Due to COVID-19, many companies had to send their employees home. As a result, managers had to start overseeing remote teams with little notice or time to adapt to the paradigm.
Many managers have fears about allowing employees to telecommute, with one of the biggest worries focusing on productivity. Since managers can’t directly monitor their teams, they may worry that their staff isn’t maintaining typical work standards.
Luckily, it is possible to measure productivity effectively. With the right KPIs, you can gather critical insights, including details that let you know if your workforce is continuing to be at its best. If you want to make sure your team is continuing to excel, here’s what you need to know.
Productivity Myths
Before you examine any KPIs, you need to learn to get beyond certain remote worker productivity myths. That way, you aren’t focusing your energy in the wrong areas, causing you to end up with incomplete results.
One of the biggest myths focuses on the information captured by employee monitoring software. Usually, these solutions capture details from a worker’s computer screen, allowing managers to see if progress is being made.
The issue is that a lack of activity on a computer doesn’t necessarily equal unproductive. For example, if an employee is on a business call, they may not touch their computer for the entire duration. Additionally, many professionals prefer to brainstorm using pen and paper, an approach that monitoring software can’t record.
Another common misconception is that group projects will come to a standstill. Often, this is based on the assumption that communication automatically suffers when employees can’t gather in-person. However, with the right collaboration tools in place, this doesn’t necessarily occur. Workers can have meaningful conversations via messengers, forums, video calls, and any number of other mechanisms, ensuring they stay on target.
In the end, not holding any assumptions dear is a crucial initial step. It ensures you aren’t focusing on the wrong metrics when assessing productivity, and increases the odds that you’ll choose KPIs that genuinely reflect productivity levels.
KPIs by Position Type
Which KPIs you need to track does vary based on an employee’s position. However, some are fairly universal. For example, whether an employee is delivering outputs by the set deadline applies to nearly any position. Similarly, whether those deliverables meet expectations may also be widely applicable, as well as general attendance metrics.
Beyond that, what you monitor may need to be adjusted in accordance with the role. Here’s a look at what you may want to track for a range of positions:
Sales Professionals
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- Call Volume
- Conversion Rate
- Revenue per Sale
- Sales per Week
- Average Customer Value
Customer Support Reps
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- Average Call Time
- Resolved Ticket Number
- First-Call Resolution Rate
- Repeat Contacts
- Customer Satisfaction Score
Marketing Pros
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- Lead Generated per Week
- Cost per Lead
- Cost per Acquisition
Software Developers / Programmers
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- Time to Project / Milestone Completion
- Deadlines Made / Missed
- Average Number of Bug / Error Fixes Required
The goal should be to choose metrics that reflect the quantity and quality of the work, not the amount of time spent actively using a computer or other company system. When you select KPIs, be results-oriented. That way, you are getting a better indication of how well a remote employee is performing, which is the ultimate goal.
If you’d like to learn more, the staff at GSG Talent Solutions can help. Contact us today.