More workers than ever before are making their homes into offices. This trend had already emerged even before COVID-19 struck. Now, however, that trend has become a full-fledged revolution.

If you’re part of the remote workforce, then you could be looking for some of the best kinds of tech that can help you start working from home.

We’re here to give you some ideas about the tech tools for joining the remote workforce that you need to keep you focused and productive from your bedroom, living room, or wherever else you’re working in 2020.

1. Cybersecurity Tools

If you’re part of a newly formed remote workforce, then one of the things you should focus on is cybersecurity. You might be working with some sensitive data, and you don’t want to present any hackers with a tempting target. That’s why you should consider utilising things like:

• A virtual private network
• Two-factor authentication
• Cybersecurity software
• Multi-point network backups

With a VPN, it’s almost impossible for a hacker to access your private data. Multi-factor authentication, when you log into your various accounts, is another must-have for the remote worker.

You can also explore various cybersecurity software options from reputable companies like Norton or Avast. They don’t cost very much for subscriptions, and they’re also a tax write-off.

As for multi-point network backups, they ensure continuity. They protect you from user errors, viruses, or malicious cyberattacks.

2. Engagement and Performance Tools

If you’re working remotely, but a big company still employs you, it can be difficult for your bosses to judge your performance. That’s because:

• They don’t physically see you every day anymore
• They see your work, but they don’t know how many hours went into it

You need performance tracking tools to monitor everything from your work hours to your task management. They should also keep track of your coworkers’ interactions on collaborative projects.

The best tools provide something for HR professionals, team leaders, supervisors, and employees like you who are out in the field. There are many different platforms available, so you’ll need to get together with your employer to figure out which one is going to work for you.

Some options include Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, Basecamp, and ProofHub.

3. Project Management Tools

You may also want to explore project management tools that can help you coordinate and balance your workload. There are many virtual project management applications that eliminate in-person meetings and micromanagement.

When you’re looking for these tools, what you want more than anything is a platform that lets you set down your goals and tasks in plain language so that there are no mistakes. It should also allow you to track your progress and what your coworkers are doing. Finally, it should allow you to check off the completed work.

If you are using the same project management tools, you can hold each other accountable for missed deadlines. More importantly, your bosses can quickly ascertain when a project is falling behind schedule.

4. Virtual Communication and Collaboration Tools

For the remote worker, communication and collaboration are everything. You’re going to need email tools, such as Gmail and Outlook.

You will also need Voice over Internet Protocol, which some people refer to as VoIP. However, some workers believe this technology is outdated.

You may also want to consider a virtual meeting environment, such as the Slack Chat app, or opt for Skype or Zoom. Whichever one you choose, your goal should be to communicate seamlessly with your coworkers any time that you need to throughout the workday.

5. Mobile Hardware Tools

If you’re telecommuting, you may not need things like a desk or swivel chair. Some people lie down on their beds with a laptop balanced on their chests and work that way.

What you’ll certainly need, though, are the mobile hardware tools that will enable you to complete your work efficiently. You’ll probably want a laptop, though some workers still prefer desktops. You’ll also want a smartphone.

Your company might provide you with these things. If you own them already, but you use them for work, they can be tax write-offs at the end of the fiscal year.

To remain competitive within your niche, you should have the most up-to-date hardware. If you have a laptop that is four or five years old, it’s probably outdated by today’s standards.

You need access to all of these tech tools if you want to be counted among those in the remote workforce. If you lack any of it, then discuss with your boss the need to obtain it without delay.

Professional streaming is one of the fastest-growing careers out there right now. Thanks to platforms like Twitch and YouTube Live, people can stream themselves doing pretty much whatever they want. Whether it’s gaming, fashion tips, or just hanging out and vlogging, there’s a market for pretty much every type of streaming activity. If you’ve been wondering how to get off the ground as a streamer and you haven’t been able to make the jump on your own, we’re here to help. Here’s what you’ll need to become a streamer on a professional basis.

A powerful PC

The first and most important part of being a streamer is having a powerful PC, especially if you’re going to stream yourself gaming. Processing power and memory are crucial for keeping your stream smooth and glitch-free. The benefits of having a powerful machine at your disposal are many; it’s not just all about streaming. If you want to entertain yourself, for example, a powerful PC lets you visit a freshly established PlayLive casino and play some slots, or play some other browser-based games to unwind after a long day of streaming. Long story short: get yourself a powerful PC. You won’t regret it.

