Managing remote employees is the herculean task for many companies today, especially if they were not employee-centric in pre-COVID times. The period during which the employees were moved to work from home was really hectic. The people-centric organizations found it easier than the companies with rigid traditional policies. Today, all the companies have broken down the walls of traditional workspace and adopted technology to enable work from anywhere.

However, there is still a long way to go for companies that are formulating new policies to manage their remote employees. Managing and tracking employee performance can be done with effective performance management software like Synergita. With performance management software, managers will be able to give autonomy to the employees as well as learn the direction and progress of their team members. The features of an effective performance management system include,

1. Goal-Setting
2. Continuous Check-ins
3. 360 degree feedback
4. Rewards and Recognition
5. Learning Opportunities

Goal-Setting

Goal-Setting is the first step to managing employee performance. To perform better, your workforce needs to know what’s expected out of them. The overall business objective should be reiterated by the managers to remind employees of their destination. This helps the employees to align their individual goals to company goals. Goal-Setting is an indispensable part to increase the productivity of the entire workforce. When the target is clear, the employees will not be lost and their efforts can be easily focused toward one direction.

Continuous Check-ins

In this remote working scenario, communication among team members and managers has been greatly impacted. Managers should act as true leaders and initiate conversations with their team members to learn their concerns, daily routine, and work. If the managers make the employees feel comfortable, the employees will be engaged and satisfied as their companies take their well-being seriously. Continuous Check-ins also strengthens the manager-employee relations. Employees also feel free to call their managers and resolve their work-related doubts whenever they get stuck. This improves the overall work culture of the organization and enhances employee experience.

360 Degree Feedback

360 degree feedback promotes collaboration and helps in identifying and nurturing future leaders. In this feedback mechanism, peers, direct reports, primary managers, cross-functional managers, and other internal and external stockholders can give feedback on an employee’s performance. This approach helps in eliminating manager bias and other misleading biases. The employees can also learn about their strengths and weaknesses and work to improve the weak areas. This is one of the powerful features of an effective performance management system and is very helpful in this age of remote working.

Rewards and Recognition

Today, everyone is working remotely due to the pandemic. Employees will be anxious if they do not hear about their contribution from the managers. Therefore, to keep the employees engaged, managers should connect with their team members frequently and recognize their efforts if they exceeded the company’s expectations. Rewards need not be a grand ceremony. It can be simple little things like a thank you email or recognition message on a public wall within the organization. If the employees feel that their efforts are not recognized by the management, they will most likely leave the company in an effort to find a company that appreciates their hard and smart work.

Learning Opportunities

This is the right opportunity to motivate your employees to upskill and cross-skill. Developing the skill set of your workforce helps your company to explore new spaces and broaden its horizons. Innovation will become part of the work culture. Also, the below-average performers can use this time to work more on their skills and increase their pace to give higher productivity and quality. The managers should provide tailored learning opportunities to help employees learn the skill that they do not possess but require. The travel time that has been spared by working from home can be used to learn an extra skill. To stay relevant to the changing world, upgrading yourself is absolutely necessary.

These practices help organizations to create an open and transparent culture where growth becomes the motto and pulling each other up becomes the path. No matter where you work from, if the culture is strong, the collaboration, growth, and success never end.