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In this article, you’ll learn about the main challenges of remote employee monitoring along with practical solutions to overcome them.
With all the benefits remote work offers both employees and employers, it also comes with its own unique set of challenges – especially when it comes to monitoring employees who work remotely.
As more people transition to working from home, the challenges of remote work that can impact employee productivity, wellbeing, and overall job satisfaction become exposed. Some of the daily challenges remote workers face include communication breakdowns, difficulties in maintaining team cohesion, technological hurdles, and blurred work-life boundaries.
That’s why it’s more important now than ever for managers to find effective ways to track remote employees’ time and productivity – this way, it’s easier to ensure that everyone on the team is delivering high-quality work, meeting deadlines, and contributing to the success of the company.
Effective employee remote monitoring involves adapting to the needs of your team, finding ways to stay connected with them, and implementing the right employee monitoring software to ensure employee productivity and accountability.
In today’s article, we will walk you through the main challenges of monitoring nomad workers and offer practical strategies to help managers deal with these hurdles and ensure remote workforce productivity.
What Is a Digital Nomad?
The first question on the mind of anyone who has stumbled upon this article naturally would be a digital nomad definition.
A digital nomad is a professional who leverages technology to carry out their job remotely while traveling to various locations.
In the MBO Partners 2023 Digital Nomads report it was estimated that the number of digital nomads worldwide was approximately 35 million people, with more than 17.3 million American workers describing themselves as digital nomads.
This could be explained by a combination of factors, from higher salary expectations and freedom to better flexibility and the ability to work from anywhere in the world.
Surprisingly enough, a Global Workplace Analytics analysis believed remote workers to be 35-40% more productive than their fellow office workers.
At the same time, Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index Special Report showed that not all business owners were happy with remote work productivity, with 85% of business leaders finding it challenging to trust hybrid employees to be productive.
So what is the truth after all? Are employees who WFH more productive than in-office specialists? And if so, what are the main challenges of remote jobs monitoring, and how can they be resolved?
10 Common Challenges of Remote Jobs Monitoring
Real remote jobs, while offering certain lucrative benefits, such as better flexibility, present challenges to productivity and organization. The absence of a traditional office structure that comes with the remote setting can lead to distractions, poor time management, and a lack of self-organization. For managers to overcome these remote work challenges, they require proven strategies to maintain employee efficiency and work processes structure.
Below are 10 of the most common challenges that come with remote employee tracking, as well as actionable steps to overcome these hurdles.
Challenge 1. Employee Anxiety over Surveillance or Micromanaging
Time tracking can be extremely monotonous as well as unreliable, especially when it’s done manually. At the same time, the decision to automate this task often requires giving digital tools access to track what employees are doing on their work devices at all times. This access is used by the software to distinguish between productive, unproductive and idle time at work by monitoring applications used and websites visited by the employee, as well as signs of their physical presence, such as mouse movements and keystrokes.
This can be met with significant resistance by the employees, especially those who work remotely, since they use a single device for both work and personal purposes, and the tracking software can therefore feel invasive.
If the monitoring isn’t done carefully, employees feel micromanaged by their managers, which can result in them experiencing anxiety and burnout, and that inevitably leads to higher employee turnover in the organization.
Solution
A major contributing factor to employees feeling spied upon and micromanaged is lack of communication. Therefore, it’s critical for managers to maintain open lines of communication with employees so that they can express their opinions and share any concerns regarding data privacy.
Management also needs to cut workers some slack when it comes to productivity. After all, no one can be fully focused for hours at end. Moreover, the time an employee spends away from their computer shouldn’t be automatically regarded as unproductive – they may be taking a walk to weigh different option to solve a work-related problem or formulating a perfect solution over a cup of coffee in peace.
Open lines of communication help employees clarify what aspects of their work will be tracked and who will have access to check the data gathered by the monitoring tool. These communication channels can also be used to accentuate the importance of the monitoring in the first place. Employers need to be open about how time tracking software will help them structure more effective workflows and benefit everyone in the organization both directly and indirectly.
Challenge 2. Personal Distractions
Working from a remote location, such as home or even any place really, can introduce distractions that differ from an office environment. Employee can get distracted by family members, children or even pets. It’s also easy for workers to divert their attention to personal projects. Sure, certain distractions might not pose a problem and actually be beneficial to switch up the routine, and many employees can manage the intricate balance of personal and work time effectively. Still, distractions that arise from a WFH environment may be new to many employees who are only transitioning to a remote work environment, so it’s important for managers to address these potential productivity bottlenecks upfront.
