measuring productivity

One of the most talked about arguments against the concept of remote work recently is the inability of managers to measure the productivity of their team. This is usually cited by managers who are not skilled in measuring productivity. This is also cited in various surveys and studies where employees say they feel that they are more productive when working remotely, and managers of these employees say that they feel their employees are less productive when working remotely. In these studies, it’s never cited if or how work is measured in any way from either side, but measuring productivity isn’t a gut feeling. If you’re a manager of a team and you want to know how to make sure your team is getting work done – whether working remotely or in person – What can you start doing today to measure productivity?

If you are a manager of other people you need to be able to monitor and measure the work your team completes. During a workday, you and your team are tasked with completing project activities, and you need to make sure that the team is productive with the time spent to complete those project activities. Productivity does not mean the number of hours worked. Instead, productivity is the work that is produced within those hours. As more people work for you, and work tasks become more complex, this skill becomes more important.

Measuring productivity is closely related to the skill of delegating, and these two skills support each other. Once work is effectively delegated and assigned, it needs to be measured to ensure it is completed on time and according to quality levels. Both of these skills are bolstered by effective coaching.  

Your workplace may already measure work output and productivity; helpdesk tickets or sales numbers are some examples of metrics that already exist to measure work productivity and are inherent to the industry they serve. However, a lot of roles across various industries don’t have defined metrics to measure work, and managers are left to create those metrics without inventing busy work for employees.

If you work in an industry where there aren’t clear metrics for measuring work output, here are three things you can do to measure and monitor productivity for the people who work for you:

Manage the individual

Make sure you are managing the individual and the project they are working on. Everyone learns and works differently. Although you may have to establish uniformity and standards in some of your projects, be mindful that the individuals who work for you bring their own perspectives, skills, and way of working to your team. In other words, what works for one person to track and report on their work, may not work for another person. This may simply be because of the work they are doing, but it may also be because of their style of working.

Consider the individuals on your team, their roles, their typical work output (developing code, writing documentation, facilitating communication), and their style of working (individual or group). You may have to coach and train individuals to use a new method of tracking their work, or you may have to adapt existing methods to their style of work. Get their input before implementing any new processes!

Set clear goals

When measuring productivity, you need to define what is being measured and how it is being measured. Keep these two things in mind when establishing goals for your team:

• What is being measured? The easiest way to do this is to establish an artifact that can be produced by the work. Think of it as a deliverable: lines of code, meeting agendas and meeting minutes, action item log, risk tracker, knowledge artifacts. Make sure the deliverable is a natural part of the work that is being completed – don’t create busy work!
• How is it being measured? Determine how you will measure the completion of the artifact. Think of the timing and quality of the deliverable: Does this artifact need to be produced by a certain date, does it need to be maintained regularly, is it circulated to others, is it tested by others, etc.

For example: A very common area of work and support is around hosting and facilitating meetings. If someone is leading a lot of meetings, time spent in meetings is not a good indicator of productivity. What can be? Meeting agendas, meeting minutes and action trackers are natural deliverables for hosting meetings. They are also useful for meeting attendees!

Check in on progress

Checking in on work progress is where the active measuring part of measuring productivity comes in. You have defined the artifact or deliverable that is being produced, you have defined how it is to be measured. Now you need to determine the plan to check-in on the progress and quality of the deliverable.

Schedule check-points to review the deliverable and offer feedback. Provide feedback in the moment and ask to see changes by the next check point. If there is a single due date for the deliverable, create a mid-way check-point to see the progress before the final due date. If it is a repeatable task or activity that is producing a regular deliverable, provide regular feedback that is incorporated by the next round for the deliverable. This will ensure the work is being completed, milestones are being met, and quality is delivered. This is the core of measuring productivity.

For example: If today is Monday and a deliverable is due on Friday, set a check-point milestone for Wednesday for the deliverable to be done to a certain point, such as 75% completed. On Wednesday, the deliverable will be reviewed and input will be provided. This will allow a couple of days to make revisions before the final deliverable is due.

When you are able to effectively manage and measure productivity for your team, you will have a better understanding of how your team is spending their time and the support your team needs to get their work done. The entire team will be more successful and more efficient.