Monitoring remote employees is essential for managers to ensure productivity and engagement when teams are dispersed. Leveraging time tracking software, analytics dashboards, and project management platforms allows leaders visibility into workloads, completion rates, collaboration levels, and potential roadblocks. This data empowers fact-based coaching conversations around productivity obstacles. Key to success is applying monitoring transparently and responsibly so employee morale is upheld through a culture of trust. When enabled effectively, monitoring mechanisms provide guardrails without being punitive, helping remote managers direct strategy and priorities across decentralized teams.
Monitoring Technology
Once metrics are established, managers can leverage various technologies to monitor productivity and engagement. Popular tools include:
Analytics Dashboards: Software like Salesforce, Zoho, and Sisense have prebuilt analytics and custom reporting to monitor performance metrics across teams. Accessible dashboards allow drilling down into specifics.
Employee Monitoring Software: Solutions like Controlio, Teramind, ActivTrak, and Hubstaff record and analyze employee computer and website usage data to expose activity logs. Basic information like productivity patterns, attendance tracking, and engagement is instantly viewable.
Defining Metrics
The key to managing remote employees is having clarity on expected outcomes. Managers need to work collaboratively with teams to define reasonable productivity metrics and key results that can be monitored and measured. These may relate to certain tasks, projects, or workflows that each role focuses on. Metrics may include things like:
- Number of customer calls handled per day
- Lines of code deployed into production
- Number of support tickets resolved per week
- Number of sales meetings conducted monthly
The goal is to zero in on the vital productivity indicators that truly move the needle for the business. Defining these metrics gets everyone aligned on priorities and success.
The Importance of Trust
It’s essential to note that whilst metrics and monitoring tools provide visibility, they need to be applied judiciously. Research shows that excessive electronic monitoring erodes employee morale and trust. Striking the right balance is key. Some best practices include:
- Transparent communication of what is being monitored and why
- Limiting access to only data required for targeted metrics
- Aggregating data and allowing anonymity where possible
- Regular check-ins on how employees feel about monitoring
When enabled effectively, employee monitoring mechanisms can give managers peace of mind whilst allowing remote teams autonomy and flexibility in their work. The insights PC Magazine gleaned allow coaching conversations grounded in fact rather than speculation about workload and productivity.
Monitoring Impact and Iterating
It’s important that managers make monitoring a collaborative process—using the insights being gathered to regularly assess what is working well and what may need adjusting. Teams must feel psychologically safe in giving candid feedback knowing that the goal is to help everyone work as productively as possible, rather than to penalize.
Conclusion
Metrics and management don’t have to be dirty words; they can provide guardrails without being punitive. As more companies shift to flexible remote work policies, managers need help to direct dispersed teams. Monitoring solutions provide visibility and insights so they can coach team members through obstacles and advance strategic priorities. When enabled transparently, responsibly and in partnership with employees, they allow data and trust to coexist delivering productivity alongside work-life balance. This sets up both managers and remote teams for ongoing success.