The Remote Work Stack Every Team Needs

Over the course of my career, I’ve been privileged to work mostly in remote roles (one being hybrid, but essentially remote since I didn’t go into the office). While some teams struggled with work culture and coordination, others had clearly hacked their workflow and made remote work feel seamless.

From my experience coordinating teams across a few startups, here are the essentials every remote team needs.

Communication Tools

It’s no secret that every team needs a clear and reliable way to communicate without struggling to figure out how to reach one another. While email works for formal communication, it’s often not effective for day-to-day conversations.

I find that tools where communication is centralized, and where new team members can see previous messages, work best. This helps new hires get context quickly instead of constantly asking questions that have already been answered.

I once worked at a company that used two communication platforms at the same time, and honestly, it was overkill. When meetings were announced on one platform, some colleagues would say they didn’t see the message. Important information shared before meetings was often missed because people were checking different channels. To be fair, the company was trying to transition to a new platform, but they never shut down the old one. Even worse, new employees were still being added to the old platform, one where they couldn’t even see past conversations.

The lesson here is simple: one primary communication tool is enough. Bonus points if it also supports video conferencing.

Documentation and File Storage Tools

A shared space for documentation and file storage is necessary for remote teams. Unless certain principles are followed, in remote work, if it’s not documented, some people will argue it didn’t happen.

Documentation serves as proof of what was discussed, what decisions were made, and what is currently being worked on. This information should live in a centralized file storage tool that’s easily accessible to the relevant teams.

This is especially important because the person who holds a key piece of information isn’t always available when it's urgently needed. Without proper documentation, work slows down unnecessarily.

Clear document naming also matters. File names should give a quick idea of what a document is about so team members don’t have to search endlessly to find what they need.

Project Management Tools

Having a project management tool to track tasks and keep everyone accountable is key. Not everyone is a self-motivator, and having a system where tasks are assigned with clear owners and deadlines helps significantly.

A good project management tool reduces confusion, improves visibility, and minimizes the famous question:

“What are you working on?”

Final Thoughts

These are the core tools I believe every remote team needs to function effectively. While there are other considerations, such as time zone coordination, the foundation remains the same: communication, documentation and file sharing, and project management tools.

Remote work doesn’t fail because people don’t want to work. It fails when systems are unclear. And getting the basics right makes all the difference.