How to Know Your Remote Workers are Working (without micromanaging!)

A poll conducted by Forbes revealed that 63% of employees (1,100 respondents) worked entirely from home or on a hybrid model. There are many benefits to working from home for employees, including saving money on commuting and having a better work-life balance. Employers can also reap the benefits of hiring remote workers, including reducing office costs and increasing the candidate pool. As a business, you need to ensure your employees are productive, but it is equally crucial to ensure they feel that you trust them. It is about achieving the right balance when it comes to monitoring performance and treating your employees like adults. It can be challenging to manage remote workers, but these are some actions you can take to ensure your remote workers are delivering on their side of the employee contract.

Task Driven

To ensure your employees are working when working from home, give them tasks to complete rather than being strict about working hours. In this way, you can get a better idea of how they are performing. If they don’t finish the assigned tasks and you have been reasonable about what is achievable, you may want to consider remote employee monitoring software. However, you should only implement it if the employee is raising productivity concerns, as it can be intrusive and distrustful.

Set KPIs

It is crucial to set KIPs with your remote workers, so they understand your expectations. For example, they might have a certain timeframe to respond to customer. If they are not achieving their KPIs, it may raise concerns about their productivity and ability to manage their workload when working from home.

Schedule Calls

Although you don’t want to be in constant contact with your employees, you can schedule regular calls to find out what they are working on and for a general check-in. It is worth bearing in mind that even if you hear hustle and bustle in the background, it doesn’t mean they are not working. Employees are entitled to work from areas outside their home, including coffee shops or restaurants, unless otherwise stated in their contract. They may also be coworking.

Communication Tools

Most Managers will use communication tools, particularly when managing remote worker's as it allows the team to stay in touch and get support as and when required. It can also be a good way to monitor your employees without being intrusive. If they are consistently unresponsive to messages on Teams or generally not engaging, it might signify that their attention is elsewhere.

Monitor Complaints

It is important to monitor comments and complaints from colleagues or external customers. For example, if customers are not getting an email response within a specified period, it might be the case that your remote workers are not working.

Meeting Attendance

Attendance at meetings is crucial within the workplace, especially when employees are working remotely. It promotes communication within the team, allowing them to engage with their manager and receive important updates. There will be occasions when a meeting clashes with another appointment. However, if your employee is consistently unable to attend meetings, you might want to understand the reasons why.

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