With more productivity, fewer distractions, and changing demographics in the workforce, remote teams aren’t just a temporary byproduct of COVID-19. They’re a long-term solution and a workplace perk wrapped into one. That is to say — remote work is here for the foreseeable future.

The only drawback to remote work arrangements is the inability to lead and manage remote team members appropriately, especially across multiple time zones and departments. However, innovative companies are filling the void. Slack just might be the best remote communication and collaboration tool available today.

Slack’s direct messages and communication channels provide real-time interaction, but its app integration is something every company should use to its advantage. Using Slack apps — also known as Slack integrations — you can bolster your team’s productivity, engagement, collaboration, and more. With free options and various pricing, you can also find Slack apps that fit your budget and purpose.

Discover which of the best Slack apps are ideal for your business with this comprehensive list.

The Best Slack Apps for Productivity

According to the Owl Labs State of Remote Work Report, remote employees are 47% more productive than their onsite counterparts. But a further increase in production is always a boon. If you want to focus on productivity in your company, here are some of the best Slack apps to do so.

1. Zapier

With Zapier, the ability to automate repetitive tasks and move information between Slack and other programs has never been simpler. Using Zapier’s interface, you can easily send “zaps” — or automated tasks — in just minutes.

So whether you want to transfer information from Google Drive, Sheets, or Docs, place new tasks in Evernote, or send messages from your Gmail or another email account automatically, Zapier gives you that ability. Integrated with over 1,000 other apps, it provides functionality and ease of use designed to turn your Slack workspace into a lean, mean, production machine.

2. Guru

If frequently asked questions and repetitious inquiries are bogging down productivity, Guru is the answer to your problems. Guru’s Slack bot — which is a type of chatbot that engages users in AI-based conversation — sifts through your Slack channels to develop a knowledge base and FAQ solution for your entire team.

Ideal for onboarding and project management, Guru’s chatbot answers important questions without bothering managers or other employees. It’s productivity, information delivery, and organization all at once.

3. Polly

If your Slack conversations and questions fall on deaf ears, getting stuff done proves difficult. In the spirit of brevity and democracy, Polly can help you avoid an online chorus of crickets by giving your Slack team a quick poll.

Through Polly’s simple poll and yes/no functions using Slack’s slash commands, you can schedule meetings — including standup meetings or the one-off variety — get RSVPs for virtual happy hours or holiday gatherings, or even start an interactive conversation based on people’s “Hot Takes” on a topic. For the fearless leader in the office, Polly makes scheduling, getting answers, and interacting that much easier.

The Best Slack Apps for Employee Engagement, Company Culture, and Fun

Team culture and employee engagement are always at the forefront of any remotely-based company. Without finely tuning these aspects, your team can grow tired, burned out, or feel unappreciated.

The best Slack apps are well aware of these pitfalls, aiming to liven up the virtual office, all while bringing people together and invigorating their zest for work. Here are some of the best.

4. Lunch Roulette

Distributed and globalized workforces certainly don’t have the camaraderie of in-office employees — or at least without the proper tools. That’s where Lunch Roulette comes in.

Using its Slack integration, Lunch Roulette automates and streamlines online meetings by scheduling coffee breaks, lunches, social gatherings, sales team meetings, or onboarding events with your team members. Simply select your participants or choose random ones, and Lunch Roulette sends out invites and confirmations. It even gives you a report to see who attended and who didn’t — designed to help you improve employee participation.

Through this app, team communication can flourish, isolation is diminished, and all of the Slack users within your organization get to know each other just a little bit more. Those are just some of the perks that make Lunch Roulette one of the best Slack apps to boost employee engagement, team building, morale, and culture.

5. Giphy

Injecting a bit of fun in the virtual office can take the doldrums out of the daily routine. The good news is that you don’t have to schedule event after event just to do so. Just search your Slack app directory for Giphy.

Featuring 80 animated emojis and a monstrous GIF library, Giphy adds some excitement to everyday Slack messages and conversations without being too much of a distraction throughout the day.

6. Donut

Loneliness is all too common in the virtual workplace — up to 58% feel that way a majority of the time. Fortunately, you can combat isolation with a little help from Donut. Designed to stimulate watercooler conversation, Donut is a communication tool that sends notifications to random people in your Slack channel, encouraging them to engage in conversation.

