The 5 Best Remote Working Tools You Simply Need In 2021 (for companies under 1,000 employees)

Not only is remote work being accelerated by the reality of COVID-19, but we're living in the age of the remote working revolu...

February 23, 2021
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How would you describe your job to a five year old?
What season would you be?
What is a weird food you have tried? Would you eat it again?
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?
What is your favorite season?
Do prefer working from home or the office?
What is your earliest memory of this job?
What is the best thing you have bought so far this year?
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If you had to move to another country, which one would you choose?
You are the best criminal mastermind in the world. What crime would you commit if you knew you would get away with it?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
What was the last thing you ate?
What person from history would you add to Mount Rushmore?
What is a weird fact you know?
What is your favorite part of working from home?
Were the Spice Girls a good team?
Imagine you can instantly learn any language. Which would you choose?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Which fictional team is the best team of all time?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
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Show us the weirdest thing you have in the room with you right now.
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Are you more productive in the morning or at night?
Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?
Who was your most unique pet?
Choose one famous person from history you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse.
What is a good way to give back to the community?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
Is Hugh Grant funny?
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Would you want to have an imaginary friend today? Did you have one as a child?
What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
What is the best super power?
What is your New Years resolution?
You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?
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Would you rather join Metallica or Backstreet Boys?
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Pick any band to play at your funeral.
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Which superpower would you give to your arch enemy?
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What emoji best describes how you are feeling right now?
If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?
Would you rather live in a city or a town?
What is your favorite holiday?
What is something you accomplished as part of a team?
What is your standard office lunch?
What is your most used phone app?
What is your favorite season?
Have you ever won something as a team?
Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?
Beach holiday or ski trip?
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Would you rather live at the North Pole or the South Pole?
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Do you know how to speak more than one language?
On a scale of 1 – 10, how much of a team player are you?
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What bucket list item do you most want to check off in the next six months?
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What was the first way you made money?
If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
When did you start liking/hating mushrooms?
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Do you take your PTO all at one time, or another way?
Which show do you remember most from your childhood?
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Would you want to have a personal assistant follow you around everywhere and do what you asked of them?
Have you ever met your idol?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?
What is your hobby?
When you are alone in the car, what volume is the music at?
Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?
What is your favorite type of sandwich?

What are the best tools to increase engagement and productivity in 2021? Not only is remote work being accelerated by the reality of COVID-19, but we're living in the age of the remote working revolution when Millennials favor a new role based on its flexibility, both in working hours and location. Employers are now realizing that the home office can actually help productivity and with advanced technology, it has never been this simple to set up a professional working environment at home that empowers efficiency.

Don't let your company's culture be at a disadvantage because you're hesitant to adopt the necessary technology and tools to increase communication, engagement, and productivity. We know how hard it can be hard to sift through all the ads and marketing noise. For those who are leaning in and being progressive with the changes in circumstance, we've handpicked what we believe to be the top 5 productivity and engagement tools in 2021 to boost your people/HR tool stack for companies that are under 1,000 employees.

1. BambooHR – HRIS

With over 20,000 companies and 1.8 million employees onboarded, BambooHR is a must have. The beginning of your employee journey can start here as BambooHR is the employee source of record. 

Some of BambooHR’s notable clients are:

  • Postmates
  • Stance 
  • Grammarly 
  • Change.org  
  • Jane

BambooHR can handle the employee journey from recruiting while using their ATS to onboarding and document storage, the source of truth for employee information. 

BambooHR’s solution set includes but is not limited to the following use cases:


Pricing:

  • Basic - $8
  • Standard - $10
  • Pro - $16
  • Enterprise - Call in



2. Monday.com – Project Management / Productivity

With over 100,000 teams / companies using Monday to optimize productivity, communication and project planning in one site, Monday was an easy choice to add to this list. 

