11 Mobile Apps to Stay Connected With Your Team

Mobile apps to help you stay connected to your team

Here are 11 mobile tools to keep everyone on your team in sync.

1. Asana

Asana is a project management tool that allows teams to track their progress on projects and improve their workflow. Teams can generate a timeline, set strategic goals and track each worker’s contribution to their projects. Asana can also generate reports to give managers insight into their team’s work and what actionable steps they can take in the future to increase productivity and yield better results. 

The app offers different payment tiers for businesses of different sizes. Asana’s Personal package is a free version of the software perfect for small businesses. The Personal plan offers unlimited tasks, projects, messaging and more for teams of up to 10 people. The Starter, Advanced and Enterprise options offer more robust features for more employees.

2. Basecamp

Many teams and employees struggle to stay organized, especially when they aren’t in the same office together. Basecamp organizes even the most complex workflows by keeping all related emails, files, task managers, spreadsheets, chats and meetings in one place. As a project management app, Basecamp allows users to segment a project into different sections and assign them to selected team members. Their six core tools are group chat, message boards, to-dos, scheduling, automated check-ins, and documents and files. 

Basecamp offers two pricing plans; each offers a free 30-day trial. The Per User plan, designed for solo business owners and small teams, provides a full suite of features and up to 500 GB of storage. The Pro Unlimited plan comes with up to 5 TB of storage and priority customer support for growing businesses and larger teams.

3. Boomerang for Gmail

One of the biggest impediments to connectivity is email. While it can be a useful tool for passing along information, often it slows down productivity and is a catalyst for miscommunication. Boomerang for Gmail changes that. The Boomerang extension offers several key features that make emails controllable, including scheduled sending, follow-up reminders, AI-assisted writing and an inbox pause delaying emails from entering your inbox until you’re ready to receive them.

Boomerang offers a free Basic plan with 10 message credits per month and many of the app’s email scheduling features. Three additional paid plan tiers — Personal, Pro and Premium — come with unlimited message credits and more advanced features.

4. Confluence

Sometimes inspiration hits you when you aren’t at your work computer. Confluence is a project management app that keeps users connected anywhere they are. The app allows users to write business notes quickly, import files and images, and create structured ideas from their phones. Through the Confluence Cloud, your mobile app syncs your published work across all your devices and to teammates you’ve shared them with.

For small teams and those who are self-managing, Confluence has a free plan for documenting project information and decisions. If your team is larger than 10 people, Confluence offers Standard and Premium plans capable of managing up to 50,000 users and their workflows. 

5. Google Voice and Gmail

Gmail and Google Voice are free Google Workspace features that keep users in the know when they’re offline. Gmail is Google’s simple-to-navigate email feature that manages your inbox. Google Voice is an AI-assisted app for smartphones that allows users to make calls over Wi-Fi on any of their enabled devices. [Read related article: 6 Tips to Keep Your Emails Out of Gmail’s Promotions Folder]

6. Slack

Most interactions between employees don’t need to occur in meetings or through email. A quick exchange can bring someone up to speed and allow you to share necessary documents. Slack is an instant messaging app for business teams to stay in contact with each other. Managers can message the entire organization or split departments into individual channels for communication. Team members can also direct message one another to ask a quick question or start a conversation in their downtime. [Learn more about how to increase productivity with Slack.]

Slack offers a free plan with basic features, including one-on-one messaging and audio/video meetings. Group meetings and messages, unlimited message history and other more robust features come with paid plans.

7. Trello

Trello is a project management app that can be accessed through the web, on mobile devices or on your desktop. Teams can create custom project columns on their boards and move projects through different phases of completion. Because of their customizability, managers can make as many or as few columns as they need to ensure every step of their project is completed. Within project cards, employees can add details, checklists and custom fields to ensure efficiency and productivity.

Smaller teams can use Trello’s free plan for their basic organizational needs. Larger teams and ones with more detailed projects can sign up for their Standard, Premium or Enterprise levels, depending on the size and scope of their operation.

8. WeChat

With technological and government restrictions to contend with, businesses need a dependable messaging app to communicate with international workers and partners. WeChat is a Chinese-based messaging app connecting the United States and mainland China. Communication on the app is clear and consistent, whereas other messaging apps, such as Slack, Facebook and WhatsApp have inconsistent results due to China’s firewall. The free app is straightforward and highly intuitive for contacting people across the globe. [Learn more about international business etiquette.]

9. Viva Engage

Teams can organize their communications and streamline their processes better through Microsoft’s Viva Engage (previously Yammer). In addition to its messaging and project management features, Viva Engage offers a unique social networking platform. Members can engage with their coworkers from entry-level to C-suite by asking questions, starting conversations and staying up to date with company news and team progress.

Viva Engage comes with a Microsoft Office 365 plan, which also includes email services, file storage, instant messaging and other features. Additional capabilities, including feedback surveys and insights for team leaders, are available with Microsoft Viva Suite (sold separately).

10. Zoom

Zoom has become the industry standard term for video conferencing. This software gives employees the opportunity to host large meetings or have one-on-one conversations. 

The platform is free to sign up, but the free version limits meetings to 40 minutes. Zoom also offers a paid business option allowing users to host unlimited meetings with a select number of attendees, along with messaging and cloud storage. Pricing for these premium platforms varies per user. 

11. Microsoft Teams

One of the most popular workplace communication platforms, Microsoft Teams improves collaboration through its chat, meetings and file share features. It also integrates with several typical productivity applications, including Dropbox, Trello and the Microsoft Office suite.

Businesses can purchase Microsoft Teams as a standalone app under the Microsoft Teams Essentials plan. To integrate with Microsoft 365 apps and cloud storage, you must purchase one of the Microsoft 365 Business plans, available in Basic and Standard.

The importance of keeping your team connected 

Staying connected to your team is critical to maintaining efficiency and engagement, especially in remote and hybrid workplaces. Here are just a few reasons why this connection matters:

It boosts productivity.

By incorporating communication and connection into your workflow, you ensure every team member can access the projects they’re working on and discuss their progress with peers. Your team members will no longer need to wait for materials or settle for subpar communication with their coworkers.

It also eliminates redundancies in work, like two people inadvertently completing the same task. Some applications also have features to automate and streamline workflows, boosting your organization’s overall output.

It improves team relationships.

These applications do more than allow you to share documents and information with co-workers; they’re a way to have conversations and find common ground. Developing close connections with one another allows coworkers to share their values, ideas, perspectives and backgrounds. These connections make employees feel seen and valued by their co-workers and their organization. These positive dynamics often translate into improved teamwork in the workplace.

While this can come more naturally for in-office environments, remote and hybrid teams often need to work harder to build these relationships. Mobile communication apps can help.

It increases employee motivation.

To be self-motivated, employees need to feel connected to their work and co-workers, especially if they’re in a remote setting.

When people work on projects independently or from a remote setting with little interaction, they feel isolated and detached from their work. Using these applications and creating an environment that fosters connections makes employees feel more empowered and aligned with their work.

Scott Gerber and Sean Peek ​​contributed to this article.