A high-quality mic

Have you ever seen a YouTube video about something you love where the host’s voice is crackly and unclear? Every time they hit plosives – “p” sounds or “b” sounds, et cetera – the mic pops and jumps. That’s because they have a bad-quality mic, and it kills the quality of their videos and their streams. You don’t need to have an expensive mic in order to have a high-quality one; shopping around for budget options will yield results if you’re smart. Just opt for a mic that brings your voice across clearly and without any technical issues or audio glitches.

A good webcam

Some Twitch streamers don’t opt to show their faces on their streams. That’s fine; if you’re concerned about things like privacy or protecting your identity, you can still make it big as a streamer without anybody knowing what your face looks like. If, however, you do want to show your face, opt for a webcam with full HD resolution and high image quality. The last thing you want as a streamer is a blurry facecam that doesn’t properly show anyone who you are or how you’re reacting to the game you’re playing. Again, you can opt for a lower-price webcam if you need to.

A Twitch account

Assuming that Twitch is the platform on which you want to stream (which it should be, or at least it should be one of them), a Twitch account is essential. It doesn’t take long to sign up; the service just needs a few details from you and you’ll be signed up before you know it. No matter which streaming service you use, though, you’ll almost certainly need to sign up for an account, so have the essential details ready. Once you have an account, it’s pretty easy to get started on most streaming platforms, so don’t let the initial signup process put you off.

A reliable internet connection

It might go without saying, but if you’re going to become a streamer, you need to make sure your internet connection is reliable and solid. If you drop out halfway through streaming on a regular basis, you’ll likely lose followers, not to mention the effect it could have on you if you’re playing an online game. Depending on your living situation, you may have no direct control over the internet speed, but you can talk to whoever controls this aspect of your home and see if you can work something out involving a new, faster or more reliable internet provider.

Good streaming software

There are lots of free streaming software packages out there to help you become a streamer. No longer do you need to pay for something that can easily be replicated by free alternatives. A program like OBS Studio is the perfect place to start when you’re streaming; it’s fairly easy to work in, offers unparalleled functionality and connectivity, and provides everything you could need to get started as a streamer. Remember that programs like OBS will start to take up quite a bit of system resource allocation when you’re streaming in high resolution, so make sure your PC is up to snuff (see above).

Gaming consoles

You’ll only need gaming consoles if you intend to stream from PlayStation 4, PS5, or Xbox One, Xbox Series X. Both consoles allow you to stream straight to Twitch without the need for a capture card; we’ve come a long way since the days of endless hardware connections to become a streamer.

The Nintendo Switch sadly doesn’t allow you to do this yet, so if you are intending to stream from that console then you will, unfortunately, need a capture card to do so. The same goes for any console prior to the Xbox One or PS4. Most capture cards aren’t too hard to use, though, and you can get a good one for fairly little money.

Every job and every designation’s success are based on skills – soft skills and industry skills. Even engineers are expected to possess specific skill sets that help them perform their jobs better and ensure business success. 

An aspiring engineer must possess specific critical skills that are crucial to their job. There are several branches of engineering, and while an electrical engineer’s skills might be different from a computer engineer or mechanic engineer’s skills, some skills are required by all types of engineers. 

Whether you are aspiring to work as an employee with a company or start your own company, bear in mind that the following skills are not only necessary but also are demanded by employers.

Communication Skills

The field of engineering is exceptionally technical and relies to a great extent on accuracy and precision. The ability to communicate with colleagues is exceptionally crucial. It’s critical to be able to translate specialized knowledge to others within the industry. 

But as well as that, engineers are also expected to communicate with those outside their field, the public, and clients who do not possess technical backgrounds. 

In this case, engineers must be able to translate their specialized knowledge and industry jargon into correct yet straightforward terms. Complexities must be broken down, and concepts must be explained clearly in a manner that non-technical people can understand.

Other aspects of communication involve the ability to:

• Actively listen
• Motivate employees
• Negotiate with clients
• Clarify and paraphrase
• Present information accurately

Project Management Skills

Engineers are often put in charge of projects and teams. Project management skills include being able to head a team, integrate with other departments, work within a specific budget, and meet critical deadlines. 

