One of the many challenges of managing a small business apart from effectively generating sales is human resources. If you are outsourcing virtual workers to reduce your operating cost then you have made a wise decision. Simply commissioning an online staffing agency to do the recruitment for you will make looking for the right virtual staff so much easier to do.

However, your challenge in human resources does not stop upon set-up of your virtual team; their efficiency at work is as important as their claim of individual skill sets. Without face-to-face supervision the quality of their work could be doubtful. For your peace of mind the use of free online tools will help you manage their work effectively.

Here is a list of just some of the popular free online human resource tools that you can use.

Asana: To Manage Task

Asana is found by business owners to be very reliable in managing tasks of one, two or even a small virtual team. Project tasks can easily be viewed by team members, their progress and their delivery dates.

Basecamp: Project Manager

If you’re dealing with a bigger project in which the outputs are time-specific then Basecamp is another widely-used online tool that makes remote teamwork effective. Outputs can easily be posted once done and you can make an immediate feedback on that.

15Five: Fifteen minutes of report

This online tool allows your virtual staff to create a concise report of any work issues in 15 minutes. You on the other hand will have your turn of 15 minutes in reading and providing feedback. You can use this software for short memos that you need to route, announce events or even post a short work problem solving technique to motivate your team.

Smartsheet: Task sheet

This is another good and easy to use online task sheet that documents tasks that you need to delegate. You can easily switch task priority dates within the project time line. When your staff updates his/her assigned sheet you get an alarm notification so you could check on it right away.

Google Calendar: As simple as a whiteboard calendar

Even in the absence of face time your team can easily view your monthly business itinerary; likewise they can also post their own work schedules in the sub-calendar they create. If you’re a boss that’s always on the go, you can also sync this calendar on your mobile device for quick editing even without going online.

Harvest: For Tracking Freelancer’s Time

If you are constantly dealing with freelancers for one-off projects every now and then this software will help you track their time spent in finishing a project. Some freelancers charge by the hour than a fix amount for a specific work.

Thanks to the technology of cloud computing even members of a virtual team that are scattered across the globe can now work effectively with less supervision. There are actually more than a hundred other free online human resource tools that you can explore and use with your team. Take time to know which ones will work best for your organization.

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Article Contributed by HR in Asia‘s Team.

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