Although most remote companies avoid email for internal communication, we still need email for external communications. The vast majority of companies use either Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365 as their main email and office systems.
The Google Workspace Apps
In addition to GMail, Google Workspace comes with five commonly-used applications.
- Google Calendar - We'll cover how to use calendars in detail later in the course.
- Google Sheets - Similar to Microsoft Excel, if your company uses this you should always use this in preference to a local copy of excel. It allows multiple people to collaborate on the same document at once, which is invaluable in a remote environment.
- Google Docs - Similar to Word. As above, you should use this in preference to local Word documents.
- Google Slides - Similar to PowerPoint.
- Google Drive - Similar to Dropbox, this allows people to share and sync files and is tightly integrated with the rest of google workspace.
If you're not familiar with Google Workspace, Google have some excellent tutorials below. Focus on GMail, Google Calendar and Google Docs.
Gmail training and help
Gmail lets you send and search for messages, organize your inbox, and build relationships with integrated chat and video meetings. Where was your data before you moved to G Suite? Microsoft Outlook Choose one of the following: HCL Notes (formerly IBM Notes) Set import options in Gmail.
support.google.com
Google Calendar training and help
Calendar lets you keep track of important events, share your schedule, and create multiple calendars. What scheduling provider did you use before Google Workspace? Calendar cheat sheet Need a quick reference for the Calendar basics you've learned? Download this cheat sheet. Google Workspace keyboard shortcuts Get shortcuts for Google Workspace products such as Chrome Browser, Gmail, Calendar, and Drive.
support.google.com
Google Docs training and help
Docs lets you write reports, create joint project proposals, keep track of meeting notes, and more. What online word processor provider did you use before Google Workspace? Docs cheat sheet Need a quick reference for the Docs basics you've learned? Download this cheat sheet.
support.google.com
Setting up your Google Account
It's worth spending some time configuring your google account properly. Here’s a quick checklist…
Checklist - Configuring your Google AccountTips for working with Google Docs
How to create and store documents
- If you have a company google account, always create new docs/slides/sheets with it, rather than your personal google account. (Note: For this course, you'll be using your personal accounts)
- By default, always create docs within a shared folder in the company Google Drive, rather than your own personal space. This sets default sharing and editing permissions so that anyone in the company can see and edit the document without having to ask you specifically.
- Name your documents so they can be found. Think about yourself searching for a document your team member mentioned 6 months ago; you would not want them to have named it Discussion. Instead, name in a descriptive way. For example: Migrating all task management from Trello to Notion Q2 2020.
Using Google docs for collaboration
Google documents are great for real-time and asynchronous collaboration, but can often get unwieldy and notifications can sometimes be awkward.
- Use comments to give feedback and small suggestions.
- Use comments to highlight when and where you want input on longer discussions.
- To make sure your collaborators see and respond to your comments, use
@NAMEto tag them (triggering an email notification) and/or message them on Slack. - Resolve comments when the issue/feedback is resolved. Comments can always be found by pressing
CMD + Shift + Option + A.
