Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote jobs have been in high demand. To attract the best candidates, companies started to post more remote and hybrid positions. But with more and more companies making employees return to the office, remote workers might be feeling the pressure.
If you're a remote worker, hold on tight to your job right now. Here's why...
A new study on LinkedIn shows that when it comes to jobs that require people to be in person, there are essentially two jobs like that on LinkedIn for every one person who's applying. On the flip side, though, for remote positions, there are two people applying for every one remote job. That means remote jobs are super coveted, and competition is fierce.
Based on the research, this is going to give companies an opportunity to flex their muscles and start to say, "Hey, we're going to make people come back into the office," because employers know there are not as many remote jobs as there once were. They know you can't just jump ship for a remote job anymore.
Times have changed. If you are looking for remote work, you're going to have to really stand out from the crowd. You're going to have to create an incredible amount of value. And if you have a remote job right now, please make sure that you continue to provide that value because your employer now knows that you are replaceable. Either way, staying on top of your game will allow you to get and keep a remote job now and in the future.
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As a leader in today's modern workplace, you have to be prepared to manage hybrid, remote, and in-office employees. The success of a company depends on good management, which includes the ability to accurately measure the effectiveness of employees and make changes as needed. But the traditional ways of measuring an employee's effectiveness don't take into consideration how the workforce has changed since 2020 with the rise of remote work.
We recently asked our executives how they think leaders should measure the effectiveness of their remote employees.
Here are their responses...
Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist
Measuring effectiveness from remote employees can be very tricky, especially considering that 40% of leaders acknowledged in a study conducted by Harvard in 2020 that they were not prepared to manage remote employees and 41% struggled to keep their teams engaged.
Defining what's a priority and what effectiveness looks like becomes fundamental. It has left managers and leaders unsure about how the best work gets done. Therefore, it is not a huge surprise that a lot of managers would prefer their teams to come back to work in the office.
Besides clearly defining what effectiveness looks like, its transparency to all involved, and how it is measured and improved consistently, it becomes key for managers to quickly figure out the best way to work with their employees, making them feel understood and supported and not micromanaged.
Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the "red thread."
John Schembari, Senior Education Executive
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Ana is correct. Evaluating the effectiveness of remote workers comes down to whether or not priorities have been met. It's less about doing time, say 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, and should be much more about impact whether that impact occurs over a long or short period of time, and whether at 9 am or 9 pm. When evaluating remote workers, organizations would be wise to, yes, define priorities but also determine what success metrics for those priorities will be. In defining success, for instance, I'm a big fan of goal setting and using SMART criteria—i.e., is the goal specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and/or timely?
Client/project management software can also be used when there are multiple remote workers working on the same initiative so that there is clarity around each person's role and communication as to how each person's part fits into the project as a whole. This is where benchmark/milestone data can also be recorded along the way to indicate how well remote workers are making progress toward organizational goals.
John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.
Miroslav Jasso, IT & Innovation Management
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There are areas and positions where remote working was preferred for years if not decades. Information technology as an example serves well here. Measuring the effectiveness of IT service desk employees is easy. KPIs like number of tickets handled orfFirst instance resolution rate come immediately to mind. Your agile software developers can be measured based on the length of their sprints or the size of the backlog. In many cases IT teams are to a large degree remote and distributed among locations, countries, and even continents.
In general, any position with clearly defined KPIs can easily be measured for effectiveness, no matter the location. In-site, remote, distributed… numbers do the trick. Where remote working is leaving much room for effectiveness decrease is the soft side of work—relations, knowledge sharing, team spirit, willingness to help and support. Even if not immediately visible, those qualities have a decisive impact on overall effectiveness in the long run.
Miroslav Jasso is an information technology & innovation executive with 22+ years of experience in the development, continuous improvement, and delivery of state-of-the-art IT services across automotive, finance systems, and retail businesses. He has managed teams of 5-100+ with budgets of $1M-$15M+.
Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive
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Measuring remote workers' effectiveness is no different from having workers present on-site. Having timely expected deliverables will be the most critical test of commitment. If you know the quality of the people on your team, you won't have to worry about the work not getting done.
Sure there are monitoring tools out there to see log-in times and activity.
But as a business professional trying to run a business, I'd rather spend the time making the company better to raise revenues or creating new ways to compete with my competitors.
Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M - $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.
Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive
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If you’re asking how to measure the effectiveness of remote workers, you’re asking the wrong question.
Go back and subtract the word “remote.” There. That’s the right question.
There should be no fundamental differences between how you measure the success of a remote worker vs. a hybrid worker vs. an in-person worker. Too many managers get caught up in the thought of a remote worker being somehow incredibly different.
If anything, remote workers most likely require more thoughtful management. That includes you as a manager keeping an eye on equity when handing out resources, social opportunities, and high-profile projects to remote vs. in-person workers.
Is the person meeting their goals? Are they growing in their role? Are they helping to move the organization forward? Remote or not, questions similar to these are what you should focus on.
Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.
Don Schulz, Senior Operations & Commercial Real Estate Executive
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I appreciate and agree with people's comments so far. The concepts of defining success, using measurable KPIs & SMART goals, and measuring workers in the same positions in a consistent manner whether they are remote or not all make sense. There is however a range of difficulty in assessing effectiveness depending on the specific function of each FTE and how quantifiable vs. qualitative one can make the measurement of their role. That said I would like to add to the discussion the concept of engagement which is often a leading indicator of one's effectiveness and I've found much harder to measure.
A couple of years ago I took on a new role as COO of a national real estate project management company one month before COVID-19 restrictions were put into place. I had to quickly adjust to managing fully remote in a company I had just joined and with people I barely knew. While we were able to successfully implement many of the effectiveness measurement tools mentioned above and felt we had a good feel for individuals' overall effectiveness, we soon learned that it was people's engagement we had to get our arms around. That took some time. We retained an outside consultant/survey company to measure the engagement of all employees and made it an annual occurrence.
My summary point is that while measuring employee effectiveness (remote or in person) is an ongoing, more daily requirement, complementing that with an annual or semi-annual measurement of employee engagement is often a good thing that can bring many insights when laid next to effectiveness data.
Don Schulz is a 25+ year commercial real estate executive & COO. On the personal side, he likes to ski, hike, golf, and run, and is an occasional homebrewer.
How do you think leaders should measure the effectiveness of their remote workers? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic spurred change across every industry. Businesses had to change, and so did workers—especially leaders, who also had to facilitate change within their organization. We recently asked our leading executives how they have changed as professionals as a result of the pandemic.
Here are their responses...
Jim Black, Engineering & Technical Executive
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At the beginning of quarantine, I hated working from home. I put in extra hours, I disliked people instant messaging me all day long, and I loathed the isolation. Even me as an introvert. After about 12-16 weeks, my entire demeanor changed. I found my stride. I enjoyed virtual team meetings with my engineering staff. I found ways to keep myself engaged and involved despite my physical location. I worked to be productive despite being alone. I found an interesting fact: I was more productive in this environment.
Since returning to work, I spend the majority of my time in the office. We have a policy where employees can work from home up to two days a week. I cannot every week; however, the weeks where I can work from home now are so enjoyable. I get many tasks accomplished, I remain connected, and I avoid my commute. I actually miss the quarantine occasionally.
Jim Black is an engineering professional focused on the development of technical professionals. He is also a professional bass player.
Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager
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From my recent work at a major music streaming corporation, I have observed changes within the Gen Z and millennial co-working spaces, where there is an openness to talk about mental health and work-life balance issues. These groups approach work differently than generations before them. These two groups work extremely hard and are overachievers; however, they are acutely aware of wellness after the pandemic.
For example, as a program manager, I had the pleasure of managing eight cross-functional teams, and part of my responsibilities included gathering teams to share results. As I looked at each team member's availability on their calendars, I often saw time blocked off for “Therapy” or “Counseling” and even “Workout Time.” These did not exist pre-pandemic, and I love this shift. Almost a more vulnerable type of communicating is now encouraged by executives, complemented by shifting company priorities, and it has created a more open form of comms exchange. Successful teams are paying attention to their own wellness and taking control of their mental health as a community.
Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.
Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive
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The most significant change I’ve experienced as a marketing executive due to the pandemic is that I feel like I get to have it all. Prior to the pandemic, I spent on average three hours a day in LA traffic driving to and from work. I left for work at 6:30 am and got home at 8:30 pm barely getting any time with my girls and husband. The cost of gas, the wear and tear on my car, the frustration. It takes a toll. A typical day included greeting my team, back-to-back meetings, and lunch with co-workers.
Life post-pandemic is very different. I am home! I see my girls, husband, two labs, and my cat every day. If my girls have questions or need me, I’m there for them. If I need to take my girls or my pets to the doctor, I can do it now. I can manage my work and my family life, no problem. My days are full of Zoom meetings, blurred background with kids and dogs scurrying behind me as I work. I still go into the office two days a month and interact with my co-workers.
Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.
Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive
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I've always been a professional content creator/filmmaker, but the pandemic has really changed the way I work. I used to be very reliant on in-person interactions with friends and family to help me come up with ideas and film new videos. However, since the pandemic started, I've had to get creative with my content. I've started using my family and friends as resources for new ideas, and I've also started filming new videos by myself. I also started doing a lot of micro-learning on subjects that would help me in my career (video editing for YouTube, TikTok, professional development [Executive Online Presence]). I have also been learning as much about Web3.
This has been a big change for me, but it's one that I've really enjoyed. I'm much happier with my work now, and I feel like I'm more fulfilled as a content creator. The pandemic has definitely changed the way I work, but it's also made me a better professional.
Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.
What's the number one way you have changed as a professional as a result of the pandemic? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.
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