Solution
Equip employees with tools to manage distractions, such as the invitation to incorporate mini breaks into the workday to handle personal issues or enjoy some down time. You might also want to agree on more flexible schedules for the employees who have family commitments. This way, workers will be able to get their work done at time periods that are more convenient for them.
It’s important not to punish the employees who can manage their time effectively through the introduction of rigid policies. By using best productivity tracking software, managers can see for certain which team members are struggling and provide them with more training or guidance to help them handle their workload better.
Challenge 3. Ensuring Productivity in Remote Work Environment
Ensuring employee productivity is a significant challenge of remote monitoring. Without the need to be physically present in the office, remote specialists have more autonomy and independence, which can unavoidably lead to a lack of productivity with missed deadlines, incomplete projects, and an overall decrease in efficiency.
This lack of productivity in remote employees can be attributed to a variety of factors, from distractions at home to technical difficulties or simply poor time management skills. A lack of clear communication with other team members, inadequate support from management, or even mental health troubles can also affect employee productivity.
Solution
It’s important to define clear short-term and long-term goals and prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. Establish clear expectations and goals for remote employees and ensure that they have the resources and support needed to meet them. Once remote specialists have clarity in their objectives, it will be easier for them to feel the sense of purpose and direction.
Another helpful advice would be to invest in one of the best remote work productivity monitoring tools to manage and streamline employee productivity and project management skills, centralize company information, and facilitate efficient collaboration among team members.
Challenge 4. Inaccurate Manual Time Tracking
Despite the availability of specialized time tracking software, many companies still choose to use outdated methods of tracking time such as pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets.
These methods of documenting employee workday activity are highly susceptible to human error and tend to be rather difficult for managers to verify in terms of their accuracy. For employees, manual time tracking can be tedious, time-consuming, and even disruptive to their daily workflows.
Solution
The easiest way to prevent the problem of inaccurate time tracking processes is to automate them with the help of specialized software. Detailed reports provided by time tracking apps are a huge asset for managers, especially when used in combination with other best practices to monitoring remote employees. Time tracking data provides managers with greater insights into how their teams work and gives them a strong foundation for making sound decisions in the future. Automatic time-tracking solutions allow businesses to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, while ensuring that the reports on employees’ worktime and productivity that managers receive are highly accurate and reliable.
Challenge 5. Maintaining Employee Engagement
It can be quite a challenge to establish a sense of teamwork and maintain high levels of employee engagement in virtual teams that consist of remote workforce. While it’s certainly easier to create a lively atmosphere in the office, with the sense of comradery and togetherness during breaks and team celebrations, a lack of face-to-face interactions can give rise to feelings of isolation and reclusiveness, negatively affecting team dynamics, employee motivation, and overall morale.
Solution
To improve employee engagement, managers should consider creating ample opportunities for feedback and recognition. To keep remote employees engaged and connected, a positive feedback and recognition culture should be fostered, which will help increase motivation and job satisfaction of remote employees.
Regular check-ins through one-to-one video meetings or surveys will allow for remote staff to share their thoughts and feedback on work with management. This way, when they see their input being appreciated, they will feel valued and included.
Remote employee recognition is also important. You could highlight individual achievement and celebrate team achievements or project progress and milestones in team meetings. This will also create a sense of community and boost remote employee motivation.
Challenge 6. Lack of Visibility into Employee Work
Another major challenge in monitoring remote teams is the lack of visibility into what the employees are doing. Managers might feel a bit out of the loop with their teams working out of office, which makes it harder to see who is busy and who actually needs support.
Solution
In addition to deploying dedicated remote work tracking software with a real-time monitoring feature, a great help would be an overall environment of open communication, where every employee feels free to express their opinions and thoughts. One example is a practice of quick daily video call meetings, during which every employee will have a chance to share what they’re working on and any challenges they might run into.
It’s a win-win, really, for both managers who will stay informed this way and team members who will feel more connected.
Challenge 7. Poor Remote Project Management
Essentially, project management means managing tasks and budgets during a defined period. Managers tend to feel significant pressure to ensure that all company projects are completed within certain timeframes and budgets.
