Gone are the days of guessing what your employee is up to on a Friday afternoon or whether a project will get turned in on time.
With more people choosing to work remotely comes greater control.
Now, instead of craning your neck to catch a glimpse of your team’s desktop, you can view their entire progress with the click of a button. Read on to find out how easy measuring and managing performance can be with the help of savvy software.
Hour-by-Hour Activity
Nobody wants to feel as though they are being micromanaged. The pressure of having somebody peer over your shoulder can make it hard to find your flow. That sweet sensation of being “in the zone”, when your fingers take over the typing and your mind effortlessly ticks off tasks, never appears when things are tense and untrusting. After all, employees need autonomy to feel happy at work, not a babysitter.
Yet, in some circumstances, it’s necessary to check where your employees are at.
Real-time data gives golden nuggets of information about how an employee is performing. Through desktop screenshots and keyboard usage stats, you’ll be able to tell if a coworker is having an off day, week, or even month. Best of all, the team member will be none-the-wiser, meaning you won’t exacerbate a bad situation or stir up false accusations.
When should you check this data?
You won’t need to watch this data like a hawk, but it will prove useful when you have cause for concern. If you suspect an employee isn’t pulling their weight or worse, is going through a tough time, it can help to review their immediate performance to see if anything –– internal or external –– is having a direct impact on their work. Maybe you picked up on something in your last conversation together, or a peer brought a problem to your attention. Whatever it is, it could be costly to ignore these warning signs.
Daily Data
Nothing is more insightful than knowing how each employee spends their day.
Does an underperformer spend too much time on e-mails every morning? Are your most effective employees working similar shift patterns? Is a certain department making enough use of an expensive app you recently purchased? How does your organization’s break times stack up against the national average?
Taking trends and turning them into guidelines can help to keep your entire team in shape — everything, from guidance on how often to stretch your legs to communications best practice, can help employees curb bad habits and build new, more productive routines.
Consistently poor performance when it comes to daily data can support disciplinaries. Yet tracking your employee’s nine-to-five doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom. Totting up these daily figures can help you reward your highest achievers who manage to be extraordinary every day of the week.
When should you check this data?
Department managers should check these filters regularly to reflect on ways of working. Analyzing your team’s tendencies should come naturally to you to spot new areas for improvement. As well as creating a standard for staff behavior, daily data can also help you make smarter budgeting choices. You certainly shouldn’t be prompted by a problem to keep an eye on these figures. Yet, this data helps to contextualize concerns and provides evidence to support formal disciplinary procedures.
Periodic Performance
Over time, employee monitoring software helps to build a picture of your overall organizational performance. Curious how different departments compare? Want to know which quarter was the most productive? Whatever the goal, project and time-specific timesheets can help you take a look at the bigger picture.
Several senior staff members may be interested in reviewing long-term data. From project leads reflecting on their performance to top-tier management performing an annual analysis, there will be plenty of eyes cast over these figures.
Periodic performance often tells us more about a group than an individual.
When should you check this?
Schedule times for concentrated analysis — be it each month, quarter, or year. To help remind you, you can generate custom reports that will land in your inbox on a desired date and time. You’ll want to check periodic performance just before you set big goals, give group feedback, or wrap up a big project. Occasionally, you might use periodic performance to investigate employee feedback or prepare for an important meeting.
Avoid micromanagement, missed opportunities for improvement, and major mishaps with employee monitoring software. Using software to monitor your team is less intrusive, more objective, and far more effective than eavesdropping on your employee’s conversations. With Handdy Timesheets, employee performance is no longer a guessing game but a science. Try it now at no cost when you sign up for your free trial.