Paired with another Slack app like Lunch Roulette, Donut acts as the interactive personal liaison and matchmaker you’ve been waiting for.

7. Disco

Employee recognition is a must for any remote team, promoting teamwork, morale, and culture. It just so happens that Disco makes this process possible in seconds. Using a separate Slack channel, Disco helps you foster employee recognition on a daily or weekly basis. You can send out kudos to individuals for their achievements or milestones or recognize team collaboration with a quick message.

Disco also has a function that allows your employees to nominate others for awards — such as employee of the month, best leader, or other recognitions of your choosing.

8. Leaderboard

A little friendly competition is always welcome in the workplace. It motivates individuals and wrests them out of their comfort zone. But with competition comes embellishment and exaggeration — if only there were a way to track it.

Now there is — thanks to Leaderboard. Whether you’ve created an intra-office trivia league, online gaming, or fitness-tracking program, Leaderboard takes the results and churns them into Slack-based standings. Let the friendly banter and good-hearted bragging begin.

The Best Slack Apps for Project Management and Workflow

Project and task management, as well as workflows, can notoriously reach a bottleneck with online teams. Asynchronous work schedules and communication are the harbingers of this problem, and the inability to link up or meet exacerbates the problem.

But with the right mix of project management tools and the best Slack apps to complement them, you have a foolproof way of ensuring everything stays right on track.

9. Status Hero

Slack already gives you the ability to see who’s online, who’s away, and who’s out of the office. But with Status Hero, you can immediately find out where each person stands on their current projects.

Integrated with Slack’s online status bar, Status Hero acts as a multi-tool, showing time-tracking on a project, automating check-ins, and unifying dashboards.

You input the project information and any other necessary metrics. Then, the employee can update where they stand, how far they are on accomplishing the goals or reaching due dates, and any other relevant information. It’s just like having high-end project management software right within your Slack channel.

10. Asana

Asana is already one of the best work management platforms available today. But by adding integration, it’s also one of the best Slack apps for your business.

Instead of using the two platforms separately, the Asana Slack app allows you to assign projects, view progress, and mark projects as completed. If you’re already using Asana, this integration is a no-brainer.

11. Trello

Trello is one of the top-rated project management tools for remote teams today. But like Asana, Trello drastically benefits users through its Slack app integration. Using its Kanban-style board with project cards, you can divide projects into multiple steps and watch as employees work their way through a particular project.

Team members can edit these cards as the project moves along — all within Slack. You no longer need to switch between applications to update your project, taking the confusion and guesswork out of the equation.

The Best Slack Apps for Meetings, Conferencing, and Conversation

Video calls are the lifeblood of remote teams. Not only do they emulate a real-life meeting, but they can also encourage social conversation that enhances conversation and engagement. With these best Slack apps for online meetings, you remove one extra step in the process, streamlining the event with ease.

12. Zoom

Since its boom during the COVID era, Zoom is the go-to virtual meeting platform for millions of companies. Though it’s easy to use on its own, syncing it to Slack is just as easy. From Slack, you can use slash commands to set up meetings and start them. In addition, you can check other team members’ availability if Slack has access to Google Calendar or other scheduling apps — creating a reliable way to ensure everyone’s always at a meeting on time.

13. Loom

Asynchronous communication is part of remote work — there’s no way around it. But if you can’t schedule a meeting, Loom can fill the gap. As one of the best Slack apps for communication and conversation, it allows you to record a short video that you can post directly into Slack.

Whether you need a short instructional video, an onboarding greeting, or just well-wishing, Loom gives you the ability to do it quickly and easily.

Outside of Slack, Gift Cards Reign Supreme

The best Slack integrations can streamline your business processes, promote employee morale, and take company culture to a new level. But aside from integrating an app, you still need ways to transform your business into a place where people feel welcomed, engaged, and appreciated.

For all that the best Slack apps provide, they miss out on the tangible quality of rewarding a job well done and thanking those who make your operations run like clockwork.

Fortunately, Hoppier has your back. With Hoppier, you can send virtual gift cards to your employees across the globe in just seconds. Just enter the amount, choose an expiration date, select from a list of hundreds of vendors, and presto — you’re done. Plus, any remaining, unused balance goes right back into your account, providing cost savings and eliminating waste.

Where Slack apps fail, Hoppier provides. It’s just another tool to foster a strong working relationship between you and your team.

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