What do you do if your remote team is lacking productivity and accountability?

More than goal setting, breaking them in to small chunks, I started to slightly change the practice. Focus and attention to the daily tasks. Understanding the low level work involved. Who has to do what, whether they understood why they are doing... what they are doing. This may sound like micromanagement. But I wont do this for long. I will handhold till the team understood, its better to have clarity on what has to be done than 30 mins of motivational speech.

I have found that teams are more engaged when they have the flexibility to set their own goals. Google's OKR model is a great example of this. Since its launch, many organizations have adopted this model with great success as it allows for adaptation to ever-changing circumstances. Another effective approach is the use of Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) to keep remote workers engaged. This approach gives workers the freedom to be creative and think outside the box.

If a remote team lacks productivity and accountability, first identify the root causes through open communication and feedback. Set clear expectations, goals, and deadlines to provide direction. Implement productivity tools and regular check-ins to monitor progress and provide support. Encourage autonomy and ownership of tasks while holding team members accountable for their responsibilities. Offer training or resources to address any skill gaps and foster a positive team culture focused on collaboration and achievement.

In my experience SMART goals are the current buzz word for setting clear goals. I would step back and re-set the expectations while providing context around the “Why” and “How”. Have a team discussion on what the team owns and the focus the team needs. Clear expectations and a discussion on what might keep everyone from meeting these is more important than SMART goals and more meaningful.

if a remote team lacks productivity and accountability: Communicate expectations clearly. Implement regular check-ins and progress updates. Use productivity tools for task management. Encourage open communication and feedback. Address issues promptly with coaching or training. Consider team-building activities to boost morale and collaboration.

Leading in a remote, digital-first environment poses unique challenges for leaders. We not only need to set up frequent check-ins, such as the infamous 1:1s, but we also need to reach out in an intentional way. Building connections with team members is way more important than focusing solely on the goals and tasks of the week. While goals are undoubtedly important, your team will be more motivated and willing to work with you to achieve them if they have time to connect with you, even if it's just a little relaxed talk. Leave the updates on goals and tasks to the KaBan boards, Slack canvas, or Smartsheet tracking.

Regular check-ins is critical. I would also schedule one-on-one sessions, building connections and trust. Sometimes a dip in productivity is due to personal issues and supporting the team member. Also, understanding what is important for the team member helps greatly.

I would go for some agile approach. Daily stand-ups with effective tool for using weekly sprints, where everybody can see assigned work and status. Celebrate success and motivate team.

Each manager must know the 1-2 things a person does really well so they can be praised for it. Help them show this work to others so they are known and then get out of the way. I feel you go heavy on praise and eve tie it to how they can use that skill towards a project goal usually will turn things around.

The best manager I’ve had have been coaching me from where I am and allowed me to figure things out by paying for training and then asking me to implement it in a new or existing projects. We meet weekly for about 4 months and they pay for external training too because no manager has that time for every member. Encouraging learning without support or a place/project to try it yields the opposite effect because you are just adding more to their already unclear goals.

One innovative approach to boost remote team productivity is to implement a "virtual buddy system." Pair team members with different skill sets or areas of expertise to collaborate on projects and provide support. This not only fosters cross-functional learning but also encourages accountability and creativity. Additionally, consider organizing virtual "hackathons" where team members can work together intensively for a short period to solve specific challenges or innovate new ideas. This injects energy and a sense of purpose into remote work while promoting teamwork and rapid problem-solving.

As this is listed under vendor management a primary consideration is the contractual deliverables which are part of scope and the milestones of the work effort. Are the deliverables set too coarse or are they too granular? Too coarse and the identification of what is preventing success may come too late for corrective actions. Too granular and the remote team spends excessive amount of time preparing communications. To solve the problem you have to know what is not getting done and then why.

If it’s the entire team it’s usually a leadership problem either environment they set (does it match the company wide, or personality usually by a lack of prioritization). It’s hard for a manager to do this on their own. Hire someone like me (build high performing team) to come help this is what I do: 1. Look at their existing resources (people). Are they working in the most important goals. Or where they left on their own to figure out the goals (this happens usually by March when the company’s goals were talked about in jargon and not define or clear enough 2 Are there too many goals ? Please prioritize the top 1-2 goals. If you can’t then the team can’t either. 3. Are people in a good environment. Do they feel appreciated?