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How to Plan Performance Reviews for Remote Employees
October 31st, 2022
The dramatic shift toward remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant workforce changes to occur during our lifetime. One survey found that in the Spring of 2022, as many as 58 percent of American employees reported the opportunity to work from home at least one day per week. Most employees embrace this flexibility when given the chance, and many companies have found that remote work options can actually lead to happier, more productive employees. For employers, remote work can create cost savings and reduce staff turnover.
However, the trend toward remote work has also brought with it new challenges–especially for managers hoping to build a cohesive, high-performing team. As teleworking becomes increasingly popular, it is important to adapt your performance management system to accommodate remote employees.
Luckily, new platforms like Teamble have made it simple to manage remote employees and conduct successful performance reviews with members of your team. For more tips on how to plan for performance conversations with remote employees, check out our article below.
Provide feedback often
Don’t just leave feedback for periodic performance reviews. Instead, work toward establishing a culture of continuous feedback with all of your employees. Regular check-ins show employees that their manager cares about them and wants to help them succeed. Further, continuous feedback and regular career conversations help increase engagement and motivate employees to perform well. Creating an environment of frequent and open communication is especially important when managing remote workers, as it can be more difficult to build a cohesive team when everyone is virtual.
Holding regular one-on-ones can also help make the formal performance review process easier. For example, if you hold weekly meetings with an employee, you won’t be faced with the task of summarizing months or even a year’s worth of performance information in a formal performance review.
Develop review standards that apply to all employees
If you are managing a hybrid team, or your organization has both remote and in-person employees, it is important to develop the same performance review standards for all workers. This can help you to avoid making common mistakes associated with performance management.
Once you have developed a standardized performance review system, make sure your employees are aware of it. This ensures all employees are treated fairly and know exactly what to expect from a performance evaluation.
Prepare for meetings
To get the most out of performance conversations, you should make sure both you and your employees come to performance review meetings prepared. This means that you need to develop clear objectives and talking points for every performance review and share this information with your employee ahead of time. Doing so will let your employees know what to expect and can help you to have a more constructive meeting. It will also contribute to an overall culture of transparency and trust that is especially important to establish for a remote workforce.
Give your employees the chance to provide their own feedback
During a performance review, set aside time for your employee to ask questions and respond to feedback. You might even want to come prepared with a few questions that prompt feedback. It can be especially important to set aside this time for your remote employees, as they may not have as many opportunities to express their opinions as office-based workers.
However, don’t limit the opportunity to provide feedback to performance reviews alone. As you work to establish regular check-ins, you should remember that continuous feedback is most effective when it involves the active participation of both managers and their employees. Encouraging your employees to come to you with questions or concerns at any time not only establishes a culture of trust, but can also help improve performance by giving you the chance to clarify expectations and avoid misunderstandings.
Turn on your camera
Just because your employees are remote doesn’t mean you can’t have face-to-face interactions. Although cameras aren’t necessary for every conversation, it can be helpful to use video technology for more difficult or involved discussions–like a formal performance review. Video calls will help both you and your employees to feel more present and engaged. You will also be able to pick up on important non-verbal cues that are impossible to catch without video.
Use performance management software
Technological advancements like Teamble have made it easier than ever to manage remote employees. With our user-friendly platform that integrates seamlessly with Slack and Microsoft Teams, we allow you to create an engaging, responsive system of continuous feedback that makes performance management simple and efficient.
Our platform enables you to overcome the management challenges that can accompany remote work by allowing you to easily set and view goals, provide feedback in real-time, and document interactions with your team.
If you are interested in seeing how Teamble can help transform your performance management system, give us a try for free or submit questions through our Help feature.