The Secret to Setting Clear Expectations and Goals for Remote Employees: Boost Productivity and Engagement

Managing a remote team can feel like putting several fires at once. As beneficial as remote work may be for employees keeping everyone in sync can be challenging, especially when your team members don’t know what you expect.

You're not alone if you’ve ever wondered how to keep remote employees motivated and productive. To create tight-knit, highly productive, and engaged teams, start setting clear expectations and achievable goals, fostering autonomy while focusing on accountability.

Setting clear goals is one of the cornerstones of successful and productive remote team management. Here you’ll find effective ways to set clear expectations and achievable goals ensuring that your employees are on track with their tasks and in sync with their colleagues.

1. Clarify Product Outcomes and Expectations Early On

Unclear goals and expectations are significant roadblocks to remote employee productivity and motivation.  When faced with clear, achievable goals and reasonable deadlines, your remote workers will be more motivated and engaged in their work, ensuring project success. 

● Clearly define what success looks like for each task or project. If your team doesn’t know the end goal, they may spend unnecessary time guessing instead of executing.

● Provide context around the importance of each task. When employees understand why their work matters, they’re more motivated to deliver quality results.

2. Focus on Results, Not Just Hours

Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits that remote workers crave. However, allowing increased flexibility is challenging, especially for managers prone to excessive control and micromanagement. 

Micromanagement is harmful to your culture and employee engagement. Your employees may feel frustrated and not trusted when you hover over their heads. Instead of obsessing over the time your employees spend on tasks, concentrate on the outcomes they deliver.

● Abandon micromanagement and rely on employee monitoring to gain real-time, in-depth insights into employees' activities at work, focusing on their time management, productivity fluctuations, and web and app usage. In this way, you’ll get a clear picture of employees’ performance without shattering their focus and disturbing their workflow.

● Set boundaries on work hours to prevent burnout. Let your team know when they should be reachable but also encourage downtime to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

● Respect time zones and work preferences, but ensure there’s enough overlap for real-time communication when necessary.

3. Create Individual Targets for Team Members

Setting goals for the entire team is important, but if you want to stay competitive in the job market and attract top talent globally, focus on individual professional growth. Setting clear individual goals is the first step in this direction. 

When your employees know what you expect from them and understand their role in achieving crucial company goals, you’ll motivate them to go above and beyond to reach their targets.

● Break down big projects into smaller achievable tasks with reasonable deadlines.

● Tailor goals to each employee’s strengths and development areas. This shows that you’re paying attention to their unique contributions and helping them grow.

4. Co-Create Expectations with Your Team

While you may have a vision for what needs to be done, it’s crucial to involve your team in setting expectations. Co-creating these standards fosters a sense of ownership and empowers your team members to take initiative.

● Invite feedback and suggestions when setting project goals.

● Ask for their input on how to best achieve objectives. This leads to more realistic deadlines and smoother project execution.

This collaborative approach is especially important in remote teams, where employees may feel isolated or disconnected. Including them in decision-making processes helps maintain their sense of belonging and commitment to the team's success.

5. Ensure Communication is Clear and Intentional

Clear and seamless communication is the key to your remote team's success.  The lack of clear communication will lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations that may ruin critical projects and overall team effort and performance.

● Set guidelines for communication- whether that’s related to preferred channels for updates on critical tasks and projects, or channels set for socializing and creating meaningful interpersonal relationships.

● Make a difference between written and direct communication. What might seem clear to your employees in person can easily be misinterpreted in an email or chat. Encourage your team to ask questions if anything is unclear, and express their honest opinions and suggestions.

Regular check-ins, both formal and casual, are also a great way to keep communication flowing smoothly. Remember, over-communication is better than under-communication when working remotely.

6. Keep Your Remote Team Engaged

When your remote teams are happy and healthy, they are motivated and engaged in their work. To keep them highly engaged, you need to be aware of specific threats to employee well-being and productivity. 

Remote workers can easily feel isolated from the rest of the team and left out of critical decision-making. Most also lack in-person communication and collaboration and the so-called water cooler atmosphere typical for office-based work. All of these factors may lead to the complete detachment of your remote team from the company culture, ruining overall productivity and affecting business success and brand image.

You need to go above and beyond to fix these issues and make your remote work more involved, making them feel heard and appreciated. Here are several effective steps you can take to achieve this

● Create virtual team-building events.  Virtual coffee breaks or team-building activities can go a long way in creating meaningful interpersonal relationships and strengthening a sense of belonging.

● Celebrate successes and milestones. Remote employees may often feel that their work goes unnoticed. You should recognize their achievements and celebrate important milestones. When your employees feel appreciated, they’ll be more motivated and engaged.

● Remind your employees regularly how their performance contributes to the company’s critical projects and goals. Feeling like they’re part of something bigger will keep them engaged and committed, even from a distance.

Final Words

Setting clear expectations and goals for remote employees isn’t just about telling people what to do. It’s crucial for building trust and streamlining communication and collaboration. By focusing on results rather than micromanaging, involving your remote workers in setting goals, and fostering open communication, you can create a remote work environment where employees feel empowered and engaged.

Tools for employee monitoring can help track productivity and ensure that goals are met, but they should be used thoughtfully to enhance—not stifle—autonomy. With the right balance, you can set your remote team up for long-term success.