However, it is to be remembered that activity is not equivalent to productivity and the multi-tasking strategy can backfire leading to reduced productivity at work, looming pay-cuts and fostering a sense of job insecurity.This has underscored the need for accurate and comprehensive mapping of employee productivity in line with business outcomes.
With managers being accustomed to seeing employees at workplaces and assessing them at frequent intervals if they are busy enough, work from home creates a sense of uneasiness among them regarding employee productivity.It is an opportune time to leverage Objectives and Key Results (OKR) philosophy to not only assess productivity but also as an empowering concept to build boundary-less, diverse and inclusive organizations.The COVID-19 pandemic has invariably given a fillip to outcome-oriented productivity to achieve business goals.Until now, some multinational firms have deployed HR tools such as timesheets and the number of workhours tools to measure employee performance.
However, this is only a quantifiable metric and it judges employees on basis of activity rather than an outcome.
COVID-19 has heralded a paradigm shift in the measurement of productivity from activity to an outcome-based approach.
With near-term strategy gaining prominence amid economic uncertainty, the onus is on the HR function to spearhead this change.The HR function will play a prominent role in revamping the system of employee productivity, deploying the right technology mix and instituting rewards and incentives in line with employee contribution to the organization.
For organizations, it implies that annual performance reviews are being relegated to weekly goals and performance to minimize risks and uncertainties in the near future.