When it Comes to Remote Employees, Micromanaging is a Problem. Accountability is a Solution. But Most Employers Don’t Know the Difference.

Micromanaging your remote employees is a bad idea. If you need to micromanage, you have the wrong employees, mindset, or both. Micromanaging remote employees kills culture and runs management ragged. Legally, micromanaging is setting yourself up for a harassment or discrimination claim, too. One person’s micromanagement is another person’s evidence of retaliation or discrimination.

Unfortunately, the IT team can be co-opted by obsessive micromanagers. Micromanagers can monitor keystrokes, activity statuses, internet activity, and movement. Even if you have proper waivers and notices and make it clear that electronic activity on company devices and the internet may be monitored, it’s creepy to lurk around digital corners. Eventually, your employees will find out. It will breed the kind of paranoia in your employees that will make them more focused on looking busy than being productive. Plus, agencies like the National Labor Relations Board seem inclined to think that digital monitoring can quickly become a tool to suppress protected activity, like talk about unionization and wages. You don’t want to confirm that notion. 

That said, managers need to ensure that remote work is not an escape from productivity for easily distracted employees. To do this, managers need (1) regular communication, (2) objective productivity measurements, and (3) honest performance evaluations. Let’s look at these three issues and how companies can encourage a healthy level of accountability in a remote environment. 

Regular Communication

Remote work can reduce spontaneity and serendipity. You don’t overhear a colleague down the hall wrestling with a problematic work issue you have experience with. You don’t bump into someone in a different department in the lunchroom and realize you can collaborate on a project. This is unfortunate. The good news is that you also don’t have as many distractions. The intentional can replace the spontaneous. But this requires initiative. 

As previously discussed, I recommend weekly check-ins via phone or video conference between managers and their employees. This rhythm is important because it allows the manager to stay up to date on the employee’s work, it allows the employee to ask questions and address issues before they become significant problems, and it serves as an opportunity for some level of spontaneity. It helps if the meeting is set up regularly so that a relational rhythm builds trust and encourages communication. But it also needs to be clear that there is an open line of communication throughout the week. 

Objective Productivity Measurements 

Most employees must accurately log their time. However, hours worked are a measurement of input - not output. You need accurate time measurements to follow wage and hour laws and output measurements to measure productivity. 

One of the best ways to do this in a remote environment is to make sure your employee has clearly defined goals. Employees must have up-to-date position descriptions and annual, realistically achievable goals with measurable benchmarks to track progress. Check whether projects are being performed and if the quality is high. Those projects are the receipts evidencing that a remote environment is working. You would prefer an employee who does good work in two hours over one who does bad work in eight. So find ways to measure productivity and quality beyond the time logged. 

Honest Performance Evaluations & Consistent Coaching

One of the worst things you can do as a manager is to give your employee a glowing review when he does not deserve it. Too often this happens because managers want to avoid conflict or uncomfortable conversations. This should not be the case. Performance reviews are not an automatic pat on the back. They are a tool to justify promotions, pay increases, and terminations. Performance reviews, job titles, and position descriptions should align with company actions. Companies should not give an employee a positive review one day and terminate the employee the next. 

If there is a disconnect between performance reviews and company actions, your company is ripe for costly litigation. Honest performance evaluations, regularly conducted, must be part of your company’s rhythm. This is especially true for remote employees not subject to on-site supervision. Your employees should acknowledge those performance reviews in writing so that employees don’t feel surprised by future company actions. 

Performance reviews should not be the primary tool for improving employee performance. Performance reviews are anxiety-inducing for employees because they are often tied to compensation and job security. This makes it difficult for constructive feedback. 

Consistent coaching throughout the year, without a direct link to pay or promotion, is essential. You’re failing your employees if you wait until the year's end to let them know how they are doing. Consistent coaching keeps your managers and employees accountable for performance. If you have employee performance problems, management problems are likely the root of the problem. In a remote work environment, coaching takes an extra dose of intentionality.