Do you have a good method of measuring the productivity of your remote employees?
If not, you might be losing money and time while increasing the risk of something slipping through the cracks.
The solution, say HR experts: use some simple productivity metrics.
“It’s easy for remote employees to be out of sight, out of mind, but staying on top of their performance is essential for fostering an efficient team,” says this post on the US Chamber of Commerce website. “With the right productivity metrics, you can ensure everyone is on track and making progress.”
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4 Tools to Measure Remote Productivity
It’s challenging enough to measure work performance in normal times. It’s even more challenging in a pandemic.
Following are four tools corporate HR managers are using, per the US Chamber blogpost:
- Project management software. “We use basic project management tools like JIRA, Asana and Google Suite, as well as internally-developed processes to track initiatives, project tasks and deliverables to completion.” Karen Oakey, HR Director at Fracture.
- Planned-to-done tasking. “Employees are assessed based on how well they plan their work, alone or with the team, and how well they execute their tasks to meet deadlines.” Sahin Boydas, CEO of RemoteTeam.com
- Net Promoter Score. How favorably do clients rate your service? How likely are they to recommend you to a friend or relative? A net promoter score (NPS) can answer those questions. “If our customers’ needs aren’t being met, then productivity will be down. A high NPS score is indicative of a well-oiled team that’s meeting customer needs.” Becca Hoeft, chief brand officer of Sunrise Banks
- Putting the desired outcome into words. “No matter what an individual employee’s job title, measuring their productivity is all about results,” writes Nicole Fallon for the US Chamber of Commerce. “A social media manager’s measurable results might be to post a certain number of times per day or week on the company’s platforms, or boost follower counts by a certain percentage each quarter.”
6 Tips for Getting Team Buy-In
You want your team to know exactly what you expect of them, but you don’t want to micro-manage. Here are six tips for ensuring team buy-in and accountability.
- Be transparent. If you’re using a project management tool to track progress, make sure your employees know how the system works and what factors will be evaluated.
- Stay positive. Think carrots, not sticks. Figure out ways to incentivize employees to meet and exceed their goals.
- Put expectations in writing. This brings clarity and accountability, which is especially important if deadlines are looming.
- Get employees to invest in their own individual success. Cultivate a “we’re all in this together” approach. Treat everyone equally but remember that each employee is unique. What works for one might not work for another.
- Maintain clear and consistent communication. When you’re not working in a common physical space, it’s critical that you’re all on the same page. Consider doing daily check-ins and weekly Zoom meetings. Make a list (in writing) of priorities for the week or month.
- Be proactive. If you see an employee’s productivity dip, don’t just sit there. Talk with them. Maybe they’re overwhelmed and need help. Or they might not completely understand what’sexpected of them. Or there might be some underlying issue that needs to be addressed.
What about your firm? How do you make sure your remote workers are productive?
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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