Managing Performance for Remote Workers: Proven Tips and Strategies

Working from home has become more common than ever before. Remote work has benefits, but it brings unique challenges for managers. Performance management is one of the challenges with remote workers.

Compared to the traditional work setup, remote workers need a more personalized approach and strategy. To manage remote employees well, managers need to adapt traditional techniques for the virtual world. Read on and discover the right strategies to maximize remote team's performance.

Setting Clear Goals and Expectations for Remote Employees

Working with a remote team is challenging for both parties who do not understand their goals and expectations. Having challenges like this can start confusion and affect productivity. Setting clear goals and expectations for remote employees is crucial as it ensures clarity, focus, and motivation in their work. It promotes accountability as well with managers easily tracking progress and providing feedback.

To get started, here are some few tips:

Define Specific and Measurable Goals

Goals for remote workers must be specific, measurable, and time-bound (SMART). Employees need to know exactly how the company measures their performance. With the SMART approach, it will be easier for them to understand. Rather than saying, “Increase sales,” set a goal like, “Increase sales in the western region by 15% year over year.” This provides a clear target for the employee to work towards.

Provide Clear Expectations

Remote workers need a clear idea of the employers’ expectations. This includes their work hours, productivity, communication, and key performance indicators (KPIs). For example, remote employees must be available for meetings and calls during work hours. They need to check in daily to update on projects and respond to messages promptly as well. Clear expectations help remote workers use their time efficiently and be more productive.

Require Regular Updates

It is easy for remote workers to become isolated. Regular check-in meetings or calls help remote employees stay on track, address concerns, and align with goals. Ask them to provide written updates on key projects, goals, wins, and blockers. Look for any signs they may be struggling with work-life balance or feeling disconnected.

With clear direction, open communication, and a supportive environment, remote employees can thrive. But it is all up to the managers to put in the effort required to set them up for success.

Maintaining Open Communication Channels

Effective communication is key to successfully managing remote employees. Without face-to-face interaction, it is easy for messages to get lost in translation or for employees to feel out of the loop. To avoid this, managers must make communication a top priority. Here are some tips on how to do this:

Schedule Regular Check-ins

Remote workers do well with regular routine and consistency. Regular video calls to discuss projects, give feedback, and address concerns are a huge help. These meetings help build rapport and ensure employees feel supported.

Be Transparent in Decision Making

Transparency plays a big role when managing remote workers. Share information openly and involve remote workers in key decisions that impact their work or team. Explain the reasoning behind choices to keep everyone on the same page. Being open and honest is crucial for creating trust and unity in remote teams.

Offer Multiple Channels of Communication

Do not rely on a single mode of communication. Use a mix of video conferencing, phone calls, instant messaging, and email to keep the lines of communication open. Different mediums are better suited for different types of conversations and updates.

Providing options ensures that remote workers can send and receive important information effectively. Utilize online communication and collaboration platforms such as Slack, Teams, Zoom and other platforms.

Encourage Informal Communication

Formal communication can set the boundary between employee and employer. But informal communication can help create connection with the team. Create opportunities for casual interaction and relationship building. For example, start video calls a few minutes early for informal chatting or set up a dedicated video conference room for remote workers to drop in on when they want to connect with colleagues. Casual chats fight isolation and enhance team relationships.

Good communication tools and strategies help managers handle remote work challenges. Regular, clear, and varied communication is vital for keeping teams connected and focused. Implement these to have strong, productive teams, regardless of their location.

Tracking Productivity and Progress Remotely

Remotely tracking productivity and progress means keeping track of how well the teams are getting things done from a distance. This can be tricky and challenging without the proper tools and strategies.

Use the Right Tools

Thankfully, productivity tools are widely available to manage remote teams. Time tracking, project management, and communication tools are a few useful tools to track remote teams. Having these tools can be handy, especially for big companies with remote teams in different departments.

Request Regular Updates

Managers must not only rely on tools. To keep an eye on remote workers, managers must ask for regular updates. Weekly or biweekly video calls work well for this. Managers can check what employees have done, what they are doing now, and whether they are having any problems. These updates make sure work is on track and they can fix any issues fast.