Some of Mondays notable clients are:

  • Uber
  • Adobe 
  • Costco 
  • Universal  
  • GE

As an important item to note, your whole company does not need need to sign up for Monday at once. A team, a department or even a project could use Monday.com. 


Monday’s solution set includes but is not limited to the following use cases:



Pricing:

  • Basic - $8
  • Standard - $10
  • Pro - $16
  • Enterprise - Call in


3. Assembly – Employee Recognition, Engagement, and Rewards

Assembly has over 3,000 companies on the platform and is one of the fastest growing companies on this list. Assembly solves a simple problem, employees want to be acknowledged and appreciated for their hard work and Assembly makes this fun. With Assembly you can host all of your recognition and rewards under one platform. Assembly surfaces wins both big and small across departments, functions and even locations bringing transparency and excitement to the whole team!

Some of Assembly’s notable clients are:

  • FTD
  • Nesco Resources 
  • USC 
  • TNA Solutions  
  • Blue Yonder

As an important item to note, your whole company does need need to sign up for Assembly at once. A department just looking to recognize it’s team members or a small division that wants to recognize and reward cross functionally can utilize the platform as well!

Assembly’s solution set includes but is not limited to the following use cases:


Assembly integrated directly into both Slack and Microsoft Teams so recognition and rewards can happen where your employees work. Assembly generally sees participation in the 90% percentile, meaning employees both give and receive recognition consistently throughout the month!


Pricing:

  • Free - Limited features and up to 50 members
  • Team - $3/mo/user & $2.50/mo/user/annually
  • Business - $4/mo/user & $3.50/mo/user/annually
  • Enterprise - $5/mo/user & $4.50/mo/user/annually

The CEO of promenade group utilized Assembly to boost culture, camaraderie and cross functional communication. You can hear from him directly below:


4. Greenhouse – Hiring Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Greenhouse’s mission is to make every company great at hiring. To make dreams bigger and bolder to take on what comes next!

Some of Greenhouse’s notable clients are:

  • Trip Advisor
  • NerdWallet 
  • Philz Coffee 
  • DoorDash  
  • Lyft

Greenhouse can help with your recruiting, onboarding, diversity and inclusion, candidate experience and more. Greenhouse works for both SMB, MM companies as well as enterprise.

Greenhouse has a beautiful display that makes hiring a breeze, and it’s visually appealing!!


Pricing:

  • Greenhouse does not display pricing on the site, you’ll need to call in for pricing!

TripAdvisor’s reliance on the Greenhouse partner ecosystem as a unique resource enables their recruiting operations team to make better hiring tech decisions to empower their talent acquisition and improve processes and efficiency. Learn more about TripAdvisor’s participation in the Greenhouse Customer-Preferred Partner Program.


5. Lattice – Performance Management

Lattice’s mission is to work with People teams across the globe to turn employees into high performers, managers into leaders, and companies into the best places to work.

Some of Lattice’s notable clients are:

  • Slack
  • Reddit 
  • LegalZoom
  • Turo  
  • Button

Lattice will supercharge your managers and keep employees engaged from anywhere

Lattice’s performance management features include:


Pricing:

  • Performance - $9
  • Performance and Engagement - $12
  • Enterprise - Call in
  • Grow - Supplement to any of the above - $3


Browse our Free Employee Recognition Guide

Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.

Explore Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Assembly SOC 2 compliant?

Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.

What's the ROI for employee recognition?

There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.

Does Assembly offer longer-term contracts?

Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.

The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.

Does Assembly offer onboarding support?

We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.

How much do rewards cost?

At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.

The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.

Does Assembly offer discounts?

We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

How do I cancel my plan if needed?

If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.

If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.

What customizations are available?

Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!

Who can give or receive recognition?

While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.

What integrations are available?

Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.  

Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.

What's your average adoption rate?

That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.

Must rewards be set up to use Assembly?

They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.

Are points required to use Assembly?

No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.

Could find the answer you are looking for?

Please schedule time with an expert and we will help you to get all your questions answered