airtable, Asana, Atlassian, Box, Figma, Jira, Microsoft 365, Notion, Slack, and Zoom.

Bonusly is a peer-to-peer recognition and rewards platform that employees can use to give each other small bonuses in the form of points, which can then be redeemed for rewards. The platform operates on a peer-to-peer recognition model, where employees can publicly recognize and appreciate their colleagues for their contributions, efforts, or any other notable achievements. It's to help teams feel more connected, especially when they're working remotely.

Recognition can be given in real-time and can take various forms, such as a thank-you note, a shout-out, or a specific mention of a job well done. Users can also include hashtags like #Teamwork, #Innovation, or #CustomerService in their recognition messages to highlight specific areas of accomplishment or company values. Employees can also use Bounusly to redeem earned points for various rewards, such as gift cards, charitable donations, or even custom rewards specific to the organization.

Bonusly also provides analytics and reporting features, which allow companies to track and measure employee recognition activity. This data can provide valuable insights into employee engagement, team dynamics, and overall performance trends.

Bonusly Standout Features and Integrations

Features include a customizable incentives program that offers automated, manual, and claimable awards, a dashboard with participation metrics and a recognition breakdown, and automated milestones that allow you to recognize birthdays and anniversaries and create shared company traditions.

Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Workday, Zenefits, Paychex, Bamboo HR, Sage, Namely, and ADP.

OnBoard is an advanced board intelligence platform that simplifies board meeting management. It empowers more informed decision-making, secure remote meetings, and real-time, remote access from any device.  

Using OnBoard, you can streamline meeting preparation and provide leaders with accurate, timely information. The software is designed to be remote-ready, so you can run a successful organization from anywhere. 

Admins can compile board books and materials with auto-save automatically or annotate board materials directly with searchable notes. OnBoard gives users a personalized dashboard where they can access materials, examine upcoming meetings, and receive announcements. 

Permissions management allows admins to designate user access for specific materials. The task management feature allows users to organize, manage, and track action items through meeting cycles. Engagement analytics show when board books are read, where annotations are made, and what sections receive the most attention. 

OnBoard Standout Features and Integrations

Features include remote data swipe functionality, surveys & questionnaires, multi-board facilities, multi-organization support, and a secure messenger for 1:1 or group discussions. 

Integrations include Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Outlook, and Zoom. 

ActivTrak is a hybrid and remote team management software that provides managers with insights into employee performance. 

This software provides data and visibility combined with contextual and actionable productivity insights. Using ActivTrak, managers can view remote employee time utilization, identify and resolve inefficient workflows, discover productivity insights, and uncover compliance gaps. 

ActivTrak delivers productivity insights for your remote workforce with valuable context. This ensures you have a complete picture of employee behavior and workflows regardless of location.

You get clear visibility into your employees’ and teams’ work time behavior, so you can understand work durations and trends for both remote and in-office employees. You can also leverage data insights to adjust remote employee work schedules to optimize productivity.

ActivTrak Standout Features and Integrations

Features include dashboards, productivity reports, team summaries, app & web usage, workload management, real-time user activity, and screenshots. 

Integrations include Asana, Google Calendar, Jira, Lattice, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Workday, and Zoom.

Trello is a board-based, visual collaboration tool for planning all kinds of tasks and projects. While often used by agile software development teams, the software is also used in other departments such as sales, marketing, support, and HR. 

The web-based solution provides tools to define projects, associated requirements, and the workflow needed to complete projects in a planned sequential manner. Using a kanban card-style system, Trello offers a digital board to create, organize and prioritize actions. 

Admins or managers can define new workflows, assign tasks to individuals or teams, set deadlines, and monitor progress. Users can add comments to cards, add members, and attach documents to their tasks. 

Trello software is capable of meeting the high level of privacy and security required by large enterprises but is also popular with small businesses. 

Trello Standout Features and Integrations

Features include visualization, task management, roadmapping, resource scheduling, real-time updates, and task tagging.

Integrations include Asana, Bitbucket Cloud, GitHub, Google Drive, Jira Cloud, Mailchimp, Microsoft Teams, monday.com, Slack, and Zoom.

Microsoft Teams is a popular, cloud-based group messaging solution that helps teams collaborate on documents and projects. Its key features include messaging, conferencing, and file sharing.  

Perfect for organizations already using Microsoft technology, this software helps users store files online, manage documents, create groups, and receive notifications. It can be customized for each team, and users can communicate through instant messaging, calling, online meetings, and web conferencing. 

The team communication and collaboration tool can be used to work on files within Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint.

This app enables local and remote workers to collaborate on content in real time and near-real time across different devices, including laptops and mobile devices. It acts as the hub of team collaboration for Microsoft Office 365 users.

Microsoft Teams Standout Features and Integrations

Features include messaging, conferencing, file sharing, virtual meetings, an open application processing interface, assistant bots, conversation search, contact search, and multi-factor authentication.

Integrations include ADP, Asana, BambooHR, Delve, GitHub, Microsoft Office, Planner, Power BI, Trello, and Zendesk. 

Asana is a project management software tool designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. It provides features for tracking tasks, projects, and conversations in one place, and can be used to manage workflows and improve team productivity. 

Available as a web application and mobile app, it can be used for many purposes, including managing personal tasks, collaborating on group projects, and tracking the progress of large-scale initiatives.

Ideal for cross-functional work, Asana helps organizations improve teamwork and orchestrate their work efficiently. They can share context, assign ownership with tasks, combine related work, share files, and get instant updates on projects.

In Asana, you can easily track the status of initiatives and get an accurate view of how you’re progressing toward goals. Real-time work reporting keeps all stakeholders up-to-date with developments. 

Asana Standout Features and Integrations

Features include task management, project management, collaboration, timelines, task automation, templates, and cross-functional workflows.

Integrations include Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, HubSpot, Jira, Salesforce, Slack, Trello, Zendesk, and Zoom.