Cyber Defense eMagazine January 2021 Edition

Tool to Prevent Miscommunication: Slack
It’s easy to lose proper communication while transitioning to a remote working structure. It’s one of the
common issues companies face, which can lead to a massive dip in productivity. For starters, workers
can no longer talk to each other face to face as they used to. The ease of walking over to a teammate’s
desk to ask questions and come up with solutions to a problem is no longer there. This can lead to a
messy communications network where vital information can get lost.
While emails will work in a scenario where all employees commute to a physical workplace, it’s less
feasible with remote work. It’s difficult to hold continuous conversations over emails, especially when you
need to talk to many people on small issues at the same time.
To create an effective workflow and boost productivity, you need a tool like Slack. This is an instant
communication tool that comes with two primary modes of communication:
• Channels message
• Direct message
Using these two modes, employees can exchange solutions, creative ideas, and information seamlessly.
In addition, it comes with add-ons that give it an added efficiency that you can’t get with email
communication.
Slack also features a video call tool that you can use when you want to have face-to-face conversations.
This gives a feeling that’s close to what you get from talking to a colleague or employee in a physical
office. It’s also useful for holding quick meetings. Everyone can simply sign in and enjoy the pleasure of
seeing each other’s faces, smiles, and gestures.
The app allows for file sharing, which makes it the perfect communication tool. Moreover, it can be
integrated with other third-party team management software such as Jira and Google Calendar.
1. Tool to Prevent Time Theft: Traqq
Working from home is great. However, it can come with a problem of distraction. In an office, it’s easy to
keep an eye on your employees, caution them, or help them do their tasks without procrastinating.
However, when it comes to telecommuting, the story is different. You need to find a way to monitor staff
without being the overbearing boss that everybody hates. This is where time management apps come
in.
Traqq is a time tracking software that allows you to keep tabs on employee activity, no matter where they
are in the world. Research shows that individuals tend to work faster when they realize their activity is
being monitored. This means that you can ensure an increase in productivity even without having your
workers under one roof.
For example, managers use Traqq to keep track of their staff’s on-screen activity. They can see which
websites and apps an employee visits during work hours. In addition, they get reports on how much time
a worker spent on those sites and what they were doing on the pages they opened.
This time tracking tool helps you figure out how many minutes or hours each worker spends on particular
tasks. At the end of every week or month, you get a detailed report that’ll help you give feedback and
coaching to your employees. If a staff member is wasting time surfing through Instagram or playing games
during their work time, you’ll know from the activity report that the time management app will generate.
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