And while most teams set goals early on, these goals are often static and not flexible enough to respond to the reality of the project realization. All of that can create an extremely stressful work environment and demotivate employees.
Solution
For managers to predict if their team will meet its goals with existing workflows and productivity levels, they need successful remote project management skills. Real-time data empowers teams to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of current working practices and change their strategies if needed.
Once remote employee management software is in place, it’s crucial for managers to view and analyze the data it gathers on a regular basis. It’s also important to streamline the communication around the workflow. For example, if a key feature or task of a project is running late, a project management tool can send notifications to the team and update deadlines automatically.
Challenge 8. Data Security Issues
Remote employees are even more challenging to manage due to their close relation to digital technology and, therefore, data security. Slow internet connection, outdated software, and system crashes are just some of the tech issues that can interrupt workflow of remote employees.
Security is another, even bigger issue. When your employees work remotely, risks of data breaches, phishing attacks, and unauthorized access to sensitive business information increase. Connecting from home networks and personal devices also makes the business more vulnerable.
Solution
Provide your remote employees with reliable and safe digital tools. Ensure they have easy IT support, without which it will be harder for them to troubleshoot arising tech issues. A clear cybersecurity policy also needs to be created, which will include guidelines for strong passwords, safe file sharing, and correct VPN usage in order to minimize risks.
Prepare your remote team with proper security training. Ensure they know how to identify data security red flags. After all, certain tech and security challenges can be managed and even avoided, but only if you have the right strategies to deal with them.
Challenge 9. Work-Life Imbalance
Blurred boundaries between professional and personal life can lead to employee burnout and significant drop in productivity.
Remote workers face challenges in setting boundaries between work and personal time, and this difficulty often leads to them working excessively. It can also make it harder for specialists who work from home to unwind after work hours.
Solution
It is crucial for managers to help remote workers create a clear distinction between work and leisure. This will help maintain a healthy balance between professional and personal life.
Employees should be able to create a designated workspace that will help them separate work from personal life. They should also work on improving their time management skills.
Managers could use remote workers monitoring software to encourage employees to adhere to a consistent work schedule, take breaks, and even help them set healthy boundaries with respect to their personal time.
Challenge 10. Communication Challenges
When working remotely, employees don’t have face-to-face interactions with their colleagues. This means that it’s easier for team members to miscommunicate and for things to get lost in translation, which could lead to missed project deadlines, feelings of frustration, and overall business inefficiency.
Maintaining good levels of collaboration is one of the biggest hurdles of managing remote employees. Managers must cope with difficulties such as miscommunication, delayed communication, different time zones or even cultural differences, all of which could hinder successful collaboration, thus creating challenges in managing remote teams.
Solution
Managers should ensure that employees have the tools required for easy remote communication and collaboration. Teleconferencing and video chat apps will be beneficial in helping remote workers understand the aims and objectives.
It’s also recommended to have regular meetings, where all employees will be able to share their thoughts on any arising issues, which will create conducive ambiance. Employees should be encouraged to have one-on-one meetings and talks with management about ongoing projects, where they will be able to communicate openly and frequently. These check-ins should be carried out on a regular basis for management to stay on track. Project status should be frequently reported for everyone on the team to stay on the same page. Virtual team meetings can be great help in avoiding any potential misunderstandings.
In Lieu of a Conclusion
Managing remote teams can be a real challenge, especially when it comes to tracking remote employee time and monitoring productivity. However, managers can easily overcome any of these challenges with the help of the right tools and strategies, thus maximizing remote team productivity and improving business efficiency as a whole.
Naturally, monitoring software should be customizable to what your organization needs to measure. If you decide on making your business run more efficiently by introducing employee monitoring software, the tool you choose will create bottom-line value.
One such tool is Kickidler, an innovative employee monitoring solution that offers a range of features designed specifically for remote teams.
Kickidler helps managers track remote employee time and productivity, monitor project progress, and make data-driven decisions based on real-time insights. Its customizable reporting and analytics interface makes it easy for managers to streamline remote employee tracking process and get the insights they need to manage remote teams effectively.
Even more, its self-monitoring interface, Autokick, enables maintenance of high productivity levels of remote employees through its automatic notifications on workplace violations and a custom interface for them to see their own productivity analytics.
Give Kickidler a try today and see your remote teams working more productively and efficiently toward organizational goals!
