Concern over COVID-19 has disrupted the workplace and changed how people communicate and stay connected with more employees working remotely.
True, most pallet shops and sawmills still require a lot of physical presence by employees and management alike. But there are still some employees who may be working remotely or at least are more socially distanced from others in the plant. Companies tend to hold fewer in-person meetings and the actual interactions may be harder. So, how do you stay connected when everyone wants to maintain distance to reduce possible contagion?
Let’s explore some of the questions and challenges caused by the new COVID-19 work challenges, especially remote operations for some employees. For starters, it can be a challenge when you have some employees who can work remotely and others cannot due to the nature of their work. This can lead to hurt feelings and a sense that those who aren’t “in the plant” are dragging down the team.
This dilemma raises the question, “How do you measure and determine if workers are being truly productive?” The reality is that presence does not equal engagement. But without data or signals to show productivity, distance can lead to a lack of transparency. Each company has to determine overall goals and ways of measuring movement toward those objectives. What is the measure of success? There are a lot of methods out there to measure performance. The following are some key performance indicators (KPIs) to watch. There are four key areas to consider – Financial, Customer, Process and People.
Some key financial metrics are profit, cost of goods sold, cash flow from financing activities, sales by sector/region, expected lifetime profit from a customer and collection rate. Customer-service-related KPIs include: customer acquisition cost, customer churn rate, net promoter score, average response time and customer-satisfaction-survey results. Process metrics seek to improve the overall production efficiency. Good ways to measure this include: the percentage of defects per day, hourly production, machinery downtime, on-time delivery efficiency or analysis of rejected orders.
People metrics take a close look at your workforce and recruitment success. For example, you might analyze your employee turnover rate, employee advancement track success or your percentage of response to open positions. Another method to gauge worker attitudes is through an employee engagement survey.
KPIs also help combat caustic feelings with constructive facts that identify ways we can all improve. Sharing project wins is a great way to create positive vibes and highlight the success of both those working in the plant and those who are working remotely. Many companies are holding virtual meetings using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to create camaraderie that is lost when people aren’t working in the office. Consider inviting team members to join virtual meetings that aren’t specifically in their area of responsibility. This can help workers learn more about other parts of the company and better see the big picture.
Honestly, remote work can only be healthy when it’s built on a mutual foundation of trust and respect between team members and leaders. In the absence of information, teams should have a common set of core values and a well communicated mission / vision to pull from to help them make key and educated decisions. Remote teams can’t be micromanaged; it’s truly not possible, and they must be equipped by leaders to be in a position to operate even in the absence of information. They will only assume the worst if there isn’t a mutual foundation of trust and respect.