A project management certification will help engineers develop their project management skills. Some companies offer their engineers the chance to obtain a certification in project management. Six Sigma is a type of project management training. 

Project managers are awarded colored belt titles (akin to those provided in martial arts), indicating the level of skill achieved. Six Sigma delivers skills in:

• Risk management
• Strategic planning
• Leadership
• Communication
• Scheduling
• Organization
• Critical thinking
• Quality control

All of the above skills are necessary and will immensely help engineers.
Engineering is associated with a variety of risks. For this reason, engineers must protect themselves with professional liability insurance for engineers. Professional liability insurance protects engineers, their firms.

Teamwork

Very rarely do engineers work alone. It takes a team to bring a project to fruition. In many instances, engineering works involve both department integration and collaboration. Engineers must be comfortable working with a team and working in partnership with people of different walks of life at every level. 

Integrity and character are two teamwork skills that enable engineers to get people to trust them and rely on them as they work together.

A critical part of teamwork is the ability to give and receive feedback. Engineers must be able to provide honest and actionable feedback – this is possible only when you can be empathetic towards people and situations. They should also be able to receive constructive feedback without retaliation or anger.

Attention to Detail

Engineering problems are often complicated, and engineers must consider a variety of details through every step of the project – from their conception, through the problem-solving and modeling stages, and right up to the testing phases. 

Close attention to detail is required to ensure all the critical components of the project are intact. Without attention to detail, engineers can miss out on essential elements that could affect a full project. A company’s reputation is at stake when all the aspects of a project are not met, missed, or forgotten.

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Skills

Problem and complex situations are a part of engineering jobs, be it regarding data handling, AI, computers, or building construction, and engineers must be able to approach every problem and task with an analytical mind. Each issue must be approached and viewed from a variety of perspectives so that the best solution can be reached. The best solution is often the one with the least risks, and engineers must be able to find these solutions. 

Problem-solving is a process in which every solution is tested and modified. Sometimes it is necessary to check several solutions before honing in on the best one. The complexity of each problem and the various solutions can be mind-boggling, and engineers must be able to approach these with a relaxed mind and with no emotions attached.

Judgment and decision making are skills that are essential for engineers to be able to come to sensible conclusions and make connections between concepts and relationships. These skills also help build better assessments of events, situations, ideas, and people.

Cognitive Flexibility

Last but not the least, it is noted that the present volatile, complex, and uncertain environment requires engineers to possess cognitive flexibility – which is the ability and willingness to learn continuously. This skill helps engineers quickly adapt to new or strange situations, continually grow, learn, and remain employable throughout their professional lives. 

When engineers can master all these skills and be open to learning new skills, they will be able to tackle new challenges, stay competitive, and meet innovation that happens at an exceedingly quick pace, head-on. 

Are your conference calls the dread of your company? Are they boring, tedious, and unorganized? A bad conference call can leave your participants feeling exhausted and leave you wondering what you can do to keep everyone engaged. Truth be told, hosting better conference calls isn’t rocket science, but it does require some specific attention to areas like your meeting agenda, conferencing tools, and the level of control you exert over the call itself. 

Whether you’re hosting a one time conference call or you’re the host of several calls each month, this guide will help you host better calls, keep callers engaged and interacting with one another, and save you some time along the way. Ready to get started? Let’s dive deeper into the world of better conference calls. 

First Thing’s First: Your Tools

Before we dive into agendas and muting obnoxious callers, we need to look at a fundamental piece of the puzzle: the tool you’re using to host your conference calls. Yes, we’re talking about your outdated landline. It’s just that; outdated. The truth is, landlines are disappearing from businesses all over the world. With mobile phones, internet-based conferencing services, and desktop software, the days of sitting on a landline conference call are nearly behind us. 

Web-based conferencing services offer several advantages to their static counterparts, including

• More secure calls
• More call control
• Better pricing
• Screen sharing and video chat software
• Call recording 
• Cloud storage 
• Screen sharing 
• File sharing 
• No long-distance fees
• Up to 1,000 callers in some cases 
• International connectivity 
• Versatility 
• Easier access

These are just a few of the many advantages you’ll notice with mobile conferencing. The bottom line? It’s time to leave the landline where it belongs…in the past! The world is moving to a more digitalized calling platform, and you should, too! 

