“If you don’t show up, we’ll assume you have resigned.”
That’s the terse return-to-work-or-else message Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent to employees last week. The leaked emails announced the company’s return-to-work policy for all employees.
Thousands of workers transitioned to remote offices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some companies are now saying it’s time to return to work.
Musk said he will directly review and approve any requests to continue remote work, but made it clear that employees are to return to work or they’ll be let go.
Employee Accountability
These emails highlight the conflict between employers who want accountability and employees who aren’t excited to return to the office. This conflict is a symptom of a bigger problem – how to measure employee performance. Musk concluded that remote workers are less productive, implying that they “pretend” to work.
“Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in,” Musk wrote to employees.
Lots of employers are nodding their heads yes. How hard are employees actually working when they’re at home? Are they slacking off, because they’re unsupervised? Are they taking out the dog or changing the laundry on the boss’ dime?
15dots has two solutions to employers’ quandary:
1. A rock-solid employee selection process
2. A laser-like assessment of employee performance
Employee Selection
The 15dots candidate selection strategies seek highly able, highly motivated candidates to fill open positions. Here’s how the 15dots® Selection Process works in a nutshell.
Candidates for a job are tested using a battery of ability tests that are scored on a 9-point basis.
A panel of interviewers measure motivation by using a 9-point scale to rate job candidates on 10 interview dimensions. The candidates who exhibit a history of high ability and high motivation score a 7, 8, or 9.
Subsequently, HR managers hire these top candidates, since they’re more likely to be productive than 5s or 6s. These highly able, highly motivated candidates have the potential to work effectively either in-person or remotely.
Employee selection is the first part of the puzzle. Once workers are on the job, employee performance is the second.
Employee Performance Assessment
To erase any doubts about work-at-home effectiveness, employers need a reliable, objective, and straightforward way to evaluate employee performance. The process for creating an organization-wide performance snapshot is known as 15dots’ Suite Spots™.
With Suite Spots, employers base performance evaluations on behaviorally anchored indicators.
Commonly used performance indicators:
* Observing/interpreting what is sensed
* Problem solving
* Communication
* Coordinating tasks with others
* “Stick-to-it -ness” when doing repetitive activity
To test various work situations, HR leaders can split the Suite Spots results into remote, in-person, and hybrid employees and compare all three.
I don’t think they’ll find any significant differences between working at home versus working in the office - if they have rigorous selection procedures in place like I mentioned.
Employee Productivity Remote or On-Site
Selection procedures greatly impact employee productivity, whether you’re hiring for remote work or on-site jobs. If you really want to find out differences in performance between the two, Suite Spots will tell you.
It’s the tool that companies like Tesla need in order to assess employee performance. Equipped with the data, businesses can make unbiased decisions regarding what’s best for the organization and its workers.
Have questions about candidate searching and employee performance? Contact 15dots today.