Review Work Samples

Another good idea is to have remote workers share examples of their work as they do it. For instance, when someone is writing a report, they can share an outline, a rough version, and the final draft with their manager for feedback. Checking these examples helps managers see whether projects are going well without having to monitor them all the time. Employees must feel free to ask questions and get advice from their managers when they need it.

Track Time Spent and Productivity Metrics

Some companies use time tracking software to see how long remote workers spend on tasks. This can feel intrusive, but it gives clear data on productivity. Other helpful measures include tasks finished, money made, or other important signs of performance. The specific metrics will depend on the employee's role and responsibilities.

Managing remote workers well needs work from both managers and employees. With good tools and methods, managers can stay on top of things even from afar. And remote workers must speak up about their work and ask for advice when they need it. Working together like this is crucial for remote teams to succeed.

Avoiding Micromanaging

Micromanaging is a big NO for many employees. Remote workers are not an exemption. When managing remote workers, micromanaging their work and time can be harmful. Since managers do not see what is happening, some feel the need to keep asking for updates all the time. But doing this too much hurts trust and independence. This makes it harder to get work done and feel happy about the job.

Here are tips on how to avoid micromanaging:

Encourage Autonomy

Giving remote workers more freedom makes them happier, more productive, and helps them balance work and life better. Remote workers value the independence and self-motivation the role allows. Managers must give general goals and deadlines but let workers figure out the details. This empowerment helps remote workers feel motivated and trusted.

Frequent Communication

While constant status checks are counterproductive, maintaining open communication is key. Managers must schedule weekly calls to discuss priorities, questions, and roadblocks. They must encourage remote workers to proactively raise issues. Open communication, combined with autonomy, helps build trust in the relationship and clarifies expectations.

Respect Work-Life Balance

Respecting remote workers' work-life balance means understanding they need time off to relax, recharge, and handle personal matters. This is essential in remote work because work and personal life can mix up easily.

Avoid contacting employees outside of agreed-upon working hours unless it is urgent. Managers can set core hours for meetings and teamwork. After that time, suggest employees to take a break from work messages to relax with family or hobbies.

Respecting work-life balance boosts well-being, job satisfaction, and productivity. Happy employees are more likely to stay motivated and loyal to their company as well.

When managing remote workers, finding the right balance of autonomy and oversight is the key. Micromanagement damages productivity, work quality, and job satisfaction. With the right approach, remote teams can thrive.

Providing Ongoing Feedback and Coaching

Remote workers need autonomy but also need guidance with their work. Managing performance for remote workers requires providing consistent feedback and coaching. Managers can lose track of how remote employees are doing and what support they need without regular in-person interaction. Here are pointers how to avoid that:

Schedule Regular Virtual Meetings

Managers must schedule regular video calls with remote team members to discuss work progress, goals, and challenges. Biweekly or monthly virtual one-on-one meetings are ideal. These meetings allow managers to gain valuable insight into the remote employee’s day-to-day work. Regular e-meetings give a chance for collaboration and solving problems together.

Share Timely, Actionable Feedback

In any work arrangement, employees improve when they receive constructive feedback. For remote workers, timely feedback is especially important. Managers must provide feedback over video calls whenever possible. This allows for more meaningful two-way discussion.

Feedback must be specific, offering clear examples and actionable steps for improvement. Vague or infrequent feedback will only serve to frustrate and disengage remote employees.

Offer Additional Coaching and Mentoring

Remote employees may feel isolated from colleagues and career development opportunities. Managers can help address this by offering extra coaching and mentoring support.

Offer online courses or training to remote workers for skill improvement. Managers must be available for extra calls to give guidance and solve problems. Investing in coaching and mentoring boosts loyalty, productivity, and job satisfaction.

Regular communication, useful feedback, and career support help managers effectively handle remote team performance. This helps remote workers feel connected to the company's mission, even when far away.

Conclusion

Remote workers can be more handful than on-site team. But efforts can be all worth it. To manage remote workers well, find a balance between giving freedom and structure. Autonomy is essential but communication and guidance are also vital.

Despite challenges, the right approach ensures productive teams, no matter where they are. With remote work growing, organizations must adapt and support leaders. Prioritize outcomes, empathy, and adaptability to get the best from remote workers.

Visit Salary.com and check out various products and software that can help you manage your remote team.