Are You Set Up To Support Remote Teams?

Supporting remote teams effectively comes down to three fundamentals: the right technology infrastructure, the right people, and a documented plan everyone can follow. With over 80% of the global workforce classified as deskless, mobile-first remote access is now a baseline requirement rather than a differentiator. Yet per Gartner, 2023, 47% of workers still struggle to find necessary information at least half the time — a direct symptom of fragmented remote infrastructure. If your organization hasn't audited its remote setup recently, the gaps are likely costing you more than you realize.

How To Support Remote Teams

Find the Right Technology

Remote work is only possible if the right technology is easily accessible to all employees. If you're ready to embrace remote work, take the time to find the right employee communications platform for all of your different needs. Remote technology should be intuitive for every kind of employee — including frontline and field-based workers who may not have a corporate email address or VPN access. It should be easily accessible and mobile-friendly on personal devices.

A centralized system like MangoApps makes all the difference when it comes to organizing documents, saving data, and collaborating with coworkers. More importantly, it acts as a consolidation layer: employees navigating 6–8 disconnected tools daily lose over 4 hours per week switching between systems — a direct cost of fragmented remote infrastructure (MangoApps product pages — unified platform / tool sprawl framing). Replacing those siloed systems with a single communication hub reduced employee turnover by 26% for one frontline-heavy organization (Joinblink — Go North West case study). A single employee app can give frontline and remote employees access to shifts, HR tools, team communications, and company resources without requiring a corporate email address or VPN.

When evaluating platforms, look for solutions with a track record of independent validation. MangoApps has been included in leading intranet platform evaluations — see MangoApps Included in Leading Research Firm's Intranet Platforms Evaluation for context on what analysts look for in enterprise-grade remote work tools.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is a staple of the remote work environment. It helps employees stay connected while working remotely or across various office locations. Since it is a primary form of communication, the video conferencing tools need to be high quality and dependable. As a remote workforce, you'll use video conferencing for everything from regular weekly meetings to discussing critical projects.

Instant Messaging

When not meeting via video chat, instant messaging is the perfect tool to quickly check in with employees, ask coworkers questions, or share a file or link. Instant messaging is a subtle method of communication, allowing remote workers to stay in touch while still answering at their own convenience. Instant messaging is also flexible, and can include one-on-one conversations, or group chats. For teams thinking through their broader employee communications training strategy, the 2026 Internal Communications Trends eBook covers how leading organizations are structuring async and real-time communication layers.

Hire a Project Manager

Effective project managers are important in any company, but they're absolutely critical in remote work. Good project managers know how to find the line between overseeing employees and giving them the freedom to work undisturbed. A good project manager makes remote teamwork management more productive, efficient, and enjoyable for everyone involved.

Find The Right Employees

Hiring employees for your remote team will be one of the most important steps you'll make. While remote work has some amazing opportunities, it isn't the right fit for everyone. During your initial hiring process take time to carefully interview employees to assess their interests and abilities in a remote environment. A good candidate for remote work will have exceptional communication skills, strong organization abilities, strict time management, and regular accountability. It is critical to hire individuals who are able to efficiently communicate and collaborate while working remotely.

Retention is equally important once you've hired well. Per McKinsey research, 89% of frontline workers will stay with their companies if leaders listen to their feedback — making two-way communication tools a direct retention lever, not just a productivity feature. The 2026 HR Trends eBook outlines how organizations are building feedback loops into their remote workforce operations.

Make a Plan

As you prepare for remote capabilities, it's important to have a documented operations manual that workers can follow — covering SOP operations, escalation paths, and communication norms. Decide beforehand what exactly you want to get out of the experience and what your expectations are. Having operations instructions prepared beforehand will keep everyone on the same page and align expectations. Per McKinsey research, 81% of leading companies effectively use data and analytics tools to track whether those plans are working — so build measurement into your plan from day one, not as an afterthought.

Building A Remote Team With MangoApps

MangoApps is designed to consolidate the tools distributed teams rely on — messaging, video, document management, shift access, and HR resources — into a single employee communications platform accessible from any device, with no corporate email or VPN required. Organizations that have made this shift report measurable outcomes: 90% frontline adoption within the first six months was achieved by CVS after deploying an enterprise employee experience platform. For a detailed look at how a large distributed workforce made the transition, see Connecting 20,000 Employees: The Raley's Companies' Success Story With MangoApps.

To learn more about remote success or how MangoApps can help, schedule a personalized demo with us today.

How Do You Manage Timezone and Asynchronous Communication Challenges?

Timezone gaps are one of the most common friction points for distributed teams. The answer is an asynchronous-first communication culture backed by the right tooling: documented SOP operations that don't require real-time clarification, threaded messaging that preserves context, and recorded video updates that replace synchronous stand-ups when schedules don't overlap. The key is reducing the number of decisions that require immediate responses — which means investing in clear operations instructions and a well-maintained operations manual that employees can consult independently. Per Gartner, 2023, 47% of workers struggle to find necessary information at least half the time; async communication only works when information is actually findable.

How Do You Measure Remote Team Productivity?

Measuring remote team productivity starts with defining the right inputs and outputs before work begins — not retrofitting metrics after the fact. Useful signals include task completion rates against documented SOP operations, response-time benchmarks within your employee communications platform, and engagement data from your intranet or employee app. Per McKinsey research, 81% of leading companies effectively use data and analytics tools to track workforce performance. If your current toolset doesn't surface these signals, that's a consolidation problem: teams navigating manual operations across disconnected systems generate data that lives in silos and can't be aggregated. The 2026 Workforce Operations Trends eBook covers how organizations are building measurement frameworks for distributed and frontline teams.

What Does a Remote-Ready Technology Stack Actually Look Like?

A remote-ready stack in 2025 is not a collection of best-of-breed point solutions — it's a unified layer that eliminates tool sprawl. At minimum it includes: a mobile-first employee app accessible on personal devices without VPN, integrated messaging and video, a searchable knowledge base for operations instructions and SOP operations, and HR self-service tools. The benchmark is simple: can a frontline employee on a personal smartphone complete their entire workday — check their schedule, message their manager, access their employee handbook, and submit a form — without switching apps? If the answer is no, the stack has gaps. For examples of lean operations in practice across distributed industries, the Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace: What It Means for HR report provides useful benchmarks on engagement and productivity for remote and hybrid workforces.