How to do effective remote performance reviews
Written by Beth Gault Tuesday 24 January 2023
Remote team management has become one of the hottest topics in post-pandemic leadership. While many organisations have flourished with distributed teams, many new management challenges have emerged. Resolving conflicts in a remote environment is just one. Another is effective performance management.
As more employees work remotely, many performance reviews have become a remote process. But how can managers know how employees are doing over a screen? What’s been done – and what’s not been done? And just how well are staff getting on with their role?
Ditch the distrust
According to CMI data from 2021, more than a third of employers (35%) have turned to employee performance monitoring technology in order to get around the challenge of team performance monitoring. 7% of these had implemented the technology since March 2020, when the first Covid-19 lockdown was brought in. In particular, these companies use time-tracking software to measure productivity and performance. However, recent research has found that these methods often do not deter unapproved breaks or indeed increase productivity. In this atmosphere of distrust, it can be difficult for remote employees to prove themselves.
In the hybrid world it is results that matter, not time spent on the job
“Productivity paranoia – the belief that employees are doing less because you can’t see them in the hybrid world – is a real and impactful issue,” explains Jeremy Campbell, CEO of performance improvement business Black Isle Group.
Managers need to be careful of jumping to conclusions while not being able to see their employees, he adds. “Rely on hard facts and measures, rather than limited observations. Remember the way we work has changed. In the hybrid world it is results that matter, not time spent on the job.”
Keep reading to learn how to approach this management challenge
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