What’s Your Agenda Look Like?

Agenda? What agenda? If this was your answer, it’s time to remedy this situation. An agenda is perhaps the most crucial component of better conference calls. Without one, you’re more likely to end up going off-course, derailing the conversation, and not achieving any real results. An agenda is like a compass in the sea of conversation, helping to guide the callers toward a common goal. 

So, what does an agenda look like? Do you need special software to create a good agenda? Do you need to download anything? While you can certainly benefit from meeting agenda templates, they’re not a requirement. Generally, an agenda should contain the following information:

• Guestlist

• Topics to be covered
• Meeting time/place (or call-in number/weblink)

Sounds simple, right? Most people hear the word “agenda” and imagine some complex sheet of paper with all kinds of information, times, etc. An agenda can be anything from a hand-written note to an email to a completed agenda template. All that matters is that you use one for your calls. 

Don’t forget to send the agenda to your participants as well. If you’re the host of the call, it’s your responsibility to ensure that everyone knows what the call is about! 

Become Friendly With The Mute Button

The mute button is simply the most effective tool at your disposal when you’re in a conference call. Why? Because background noise is obnoxious and distracting. We’ve all been in a conference call where Debrah’s husband is in the background yelling about dinner and Bob’s dog won’t stop barking in his ear. Imagine trying to listen to a serious presentation with a child’s laughter in the background. It would be pretty difficult, right?

The mute button can solve most of your meeting issues with one press. If you’re using digital conferencing software, you can even mute other people! If you’re the host, you can mute them for just you or for everyone. Take that, Bob’s dog! 

 Don’t Interrupt

Interrupting someone while they’re talking isn’t only rude, it’s also disruptive to the call. Most of the time when you interrupt, the person you interrupted has to go back and finish their point after you’ve given your two cents. Try to refrain from speaking until the speaker is finished! 

That being said, there are some times when it’s appropriate to interrupt. Some people end up going off on a tangent during a conference call, and it becomes necessary to interrupt them for the sake of time. Just use your common sense when it comes to interrupting others and only do it when it’s absolutely necessary. You wouldn’t want someone to constantly interrupt you, would you?

Final Thoughts

Conference calls can either be incredibly productive or incredibly unproductive. This all depends on the tools you’re using, the control you have over the call, call etiquette, the use of an agenda, and your relationship with the mute button. Consider using online conferencing calls instead of a landline for a better, more secure call experience. 

On fleet management, the managers often track their work hours for different purposes like creating invoices for clients, measuring the time taken to execute a task, or ensuring that a flat-rate project doesn’t become too expensive.

Managing a fleet, be it a small-sized lot or a colossal business, you would definitely need an effective online time tracking systems. 

Here is a list of the top eleven online time tracking systems in 2024 that can assist you in  effective fleet management.

1. Toggl 

Toggl is a free time tracking app available online with some paid subscriptions to enhance user experience.

If you need to conveniently track your time across diverse projects, Toggl is a great platform for you to use.

With other time tracking apps, you must have a client, project, and task fed into your account before finally being able to track time, which is not the case with Toggl. 

Toggl has amazing idle detection, helping you maintain great accuracy across your records. 

2. Harvest 

Harvest is one of the top options to choose from for various fleet managers. It’s a stellar option as it’s built to supervise a collaborative workload that is clear to understand. 

As team members execute their personal timekeeping clocks, the entire information flows into the administrator’s Harvest account, presented in summary and detail. 

Harvest automatically reminds team members to submit their timesheets, where the business owner can always edit, review, or approve them at his convenience.

3. Everhour

Everhour is an online time tracker and a lightweight scheduling app that syncs with your pre-existing productivity applications. 

The task of setting up Everhour to showcase all your projects is done for you automatically due to the seamless integration offered by the platform.

Everhour also syncs with Basecamp, Bitbucket, GitHub, Teamwork Projects, and a couple of other apps. 

Everhour can also track employee availability. For each team member, including you, you can type in a maximum number of hours per day or week to devote to a specific project. 

