
1. Set clear metrics and OKRs
It's simple — a goal cannot be achieved if no one knows what it is. When working with your virtual team, the first step in the performance management process is to dictate your expectations in clear and specific terms. It’s always a good move to talk to your employees about the goals you wish to achieve. This, in turn, drastically reduces the need for micromanagement and will ensure that you're not disappointed in the finished product. When everyone is on the same page, you form meaningful and professional relationships that strengthen your brand.
How can you set OKRs?
A simple but powerful metric that is often used to measure performance is customer satisfaction. However, like any other metric, it can only be measured if a predetermined benchmark has been set. Other common OKRs include community engagement, number of products sold, number of clients, and even positive feedback. The key is to create metrics based on the expectations for the employee and then measure their performance based on the expectations. Setting up the right OKRs will allow your virtual team to align their tasks accordingly, irrespective of their geographical location. This makes the entire work process much more streamlined — an indispensable asset when working with remote teams. Always use the right tools to create OKRs. CultureAmp, Koan, Timely, SimpleOKR are some examples of great tools that can help you visualise how individuals and teams are contributing to the overall goals of the organisation. They can also be used to manage your remote team, track progress, share tasks, and reflect on the growth of the business. You can also create your own simple spreadsheet with different objectives. You can then track results for your team on a regular basis. The idea is to build a system that is simple, easily accessible, and efficient.2. Focus on the output
How does one quantify efficiency? Does being professionally dressed, coming to the office on time, and being glued to the laptop all day considered as signs of efficiency? If yes, then how do you evaluate remote employees? After all, you can't hover over their desks every hour.
How can you do that?
By shifting the metrics from "hours spent working" to "the quality of tasks accomplished." By forcing your employees to work for hours on end and produce an enormous amount of work, you're causing them to burn out. The foundation of a good performance management process is to determine outcomes — whether an employee is successfully meeting the measurable benchmarks and goals. The simplest way to go about this is to hold weekly meetings with your remote team and give them a clear-set task list with negotiated deadlines. You can either use standard KPIs, online time-cards, or even other cloud-based applications to track these metrics. When working with a fully-distributed team, you can even have 2 or more employees working on the same project. This will help you evaluate quality and quantity more accurately, and will determine if an employee is the right fit for a particular task. This is true regardless of the environment you’re working in. Some employees may perform certain tasks better and faster than others, making your evaluation that much easier.3. Trust your employees
Theone common thread that runs deep across every single method of managing remote teams, is trust. And this works both ways.
Why is trust so important in the performance management process?
How you evaluate your remote employees largely depends on how much you trust them. And that's why it's crucial to get it right and make sure that your business and your employees are benefited from the performance review process. Talk to them, establish a healthy line of communication, and understand where they are coming from. Instead of filling out weekly timesheets that can undermine the trust you have on your employees, establish a set of easily measurable deliverables. These deliverables have to be clearly communicated to your remote team.As long as the criteria are met and the business goals achieved, you don't have to worry.4. Create a 360-degree feedback loop
Poor communication is one of the biggest pitfalls when working with remote teams. Failure to establish honest and transparent two-way communication can most certainly cause the downfall of the entire team. And that's why consistent feedback is essential.
- Using feedback applications
- A simple calendar invite
- Creating a framework
Positive feedback is important too
Apart from the scheduled feedback sessions, cultivating a positive feedback habit because it can be a great motivator. Not being in the same office space, can create an environment where your virtual team doesn't feel as connected. But by giving them positive feedback regularly, and encouraging them to celebrate successes, even if it's just online, you're making them feel recognised and appreciated.5. Ask your employees to self-evaluate
Self-evaluation is an important and controversial step in the performance management process. In fact, according to a Harvard article, an employee can either get overconfident and set higher goals than they can possibly achieve. Or, they end up attributing their success to talent and skill only, overlooking the external and environmental factors.
6. Encourage 1-on-1s
While giving and receiving feedback, tracking OKRs and outputs are some of the surest ways to establish a well-rounded performance management process, one aspect is often forgotten. 1-on-1 conversations.
What is the relation between 1:1 calls and performance?
Setting up a personal conversation, especially with a remote team member will do miracles for employee engagement. You can ask them about the tasks they're most excited about. You can discover what's causing a mental block,how you can help them do better, how they can help themselves do better, and more. With time, you'll notice that your employees are opening up to you slowly, but surely. This, in turn, puts you in a better position to evaluate their performance. Another advantage of holding regular 1-on-1 calls is that it takes away the pressure and anxiety that is associated with the performance review process at the end of the financial year. Because you've been consistently tracking the progress of your team, it won't be a surprise for your or your employees. If you're someone who manages a significantly large team of remote employees, you can rely on video check-ins — the simplest and the most fuss-free method.7. Managing Accountability
Why do businesses build remote teams? Because by working with a distributed workforce, companies can diversify their talent pool. What’s more, they can reduce the operational costs of running a business. The team can still respond to the demands of the business in real-time. However, many remote teams fail to meet these objectives and the performance of the team is often questionable. And the primary reason for this is accountability.
8. Reflect on the purpose behind your business
All said and done, at the end of the day, what really matters is the purpose behind your business. When working under the same roof, it's easy for teammates to understand the greater goals and purpose of your organisation. After all, they hear enough about it from other colleagues. But, when working remotely, away from the workplace and the team, the purpose is distorted. And that's why it's important to take a step back and really reflect on the performance management process you're building. What are you really evaluating? And, how is this evaluation going to contribute towards the vision you have for your business? How have your employees contributed towards the vision?