The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the age of the remote work model. Despite more and more organizations calling on their employees to come to office in this post-COVID era, the preferred model even now is a mixed one where employees work from home in the latter half of the week. Add to this the fact that more and more companies are leaning toward hiring remote workers, and you know that remote work is here to stay.
So, why did something that was born out of necessity become the new norm? Well, there are quite a few reasons.
- The remote work model affords better work-life balance to remote employees with a more flexible schedule. Remote workers can juggle between office work and personal commitments more easily, making them happier and more relaxed.
- Trades like copywriting and programming require focus and unhindered attention. Some employees in the said domains find the buzz of the office environment a hindrance. The regular drone in a large office space can have adverse effects on attention span and focus.
- Remote work eliminates the need for long hours of commuting for the employees. It also saves companies precious dollars in infrastructure costs like electricity bills and such.
But there’s a shadow under the lamp. While remote workers are more than happy to work from home, many startup founders and CEOs are of the opinion that long-term use of work-from-home is detrimental to productivity.
While the effectiveness of long-term work-from-home is still being debated, cloud staffing is silently transforming the hiring landscape. For the uninitiated, cloud staffing involves hiring remote resources from offshore hiring companies to do one’s bidding.
More and more startups are opting for this model because:
- Remote resources are easier to hire and cheap compared to local resources.
- Offshore hiring eliminates the need to abide by local hiring laws which can be stringent.
- Hiring remote workers saves precious dollars for startups by eliminating overhead costs like health insurance and retirement benefits.
- Emerging markets like India have unlimited talent pools. It’s easy to tap into them via the cloud staffing route without having to worry about long-term contracts or the hassle of layoffs. Hire when you need. Downsize when you want. That’s scalability for you.
All this however begs the question, how does a startup founder or the CEO of a large enterprise track the performance of remote employees? Enter remote tracking software.
Remote Tracking Software – New Age Tools for New Age Employees
Applications galore in the remote tracking software market! Teamlogger, Basecamp, Clockify, Timechamp – there are quite a few big names in the given domain to track real-time employee productivity. These applications ensure that managers are always on the heels of their remote teams, tracking employee performance based on set parameters.
The Benefits of Using Remote Tracking Software
Here’s a list of ways by which remote tracking software helps managers:
Improved Accountability
When employees know their performance is being monitored, they tend to up their game and prove their worth with increased productivity. This can mean only one thing for enterprises – more revenue.
Accurate Tracking
Remote tracking software like Clockify and Basecamp gives a clear picture of the work patterns of remote workers. When are they most effective? When are they likely to relax? What’s the best time for a remote worker in a different time zone to break for lunch? As a startup owner or team manager, you can have all this information at your fingertips, thanks to remote tracking software.
More Transparency
With remote tracking software in place, your team members cannot complain about biased administration. The data is readily available for anyone to see. The employees themselves can evaluate their performance based on the productivity charts produced by remote tracking applications and make course corrections.
Increased Coordination
Robust performance tracking and project management applications like Basecamp foster positive competition among employees. Remote employees are encouraged to compete and coordinate with each other to complete tasks within specified deadlines.
Better Performance Evaluation
As a startup founder, you need your employees to know where they are scoring and where they aren’t. It’s essential to the growth of a business, not least a fledgling enterprise. When managers are able to evaluate employee performance better, they can share feedback or take tough calls for the greater good of the organization.
However, not everything’s rosy about remote tracking software. There are a few things you need to look out for when using a performance-tracking application.
The Drawbacks of Using Remote Tracking Software
What are the downsides of these cool applications? Let’s explore.
Privacy Concerns
There has always been a lot of hue and cry among remote employees regarding the infringement of their privacy by remote tracking applications, and there’s a good reason for that. These applications take random screenshots of an employee’s computer screen – something that isn’t well-received by many. This can affect manager-team dialogue, foiling free and frank communication.
Negative Impact on Morale
As the owner of an enterprise looking to break into a market and score big, the last thing you need is a demotivated team. But trust issues as described in the previous point can hurt employee morale and lead to a negative mindset among team members.
Accuracy Concerns
Remote tracking applications are cloud-based software. And, like any other software application, they aren’t 100% bug-free. Performance trackers can fail to register employee activity, not least if their cloud systems are somehow impacted. This can lead to erroneous evaluation of employee performance and affect team morale adversely.
High Costs
Remote tracking software doesn’t come cheap. Subscription fees can be high, adding to overhead costs and reduced monthly profits.
Legal Implications
Because remote performance tracking applications have complete access to an employee’s computer, there are increasing concerns about how user data is collected and stored and the extent to which these applications can peep into one’s computer system. This can lead to trust issues between employer and employee and put team performance on a downward trajectory.
Common Ground – Alternatives to Remote Tracking Software
Remote tracking continues to be a hotly debated topic. There are as many supporters of remote tracking software as detractors. So, what’s the best way around?
Goal Setting
One of the best alternatives to remote tracking software is using a goal-setting framework. By setting clear goals and expectations for remote employees, you can help them stay focused and motivated while affording flexibility in terms of work schedules and shift timings.
Daily Check-ins
Goal setting and daily check-ins go hand in hand. Daily check-ins are a great way of measuring your remote teams’ productivity. They can be done via video call or instant messaging and keep managers informed about progress or roadblocks.
Output-Based Metrics
Output-based metrics serve as a good alternative to remote tracking. Performance parameters like completed projects, net revenue earned, or the number of customer service tickets resolved can give a clear picture of employee performance without the need for implementing remote tracking. By focusing on output rather than input, you can give your remote employees more autonomy and flexibility while ensuring positive results.
Let Us Track Employee Performance for You!
Experience the Remote Resource TM Advantage!
When you hire remote employees from us, we monitor their performance for you so that you can focus on business building. Here’s how we can assist you:
- We help you hire top-tier talent from the resource-rich Indian market.
- Our remote resources are seasoned professionals with enough domain knowledge to turn your enterprise into a success story.
- We track employee performance for you so that you don’t have to micromanage your business.
Want to know more? Drop a line and let us tell you more!
