Remote and hybrid work is likely to continue for some time. This new way of working has allowed employees to work flexibly, increase their productivity, put in extra effort, and work from anywhere. However, these work environments require new performance metrics for organizations and to balance that with employees’ issues of burnout, stress, and anxiety. As the way we work has changed, performance management, or what we at CTC refer to as Productivity, also needs a more comprehensive approach. You can create win-wins for everyone through these productivity strategies that are also well-known performance management approaches. 

First, make sure your leaders and managers provide immediate and real time feedback. Regular feedback helps employees know what they are doing right and what to improve on. It boosts their morale, motivation and satisfaction level. 

Second, if during the feedback moments it’s noticed that it would be helpful to increase people’s skills, provide that professional development. This could be 1:1 or small group coaching or larger training sessions that teach proven approaches that work. For example, when we train on Effective Delegation we go through the process steps that involve more than just dumping extra work on subordinates. There are specific ways to discuss and take the time to teach people new skills and coach them through that skill building. It’s a win-win for everyone that is a productivity hack and a performance management strategy. 

Third, make sure goal setting and alignment keeps up with performance expectations. The current volatile nature of many businesses has often forced organizations to set shorter-term goals. Clearly update the objectives and results you expect from each team and team member and tie those to the real time feedback. There are great online tools to track project progress, though they don’t always capture all the nuances. Use meetings to communicate and collaborate and make sure they’re run effectively. (Need skills development on how to run and participate in an effective meeting? That’s one of our most requested training topics this year.) 

Lastly, and most importantly, know that now more than ever employee wellbeing and experience are integral to performance management. Failure to provide a great employee experience will impact productivity. Encourage your teams to continue to get to know each other personally and be creative on the ways you can use time and technology to make the talented people in your organization feel fit, satisfied and prepared to do their best work.