Christina Rasieleski

We first have to define productivity - I assume this article means the team is not meeting their goals. So before we set expectations about norms such as availability, etc there should be crystal clear communication about what success looks like each quarter. 1. What are each employees' goals? 2. What does success look like for these goals? 3. What do status reports look like (i.e. do the manager and employee meet on a weekly basis to check-in? Does the manager just want a weekly summary of here is what I accomplished this week, here are my priorities for next week? here is where I need help?) This will help empower employees to be most productive in a remote environment.

One thing to consider is do employees have time/space to innovate as well. As we start to analyze organizational data around how employees are spending their time, many of my clients are finding a) employees are in way too many meetings and b) they are short-staffed. Some organizations make time for innovation via events such as hack-a-thons. I also remember a case study on Patagonia's performance management approach where they set a stretch OKR every quarter on anything they want. They are not rated on that goal. The role of the manager is to simply coach the employee and help them achieve the best outcome they can. Now that's innovative!

One impactful way to empower voices is to begin with frequent conversations between managers and teams around results of surveys. Rather than the organization or manager approaching employees with a list of how they are going to fix an engagement issue, come together with a collaborative discussion. It might sound like this: - Here is what I learned from the survey - does that sound right? - Here are a few, small things I think we can do in the next 30 days to improve this area. What do you think? What would you add? - Let's pick 1 thing to try and check back in 30 days. These conversations can empower teams to be more engaged and productive.

Here are a few suggestions: - “Atomic Habits” is a great book! The manager could suggest the team read it (or even just an overview and have a discussion on a new habit each of them are going to try. - Ask 1 team member to share a “productivity hack” to start each team meeting. - Wellness related, do a round robin to share ideas that help each member be/feel more productive ex…drinking more water, taking a walk to clear my mind in the middle of the day etc. Little steps at sharing and allowing employees to be experts too can go along way.

In my experience as a vendor, I would much rather hear from my client directly, even if they are angry or mad, rather than not say anything at all. I would also like to hear feedback directly from my client rather than have them go to my manager or someone else. Give me the chance to change whatever it is that is not meeting your expectations. This helps to build rapport, trust, and allows me to ask questions as needed.

At Glint, we've found that managers having conversations with their employees and collaboratively identifying 1 thing to focus on in the short term is the most impactful way to take "one step forward." What I love about this approach is that managers don't have to come to this conversation with all the answers. And employees are able to more effectively contribute in a way that lets them feel heard. Team based conversations and identification of 1 action item also helps get to action quickly and avoid analysis paralysis.