Does the way you’ve been measuring productivity still work with remote teams?

Working remotely is the new norm for so many companies across so many industries. Expanding or adding remote workgroups to your operations model requires evaluation of team capacity, profitability, and even growth potential for the foreseeable future. And given the unexpected challenges of 2020, remote teams were the key to survival and longevity for businesses of varying sizes.

And while we all have or are familiar with processes used to measure productivity, are those approaches effective with remote teams?

In most cases, the answer is no.

With this in mind, be intentional about establishing performance measurement processes that consider remote roles or tasks. Here are a few steps that will help you update your performance measurement process.

First, define key performance indicators (KPIs) for remote roles and remote tasks. One of the challenges that businesses have faced in applying old productivity measures to remote teams is that different jobs have different metrics. Your team may have remote workers who only work remotely during certain hours, when completing specific tasks, or based on the customers or internal departments they support.

Second, develop clear milestones for tasks you assign to an employee. Milestones are excellent indicators of progress, and they allow team members to mark progress, adjust for incidentals, and communicate challenges as they work to reach goals. Milestones also enable leaders to coach performance issues in real-time with remote teams while establishing timelines applicable to future projects.

Third, include project management software in your process. Adding software for assigning and tracking project progress ensures that work is completed and is an excellent accountability tool. Having the write project management tool for remote teams can be just as effective as a leader walking around the traditional office. It lends to accountability and consistent progress on priority projects.

You can take several other approaches to ensure that remote teams are productive and accountable, but these are some simple staples to guide you in the process. No matter which direction you take, start with the end in mind. Determine the outcomes you want from the team and identify the best methods to implement.

If you’d like to discuss how DREAM4 can support you through this process, schedule a call today.