The tools matter less than the discipline about which one is used for what.
The five categories
- Chat for quick unblocking
- Documents for anything that matters next month
- Project tracking for who owns what and when
- Video for the small number of things that need conversation
- File storage with a structure people can guess
The real problem is overlap
Two documentation tools means two half-complete knowledge bases. Pick one per category and be strict, even if the alternative is slightly better in isolation.
Write down the convention
"Decisions go in the handbook, discussion in chat, work items in the tracker." One paragraph in the onboarding doc prevents a year of confusion.
Common questions
What tools do remote teams need?
One each for chat, documents, project tracking, video and file storage. The discipline about which to use matters more than the choice.
Why does my team keep losing information?
Usually two overlapping tools. Pick one home for decisions and enforce it.