Measuring remote employee productivity helps companies get a handle on the performance of their telecommuters. But managers aren’t the only ones who benefit from such action. Clearly defined expectations enable off-site staff to do their jobs with confidence because they know what their employer wants. When managing remote employees, setting mutually agreed upon measurements and proactively communicating these expectations (and adapting if necessary) is crucial.
In times when anybody who can work from home is working from home, here’s how to get started with measuring the performance of remote employees.
Three Critical Elements for Measuring Remote Work Performance of Employees
1. Set Agreed-Upon Goals
Measuring remote employee productivity involves thinking about issues such as quality of work, quantity of tasks completed, and ability to finish tasks in a timely manner. Then, the information can be converted into SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) goals to fulfill.
“Goals are pretty much everything when it comes to measuring productivity. If you don’t know what success looks like, or what a good job is vs. barely meeting standards, you can’t interpret the metrics until the job is complete and it’s too late,” says Wayne Turmel, co-founder of the Remote Leadership Institute.
Turmel urges managers to introduce goals in a real conversation rather than simply dropping them on someone as non-negotiable.
“Telling someone isn’t the same as having them understand or buy into it,” he says. “It’s also important to realize that things change in a hurry, so it’s wise to check in frequently.”
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2. Measure Correctly
When measuring remote employee performance, watch out for mistaking activity for productivity. People logging in and sitting at the computer does not necessarily mean anything is getting accomplished. Likewise, someone who happens to be away from the desk when you IM may actually be achieving quite a bit for the day despite the momentary absence.
Regularly scheduling short check-ins allows managers to ensure work is getting done on time and to the appropriate standard without people feeling like they’re being spied on. How often this touching base occurs should be determined by both sides based on factors such as the goals at hand and the particulars of a project. Individual comfort level also will influence the span between progress checks. Some remote workers need or desire greater feedback than others, and managers likewise vary in the frequency with which they prefer to monitor.
3. Ask Better Questions
Lastly, managers oftentimes experience difficulty figuring out whether a remote employee is slacking off or just needs help. Posing questions designed to get to the heart of a productivity decline can help immensely in reading the situation.
Turmel suggests replacing “How’s it going?”—a question that makes people say “fine” and doesn’t really tell you anything—with targeted questions such as:
- “Is there anything getting in the way of meeting that deadline?”
- “What do you need help with?”
- “What do you need to finish on time?”
- “Is there anything I need to know about that project?”
“It takes intense trust for people to volunteer that they are struggling, or stuck, or just working under a bad assumption,” Turmel says. “You need to ask for that information in ways that let them know it’s safe to give you an honest answer.”
And if you truly do have an underperforming remote employee on your hands, your inquiries may be the jolt necessary to increase self-motivation by reminding them that out of sight definitely does not mean out of mind. But, there’s a happy medium and tone that needs to be acknowledged. After all, employees perform best when they feel trusted and supported. As a manager, your approach should be meticulous and hashed out when measuring work-from-home employee performance.
Successfully Managing Remote Employees
As a fully remote company, FlexJobs has years of experience and expertise in managing work-from-home employees. We understand that the current coronavirus pandemic has put many employers in unexpected situations. So if you’d like more guidance on getting the most from remote workers, reach out to us and schedule a consultation.
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