Remote Work Roadblocks

With the current disruptions to travel and work, it’s likely you’ve run into a few remote work roadblocks. A number of which will probably revolve around meeting clients, getting documents signed in person and talking projects through with colleagues, which are all pretty hard at the moment. 

You’ve also got your customers to worry about, with many companies closing their doors and attempting to pick things up online. But, how do you get the word out to everyone and more importantly, keep on top of the onslaught of questions? 

But don’t completely shut down just yet! There’s a number of solutions that can solve these issues that won’t just save you now, but will also keep you on top of things when you eventually return to your office (if you have one).

How to send & sign documents electronically

Imagine your usual process of obtaining signatures. You print, send, wait for the signee to send the document back, and file. Or you meet them in person with a witness, they sign and you file the document. 

Sending the document or contract electronically cuts out most of these steps from your traditional process. Meaning you can send, receive a signed document and file that document before lunch, without ever leaving your desk (or kitchen table if you’re like us!). 

This is what makes electronic signatures a huge productivity booster, especially when you’re out of office. You’re able to send as many documents as you need to anywhere in the world, instantly and securely.

Simply upload your document to an eSignature solution, like Signable. Insert the signing parties’ email addresses. Use our tool to add fillable fields onto your document (Text fields, date, signature, tick boxes & more) and hit send! 

Then you wait for the party to sign and submit the document (you can send reminders if you want). You’ll then receive an email with the signed document in (If you’re using Signable this document will be saved in your account automatically.) 

That’s it. 

How to communicate with your customers without phone lines

Enter LiveChat.

But, what is LiveChat? It’s a web application that helps visitors on your site chat live with your customer support team. It helps us with customers who have support questions around the product, or potential customers who need guidance before signing up.

If you’re a tech or SaaS company you’ll know how important it is to offer ways for your customers to get in touch with you. 

LiveChat is also great for avoiding distractions – so by taking on this solution it means that both staff and customers can multi-task between chats and their day-to-day tasks. Only having to check in when they hear the “ping” of a notification.

LiveChat can also be integrated with your internal comms, like Slack. Which means you can see when a chat has been completed and rated, helping give internal feedback, or to clarify info with a team member when help is needed with a conversation. By centralising our customer chats, it makes it easy to search customer history. Ensuring that you keep all parts of the business transparent, for both staff and clients. And this means that chat logs can be provided in case any issues arise in the future.

So check it out! By offering customers a variety of channels you’ll be sure none of them slip through the cracks whilst they’re waiting for questions to be answered. And as a result, you’ll see an increase in sales as well as positive feedback. Win win.

Team collaboration outside the office

You’ve probably been on one of those team calls, whether it’s on Google Hangouts or Zoom or god forbid, a conference call! Everyone speaks over each other and there’s always that awkward silence where no one wants to speak in case they start at the same time as someone else… It’s hard! So cut through all that with a project collaboration tool like Trello.

What is Trello? It’s essentially a software tool that helps you make lists on boards. For example you can create boards specific to each department or project and within them  have sections of lists for work that’s planned. These lists have individual cards with tasks, and these can be assigned to team members as needed. Within these teams can have conversations specific to that task, or add comments & updates.

By having work planned out in a shareable and interactive way helps organise what each team is working on. It also helps team members collaborate and gives a transparent view of everyone’s work schedules.

So; check it out! Encourage communication & collaboration within your team, whilst helping everyone organise their activity. Winning.

The best conversations happen naturally – Boost morale with Slack

Slack. It’s literally a life-saver when you’re stuck at home for at least 8 hours a day. Slack (if you’ve not already been beaten over the head with it), is an internal communication tool, kind of like the workplace whatsapp, but better! With it you can create groups for each team and even for specific events and projects. The options are limitless! 

Slack at its most basic is great for getting distributed teams chatting naturally. By creating a culture where communication is completely open, your company’s productivity will improve and as a result, you’ll experience a boost in your team’s morale. 

Having a central point for all your information also means that you keep everything searchable. And that if someone is busy – they get to prioritise their work over being distracted.

As a result you’ll rely less on internal email, which means cutting individuals out is kept to a minimum, and it gives your teams the option to work remotely or in office (when the option returns!). Giving your team that freedom means you’ll have one happy team (if we’re anything to go by, anyway).

So, check it out! Taking a transparent approach will reassure staff that you have nothing to hide, encourage them to use their voice more and ensure everyone is kept informed. Plus you can send gifs with the ‘/giphy[wordhere]’ command.

So, no matter where you’re working at the moment, make sure you’re making the most of the tech help that’s out there. It’s a time for effective communication more than ever before, so keep your teams informed, as well as your customers and you’ll breed loyalty across the board. 
If you’d like to see Team Signable’s personal tips for remote working (we’re dab hands at it after a few years of practice!) then see the article here.