One of the biggest reasons that remote work wasn’t more widely embraced prior to the pandemic was concerns over employee productivity. It wasn’t uncommon for managers to worry that workers wouldn’t accomplish as much or remain focused throughout the workday.
Now that remote work is part of the post-COVID-19 new normal, managers are searching for ways to measure remote employee productivity. The goal is to ensure that their teams are meeting expectations and if there are any obstacles that are negatively impacting performance, they can be addressed.
Luckily, there are things managers can do to measure productivity among your remote workers. If you don’t know where to begin, here are some tips that can help.
Focus on Results, Not Time
Productivity isn’t necessarily measured in hours-per-day. Instead, results are often the most important factor in the equation. An employee’s ability to create quality outputs and meet deadlines can be a strong indicator of their overall productivity.
Ideally, managers should set clear expectations with each employee, including timelines for tasks and projects, as well as quality standards. With those in place, managers can monitor employee productivity based on when deliverables are provided and the quality of the work.
Remember, presenteeism doesn’t equate to productivity. One employee can be at a desk for more than a standard workday and not accomplish much, while another can be incredibly diligent, getting everything done quickly and efficiently. By shifting towards a results-oriented approach, you track what matters most, the quality and quantity of their outputs.
Embrace the Right Tools
Many project management and collaboration solutions can help managers achieve a degree of insight into employees’ activities. Options like Asana and Trello can be ideal for monitoring productivity. Managers can create task and project entries, assign them to employees, and review updates that showcase a worker’s progress.
If you have communication software in place, you can also keep an eye on employee activities. By creating individual rooms for each team or project, you can review conversations as they occur, allowing you to see what progress is being made and if a roadblock hinders your employees.
Request Feedback
If your department relies heavily on collaboration or group projects are more common than independent assignments, soliciting feedback from your employees can give you powerful insights. You can ask each employee to complete a survey, in which they can perform a self-assessment and provide feedback on their colleagues.
At times, the presence of the survey is enough to keep productivity high. Employees understand that others will be commenting on their performance, making it a motivator to exceed expectations in everyone’s eyes.
Plus, if a problem is happening outside of your purview, the odds of you hearing about it may go up. This is especially true if the feedback can be submitted anonymously.
Ultimately, the tips above can make it easier for managers to measure remote employees’ productivity. If you’d like to learn more, the team at TempStaff can help. Contact us today.
