The COVID-19 crisis is affecting not only the way many businesses operate, but also in assessing work productivity. How can you tell whether you’re getting enough done when so much has changed? There’s no easy, one-size-fits-all answer, but owners should ask the question so you can adjust expectations and business objectives accordingly.

Impact of Remote Work

Heading into the crisis, concerns about productivity were certainly on the minds of many in leadership positions. In March, research firm Gartner conducted a snap poll that found 76% of HR leaders reported their organizations’ managers were concerned about,

“productivity or engagement of their teams when remote.”

Many of these fears may well have been alleviated after a month or two. News provider USA Today collaborated with researchers YouGov and social media platform LinkedIn to conduct a poll in April that found 54% of respondents (professionals ages 18-74) said that working remotely has positively affected their productivity. They cited factors such as time saved by not having to commute and fewer distractions from co-workers.

The bottom line is that allowing or requiring employees to work remotely shouldn’t drastically alter your expectations of their productivity. Every employee must continue to fulfill his or her job duties and meet annual sales performance management objectives (as perhaps adjusted in light of the pandemic and altered economy).

However, it’s unrealistic to expect anyone to accomplish markedly more just because he or she is no longer subject to a long commute and regular office hours. In fact, when assessing work productivity, business owners should bear in mind the dual challenge. The challenge that is between a work-life balance while working remotely (childcare obligations, etc.) and the mental health component of living through a pandemic.

Solid Metrics

Remote work might not be a major concern for your company. Either because your employees were already doing it, are adapting to it readily, or simply cannot work from home. Whichever the reason, here are some proven effective ways to evaluate productivity. Metrics can be useful.

For example, one broad measurement of productivity is revenue per employee. To calculate it, you’ll need to check your financial statements to see how much revenue your business brought in during a defined period. Then, you divide that dollar figure by your total number of employees. The idea is that every worker should generally bring in enough revenue to rationalize his or her paycheck.

It’s not a “be all, end all” metric by any means. However, revenue per employee can help accurately shape your understanding of productivity and cash flow. And, as mentioned, you’ll need to think about how this year’s economic conditions have altered your productivity needs and what employees can reasonably accomplish.

Careful Calibration

When the subject of productivity arises, many business owners’ immediate answer is “more, more, more”! Carefully determine your expectations and goals, however, can lead to more sustainable results. Our accounting firm can help you choose and calculate the right metrics and set realistic productivity objectives.