Evaluate Remote Workers Fairly

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We tend to trust what we can see, which makes it difficult to evaluate employees who don’t spend time in the office. Here are three ways to make sure you’re being fair in your assessment of remote workers:

  • Don’t focus solely on results. Virtual managers are often tempted to look at outcomes because employee behavior is not as visible. But that’s just asking for trouble: Remote workers could easily be tempted to cut corners.
  • Engage them. Ask telecommuters to suggest performance metrics that assess both their results and behavior.
  • Compare apples to apples. Use the same standards for all employees doing the same job to minimize any favoritism toward those who have greater face time with you. Don’t inadvertently slight telecommuters for raises or promotions because they’re “out of sight, out of mind.”

Adapted from “Evaluating the Employees You Can’t See” by Keith Ferrazzi.

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