I don’t care how much money you have, free stuff is always a good thing. A McDonalds’ Cheeseburger with your student card. The Evening Standard. A pen at Barclay’s bank.

The best things in life are free and so are some of the best hybrid working tools. Last year’s rush to enable remote working may have been costly for many, but leading organisations are kicking off 2021 with hybrid working strategies that will change how we work forever—and you’ll be pleased to know they don’t need to break the bank.

Here are our top picks of the most useful free digital tools to make hybrid working routines more productive, simple, and secure.

#1: Manage and share your passwords securely with Lastpass

Lastpass is a life-changer. It enables you to easily store and access your passwords online securely. It’s a great way to manage your passwords, but also let’s you share your logins securely, has a browser extension that will automatically log you into any site, and can automatically generate secure passwords for you. You might not think you and your employees needs this tool, but once you have it, you will never look back (and you will have no more excuse for using high risk passwords such as ‘Sales123’ ever again!). The personal accounts are free and offer all key features, but you can also upgrade for corporate accounts, security scores and dark web monitoring.

Key features:

• Store passwords online securely allowing you to enhance password complexity
• Share passwords with your team online safely
• Browser extension which automatically log you into any site
• Automatically generates complex, secure passwords for new sites

Click here to visit Lastpass

#2: Send large files around the world in seconds with WeTransfer

File too big to send via email? We’ve all been there. Luckily there’s a quick solution with WeTransfer. WeTransfer offers a simple way to send big files around the world. All you need to do is drag and drop your file/s, insert the email address you are sending the files to, your email address (which you will need to verify) and add an optional message. Simple, quick, and free – what’s not to love?

Key features:

• Send large files to any email address
• Email verification

Click here to get started with WeTranfer

#3: Collaborate effortlessly with Slack

If you’re not already using Slack, you’re missing a trick. Unlike email, conversations in Slack are easier to follow and you can also make calls, share files and connect with other apps. You can access up to 10,000 of your team’s most recent messages, integrate with 10 other apps like Google Drive or Office 365 and enjoy 1:1 voice and video calls between teammates free of charge.

Key features:

• Instant messaging, storing up to 10,000 of your team’s recent messages
• Make calls and video calls
• Share files with your team
• Connect with other apps like Google Drive or Office 365

Click here to get started with Slack

#4: Store your files safely in the cloud with Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud storage platform that keeps all of your files in one secure and centralized location. Hybrid workers can easily sync, share and collaborate on documents. The best part is that files stored on Google Drive can be synced across all devices, so individuals can collaboratively edit documents from anywhere, allowing teams to work together on one document, instead of 5.

Key features:

• 15 GB of storage for free
• Storage is used by Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, so you can store files, save your email attachments, and back up photos and videos
• Synchronises devices so individuals can collaboratively edit the same document

Click here to get started with Google Drive

#5: Schedule appointments for remote teams with 10to8

10to8 allows you to schedule virtual meetings with ease, designed to help businesses go online and work remotely. Set up your online booking calendar and start taking virtual appointments in no time with 10to8’s native Zoom Video Conferencing integration.

Key features:

• You can set up 2-way calendar sync with Google, iCal, Exchange, Office 365, and Outlook. Easy to integrate with any website.
• App integrations, including with Zoom Video Conferencing and Salesforce
• 100 free appointments per month with 2 staff logins

Click here to get started with 10to8

#6: Video Conference with Zoom

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, I’m guessing you’ve heard of Zoom. Between December 2019 to April 2020, Zoom went from 10 million to 300 million users, doubling their annual revenue to $620m. You can join the king of video conferencing for free, hosting up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes and enjoying unlimited one-on-one meetings.

Key features:

• Host up to 100 participants for free
• Host meetings for up to 40 minutes for free
• Unlimited one-to-one meetings for free

Click here to get started with Zoom

Or do it all with Microsoft 365

Now Microsoft 365 may not be free but it does offer huge bang for your buck if you are serious about implementing hybrid working across your organisation. Microsoft 365 includes market-leading solutions for secure cloud storage and sharing, business email and calendaring, Microsoft teams (which includes instant messaging, video conferencing and webinar-hosting), and is compatible across all devices. The perfect tool to allow your employees to collaborate seamlessly whist they WFX.

Key features:

• Host online meetings for up to 300 people with Microsoft Teams
• Chat with your team from your desktop or on the go across multiple devices
• Bring together all your team’s chats, meetings, files, and apps
• Create team sites to share information, content, and files throughout your intranet using SharePoint
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote
• Meets key international, regional, and industry-specific standards and terms, with more than 1,000 security and privacy controls

Get in touch to get started with Microsoft 365

So, there you have it! The free hybrid working tools you need to take your team’s productivity to the next level (and also a tool worth investing in). If you need further information on how to get started, simply download our Hybrid Working Action Plan to ensure your business’ transition to hybrid working is a seamless and pleasant experience for employees and employer.