The dramatic increase in telecommuting has caused businesses to think of ways to manage their employees to get positive results. In this post, we have mentioned 6 strategies for managing the performance of remote employees.
1- Setting clear goals
In order for your remote employees to be able to do their jobs successfully, you need to set clear goals for them. That way, they know what you expect from them, and they work accordingly.
Although telecommuting has its advantages, it also has disadvantages. For example, remote employees do not experience the interactions of the workplace, and therefore learning from their colleagues can be challenging for them. Therefore, managers should try to guide their remote employees and keep them informed about all the changes. In this way, the sense of lack of communication with the work environment will be reduced and the employees will consider themselves a part of the organization. Also, the goals will become clearer for them and they will know what they should try to achieve. In addition, their participation in work and the possibility of their staying in the company will also increase.
2- Having continuous and regular communication
Regular communication is a key factor in improving the performance of remote employees, as managers and employees can stay informed and informed about the progress of the set goals. For example, if an employee is having trouble performing his job responsibilities, managers can address it early and help him make the necessary changes.
One-on-one meetings can also reduce the isolation of remote employees. When employees work at home, they are more prone to burnout and loneliness. Therefore, managers should keep an eye on their team members and see if they can help them in their work. This communication shows employees that managers care about them and their well-being. In this way, they feel that they are valuable employees.
3- Provision of periodic feedback
In addition to setting clear expectations and creating continuous communication, managers can help their remote employees succeed by providing periodic feedback.
In the past, companies relied solely on annual appraisals to provide employee feedback. But now this trend has changed and employees want to learn and grow faster, and this only happens when they receive feedback immediately after the work is done. Continuous evaluations and feedback cycles help telecommuters understand how their work is contributing to the company and allow them to make necessary adjustments before their performance becomes problematic.
But the important thing is that feedback is not just for correction. Although addressing performance issues is important, so is praise and encouragement. One of the conducted studies showed that telecommuting employees usually receive twice as much corrective feedback and twice as less positive feedback compared to other colleagues who work in person. Forward-thinking managers can find new ways to provide such feedback to their remote employees.
4- Requesting a project progress report
In a dynamic work environment, keeping up with projects is critical for remote workers. Although there are many employee task management programs that managers can use to track their employees’ progress on projects, these programs do not cover everything. It is better to ask the employees themselves to provide you with a project progress report. If there are challenges that affect employees’ ability to complete projects on time, project reporting is an opportunity for them to make their voices heard.
This will make them feel like a core member of the team, which will increase their engagement and retention. It also enables managers to come up with solutions that are satisfactory to remote workers and the rest of the project team.
5- Refrain from microscopic management
Some managers believe that remote employees cannot perform at the same level as in-person employees, simply because they cannot see them working closely. Therefore, they adopt the microscopic management method. However, implementing this type of management for remote workers does more harm than good.
In fact, micromanagement has been proven to reduce people’s engagement, motivation, productivity, and confidence.
The good news is that managers can gain their trust by changing their behavior and building better relationships with employees. Regular evaluations, periodic feedback and project progress reports help managers to have more control over the performance of their employees.
Managers should also prioritize the performance of remote workers. If they get positive results, they’ve proven they can do things well, so there’s no reason to micromanage.
6- Appreciation for good performance
There are many ways to recognize telecommuters who are performing well, including:
• Wage increase
• More free hours
• Opportunities to lead projects
• Investing in learning and development
• Personal appreciation
By recognizing and rewarding your employees, you can improve their engagement and performance and retain them in the company. This matter is very important, because the process of resignation of employees has increased more than ever. Therefore, you should focus on making your remote employees happy so that they feel like they are valuable to the organization.
If you want to go above and beyond, you can also send them physical gifts. Sometimes, remote workers may feel isolated because they don’t have the opportunity to meet with their managers and teammates. Such a gift can mean a lot to someone who works from home because it’s something they remember from you.
ref: https://www.learnnew.com/6-effective-solutions-to-manage-the-performance-of-remote-workers/