This is a fact: Transparent workflows, empathic leaders and a collaborative workspace are the best tools for employee monitoring. Recent global events have made a significant shift in our understanding about remote work. Remote work is no longer a privilege for a few or a way to procrastinate while not being caught. It’s a widespread movement that is growing in popularity. Businesses are adopting it as a way to work from home, although they may not be ready for the change. What is considered full-time? Nine-to-five? Eight hours straight? Ford introduced the nine-to-five workday back in the early days of his factory to improve and humanize working conditions. Does this mean that every business has a preferred work schedule? We have come to realize that working full-time is nothing more than an agreement to produce a certain amount within a set time-frame. It’s not smart to expect your employees to produce their work during fixed hours and work from home. This puts your employees in a difficult position. They are forced to work on your terms and not theirs. We are simply sharing the same stance as many CEOs and HR professionals – what works best for employees will also work for the business. And, as you probably know, working remotely is almost the exact opposite of office work. Another paradigm we need to address, and the one that may have prompted you to read this article, is employee monitoring.
Are they procrastinating or not?
How can I keep my remote employees productive?
How can I track the output of my remote staff?
We are happy to share the tools and techniques we use to engage and monitor remote workers, so that you can make sure they work full-time during business hours. Since the original article was published, much has changed. We don’t believe that monitoring internet usage, monitoring your team’s desktops, or checking when they are sitting at their desks is the best way to go. We believe transparency, empathy and collaboration are essential for increasing remote employees’ creativity, productivity, and effectiveness. We will keep the headline structure as it is, but we will discuss an alternative that would be more appropriate for each employee. Are you ready to go? Let’s roll!1. Set tasks with deadlines
Yes, definitely. We recommend that you go one step further. You should think about your work as a system and not just a collection of activities. We’ve covered many topics about structuring your work in our Comprehensive Remote Work Guide. You can assign tasks with deadlines in ActiveCollab. Without your team understanding the full scope of their activities, each monitoring activity will focus on one outcome and not guide your entire team towards their goals.