When it comes to choosing fleet management systems, you can visit Samsara as it is the leading brand in the realm of IoT.

4. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a great time tracking app that is also famous for its accounting software support. 

This time tracking app facilitates you to add details to tracked sessions and generate reports, providing insights about your working hours.

FreshBooks provides you with a range of options when using the platform online to render flexibility. You can use it as a desktop app, mobile app, or browser extension as well.

Expense tracking and integrated invoicing provide you with two prime reasons to choose FreshBooks. 

5. Timely

If you use a calendar to distribute time to work on various projects, then Timely might be the ideal time tracker you need. 

Timely congregate scheduling and time tracking into a single app, providing you with a calendar-like view of the overall time spent on tasks. 

You can log a manual entry, run a timer, or plan in advance about how much time to work on different projects. 

Timely integrates with almost all calendars, so all your meetings and planned events automatically show up on the calendar layout. 

It also supports collaboration, where everyone on a small team can track their time, and all the logs then sync to the central admin account. 

6. ezClocker

ezClocker is a simple to use and affordable time tracking software for small businesses. If your employees are not tech-savvy, then this app is a great choice for you.

You can use the ezClocker kiosk app to turn your tablet into a portable time clock, or you can allow employees to use their own mobile device to clock in.

Employees can clock in with a touch of a button, view their schedule and total hours worked. Employers use ezClocker to view timesheets, create schedules, view over time, and export time entries to process payroll.

Other features include restricting employees from clocking in early to help avoid overtime. This application also allows employees to pick a job when clocking in for labor job costing.

7. HourStack

HourStack is a collaborative time tracking tool that displays time in blocks as if the time it took for you to work on a particular task were an event on your calendar. 

This software emphasizes planning your time even before you start working. HourStack monitors the clock for you to keep you focused within the expectations you set. 

This software even warns you when you go into overtime by displaying your total time worked for that specific day in red, right at the bottom of the screen.

HourStack integrates with several productivity tools, allowing you to sync tasks or calendar entries from one app into HourStack, or export and import datasets, etc. 

8. RescueTime 

RescueTime is automatic time-tracking software that runs in the background to observe your computer usage, is sent to RescueTime’s servers, and presented to you over the web-based dashboard. 

Since RescueTime knows about the apps you use, and their screen time, you don’t have to manually log your hours. The app then categorizes your habits based on a set of rules. 

The software becomes most impactful once you train it to recognize your specific habits. Training the software about your fleet management tasks automatically categorizes them all accordingly.

You can get the precise meaning of the telematics definition by visiting Samsara and going through their services and blogs.

9. Timeneye 

Timeneye works great if you have a small or medium-sized fleet and emphasize more on time management than accounting. 

This time tracking app uses a calendar layout and includes light project management features. 

Timeneye enables you to create clients, projects, and tasks. You can also render project phases, including initial consultation, ideation, development, execution, and delivery. 

Reports in Timeneye let you see how much time was spent working on different projects, in different project phases, or how many hours each team member logged. 

10. TMetric 

TMetric is a budget time tracking app that helps track time via a web app, desktop apps, and mobile apps. It provides reports and lightweight invoicing tools and supports collaboration.

With TMetric, you can account for every minute of every day by logging your work time and breaks.

You can generate an invoice for a client via your time logs and customize what shows up as line items.

TMetric offers a diversity of integrations with other services, including Asana, Basecamp, Bitbucket, Freshdesk, GitHub, Pipedrive, and many others.

11. Time Doctor

Time Doctor enables you to track time across your team and markets itself to provide you with a pretty good idea of who their target market is. 

It includes an option to automatically click screenshots to ensure the entire team is on the task if you want to have more control over your remote team.

When it’s paycheck time, you can automatically calculate your payroll based on fixed salaries on hours that have been tracked in Time Doctor.

Final Words

The first step towards allowing your business to grow into technology would be to start with an online time tracking systems. While using just a time-tracking system doesn’t allow you to reap all the benefits of automation, it is a good place to start. 

Once your staff and your business are fully comfortable with the use of automation in the operations, it is essential that you move onto a telematics system that generates reports, tracks location, and also keeps managers updated with the necessary information to run their fleets efficiently, which will in turn significantly improve the overall productivity of your business.