Tips to Measure the Productivity of Remote Workers
In the year 2021, working from home or remote locations has become the new normal for most organizations. According to a survey conducted by Gartner, more than 80% of employees are working from remote locations due to the pandemic. However, certain questions still remain unanswered here; whether the work can be done easily? Is productivity easily measurable in such a scenario? Working from home has given both the employers and employees an opportunity to experience a new wavelength in the work culture.
The same survey also stated that employees would want to work from remote locations post COVID-19 as well. If the dynamics of work are going to change after the pandemic then it is high time we should know the tips to measure the productivity of remote workers. There are a plethora of studies that upholds the fact that remote employees get more work done than in-house employees.
However, the productivity measurement of these employees is still unclear, therefore, these below-listed tips can help you with the same if you want to instill remote work culture in your organization in the future:
Result-aligned strategies:
As per the survey conducted by Gartner, more than 80% of employers are going to allow their employees to work from remote locations after the pandemic effect is over. If home and mountains are going to be the new cubicles for employees then it is paramount to strategize the work with generating results. Within an organization, teams must set their own goals and adhere to achieving them within a stipulated period. The productivity here can easily be measured with the output the team generates and not with the time devotion. This can only work if employers have faith in their employees that they will get work done regardless of anything.
Clear Turnaround Time:
When it comes to achieving goals nothing changes. Clear goal setting should be done just like it would have been done in the office. Strict deadlines should be made and tracked at each set. There are apps like PivotalTracker and Basecamp to track the productivity of the employees. In terms of chain of command and authority, everything remains the same. Employees should know the value of their commitments and should always thrive to achieve.
Accountability and Feedback
Regardless of the work location, employees should be given valuable feedback as per their inputs. They should know that they are accountable for the job whatsoever is the location. There should be no discrepancies while stating what is expected from the client and the same should be done while generating feedback. Productivity can only be measured when employees are held accountable for their work and given a chance to enhance their skills with authentic feedback.
Appreciate their support and work ethics:
Who does not like to be appreciated once in a while by their employees? Whether a remote employee or not, appreciation gives a sense of achievement and boosts morale. This is one tip that should be in any organization’s productivity metrics. Timely delivery, upgrading the skill set, quick response time, etc. are small milestones that showcase the work ethics of an employee. Therefore, appreciating him for his part in the organization can go a long way in terms of productivity.
Crucial Tasks Updates:
While measuring the productivity of the remote workers, one thing is paramount, their attitude towards important tasks. For any organization, a happy client is an asset. Therefore, if an employee is working hard to resolve any issues to deliver happiness to the client in the end, the productivity measurement becomes easier. This means he can sense which tasks are crucial and need immediate attention.
Collaborate work with the right technology:
Investing in the right technology is an essential part of any organization. However, remote workers make the integration of these technologies paramount. As communication is a strong parameter in business, small bottlenecks can lead to huge mistakes in the long run. There are a plethora of tools to measure the productivity of employees as per the organizational requirements:
- Slack
- Zoom
- Google Suite
- Mural
- Trello
The Annual Review Process:
Reviewing the work done by an employee in a year is one way to measure productivity. Companies like Fire Engine ERD, always ask their employees in this review these basic questions:
- What did you accomplish this year? State at least three.
- What lessons broadened your work wisdom?
- What are the 5 top-most goals you want to achieve with us in the next year?
- What skills do you want to upgrade or learn?
- How can our team help you in your growth process?
This itself is a concrete productivity measurement process. For remote workers, this also becomes a motivation to achieve more in the coming future. Remember, life is all about learning every day.
To Sum Up:
There are a lot of performance metrics that organizations use to measure the productivity of their employees. However, the keystone to any of these is trusting your employees. This goes a long way in building a strong and transparent relationship between the organization and the worker.
