In light of the recent coronavirus pandemic, the vast majority of companies who can allow their employees to work from home are doing so. In fact, in the midst of this pandemic, encouraging employees to telecommute is the most responsible action that any employer can take in doing their part to curb the spread of COVID-19. With this increase in remote work comes a challenge that many managers might have never had to consider before: how to most effectively supervise employees who are working in a different location.
As it turns out, modern technology provides us with a variety of tools to monitor places and people from a distance. CCTV (closed-circuit television), for example, is a great way to keep watch over an empty office or warehouse at night, or to keep an eye on employees who might otherwise steal or commit some type of fraud. Managers looking for a means to monitor the activities of remote workers sometimes choose Internet blocking software to block access to certain websites or entire categories of sites. Other supervisors even resort to using “spyware” to literally spy on their telecommuters. Unfortunately, none of these tools are designed to manage employees. Rather, they’re intended to prevent people from committing crimes or wasting time.
When looking for the best tool to assist in supervising telecommuters, managers should keep in mind a very important concept brought about by two of the most renowned figures in modern business. W. Edwards Deming, the quality control expert and founder of the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement, famously wrote that “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” And Peter Drucker, author of 39 books on the subject and arguably the most famous figure in modern business management, reportedly said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Both quotes express the same idea, which is the concept that measurement is essential in order to effectively manage and/or improve the performance of people. Sounds like a pretty basic concept, doesn’t it? Yet still, countless managers and supervisors throughout this country and around the globe turn to other much less effective ways to try to control the activities of their remote workers – such as CCTV, spyware and Internet blocking software, for example.
But there is another much more effective and much less heavy-handed tool available to managers of remote workers. In fact, MySammy is designed not to monitor or control, but to measure the activities of telecommuters. Our balanced approach is one that has proven successful time after time: MySammy measures the productivity levels of remote workers, produces reports for management, and even allows the remote workers to measure their own performance over a period of time.
If you are now faced with the challenge of finding the most effective way to supervise your telecommuters, remember: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Contact us today to find out more about MySammy, the cloud-based software designed to measure productivity levels of remote workers.
