Google Workspace for managing your remote workforce
Google Workspace is one of the best platforms for managing a remote workforce. It allows workers in different time zones to work on projects asynchronously. Use Google Workspace to improve communication, collaborate on ideas and projects, share information and documents, streamline processes, and increase your team’s productivity.
The global scheduling features, instant updates, and synchronizing and sharing of data allow everyone to access documents and collaborate as if they were in the same office and time zone. The best part is that everything, including individual access and permissions, can be managed via the administrator panel.
COMMUNICATION
Utilize Google Hangouts for instant discussions or take advantage of the chat features available on Google Sheets and Docs if workers need to collaborate on a particular project. Commenting and making suggestions are also two great features available on Google Sheets and Docs if workers need to point out and discuss specific aspects of a document but do not want to immediately make direct changes to that document.
Company emails via Gmail are also an option for getting more lengthy messages to various workers in a secure environment.
Google Calendar can help with the scheduling of live group discussions, and the video options within Google Hangouts can bring those discussions to life. The sharing of ideas and information within Google Workspace is seamless
CASE STUDY
According to Google, The UK Department of Health gives its 6,500 remote researchers company email addresses via Gmail and they use that as a corporate broadcast tool. They also utilize Google Hangouts to reduce the need for travel. This has saved the company millions in expenses.
COLLABORATION
The shared Google Drive allows administrators and workers with permissions to quickly give access to certain files. This means that if you have a remote worker doing a specific job, you can give them access to the necessary files in your Google Drive without having to share documents that they may not need or that you would like to limit to management or other team members.
Once you have a remote worker set up with the access they require, they can collaborate with you and other workers who may be engaged on the same project. This is done via Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, and Sites. The files are updated in real-time as each person adds information. Areas of a Google Sheet that are currently being worked on will show up as highlighted so that two workers do not accidentally attempt to add data to the same cell. This keeps everyone up to date with the latest information while allowing more than one person to work on the same document.
CASE STUDY
Nuru International is helping to alleviate extreme poverty in remote locations, and they are doing it with the help of Google Workspace products.
According to Google, they have found a way to collaborate with remote workers and their main office, even when outside of areas with reliable internet:
“They pass along Google Drive links instead of attaching files for each employee to download — which is especially helpful in regions lacking strong Internet. Working in remote, rural areas with regular power outages, limited bandwidth and limited access to computer retail and repair means that knowledge management is crucial.”
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
Google Forms can assist with quickly collecting information from potential customers, clients, remote workers, and vendors. It is an easy way to gather survey information and the integration with Google Sheets makes that data simple to view and assess.
HIRING
When it comes to hiring a remote workforce, Google Forms can help with collecting work histories and other relevant information. After that, the information can be easily viewed, and remote interview appointments can be made using Google Calendar. Those interviews can be done in real time using Google Hangouts. Any contracts that need to be signed can be done with DocuSign, which is integrated into Gmail. The entire hiring process can be handled from within Google Workspace.
INFORMATION SHARING OUTSIDE OF THE ORGANIZATION
Remote workers can upload new files to Google Drive and share them with other relevant parties, including administrators, other workers, and clients or vendors. In the same way, vendors and clients can update information which will become available to any remote worker that needs that information to complete their work.
When products run low, or customers have new orders, that information can be made available instantly, and workers can make new orders with vendors, arrange delivery, and handle other aspects of the process as necessary. They can then give updates on their process, both to the company as well as customers who may be waiting on the status of their order.
ENCOURAGING PRODUCTIVITY
Unlike a traditional office, Google Workspace never closes. Remote workers can access files and information at any time of day or night and even on the weekends. That means that with the right combination of workers in various time zones, your business can continue to work for you 24 hours a day and seven days per week.
Remote workers can access the platform from a variety of operating systems. It also works on just about all devices including PCs, laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices such as their phone. Simple changes can be made from any device. All of the most popular Google Workspace applications are available for download onto mobile devices. You and your workforce can continue to be productive no matter where they are in the world, what time it is, or what device is at their fingertips at that moment.
CASE STUDY
Biggerplate.com has 7 workers who are almost never in the same location. After some trial and error, they discovered the Google Workspace is the best way to manage their growing online community.
“We originally used a combination of XMind, MindManager, Dropbox, Skype and Microsoft Office. “There were multiple problems with this setup. Neither our maps nor our documents could be used to collaborate in real-time. Even worse, we often ended up with conflicting versions of documents we had uploaded to our shared Dropbox space. We also spent a lot of time in long-winded Skype meetings every week, and almost as much time trying to schedule those meetings in the first place, as my frequent travels abroad often put us in different time zones.”
Biggerplate founder, Liam Hughes via MindMeister
Their problems are now a distant memory.
LESS TRAINING TIME NEEDED
Just about everyone in the world has had some experience with Google products. The majority of remote workers will be able to jump into using Google Workspace with no problem. If they don’t spend a lot of time online normally and are still fairly new to the technology, Google and YouTube have detailed tutorials covering all aspects of using the Google Workspace platform. Make a quick file with links to the relevant tutorials, and your workers should be able to get going without lengthy or costly training. This is especially vital if you use a number of temporary remote workers. Google Workspace can make onboarding painless and automated.
SINGLE LOGIN
Logging in with a Google account is enough to access Google Workspace. Remote workers will be able to access all of the tools necessary to work without wasting time on multiple logins. In addition, because each worker is using one account for all their work, if an administrator needs to change a remote worker’s permissions, it can all be done from the administrator panel. There is no need to go to multiple applications and websites to change the information and access to each one.
SECURITY
Administrators can easily change permissions, remove access, protect certain files from being downloaded, and delete information on remote devices. This can protect the company from their data falling into the wrong hands. It can also limit accessible information and make it unreachable to workers who are no longer on a specific project or with the company.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For managing a remote workforce, Google Workspace is essential. There is no other suite of products that can allow for such effective remote work and real-time collaboration.
A Google Workspace trusted partner since 2014. More than 750 plus clients have migrated to the Google Workspace platform, and we continue to support them.