11 Ways to Track Remote Workers’ Productivity

5 Min Read

How do you use technology to measure remote workers’ productivity?

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Asana 

Leila LewisWe use the platform Asana to track employee productivity. We have a system of projects and tasks set up and, if needed, we can check in on any given day what tasks and projects have been completed, what is being worked on, upcoming to-dos and outstanding work to be done.

– Leila LewisBe Inspired PR 

2. Company Wiki 

Brian David CraneWe use a company wiki to document all of our ideas, processes and product specs. It’s great because it keeps everyone up-to-date on what needs to be done. You can tag team members on projects they are needed on and you can get email notifications of changes made in the wiki. This allows you to passively stay up-to-date on the team’s progress on the tasks at hand.

– Brian David CraneCallerSmart Inc. 

3. Compass 

Zach ObrontCompass is an incredible app for regular check-ins with remote team members and ensuring they are working toward their larger goals. It walks your team through a daily check-in that gives complete visibility into what they are working on and accomplishing and helps you keep them accountable.

– Zach Obront, Book in a Box

4. Dapulse 

Stanley MeytinThe Dapulse app allows everyone on the team to see what is happening and who is in charge of which projects, as well as the status of these projects. Once a task is assigned to an individual, a due date is set. This helps me track an employee’s productivity, especially remote team members, because I can track each stage they are working on in each of their projects without having to check in with them.

– Stanley MeytinTrue Film Production 

5. Due 

Drew HendricksI use Due’s time tracker software that tracks my own time and reports everyone else’s down to the minute, so I know how long is being spent on each project in order to see where improvements can be made.

– Drew Hendricks, Buttercup

6. JIRA 

Andrey KudievskiyBeing in a software development business, it’s mostly a given that you’re working with teammates spread across the globe. We measure velocity using JIRA and agile process by assigning points to different tasks. At the end of a two-week sprint, you can tell which engineers performed better or worse in a simple report. You can also see which agile team is more productive and which one needs some TLC.

– Andrey Kudievskiy, Distillery

7. Podio 

Evan VarsamisWe use a project management service called Podio. Everyone from our team has their own tasks on there every single day, so it’s pretty easy to monitor reports and the progress of the team. We also do weekly one-on-one calls to discuss issues, come up with new ideas and improve workflows.

– Evan VarsamisGadget Flow

8. Teamwork, Slack and Trello 

Nicole MunozWe use Teamwork to track our remote workers. They’re able to log their work hours and check off task completion. It’s a great tool for our project managers, as well, so they can keep a close eye on things. We also invite all new remote workers to our Slack channels. Trello is good for setting clear deadlines, project milestones and tracking.

– Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

9. Upwork’s Time Tracker 

Roger LeeUpwork has some great built-in features. You can even monitor what a remote worker’s screen looks like when they’re working on a project for you, so you can assess whether they’re spending too much or too little time on certain steps. The milestone setup also allows you to compensate based on delivered results, which aligns incentives and sets clear expectations upfront.

– Roger Lee, Captain401

10. Wrike and HubStaff 

Solomon ThimothyTools such as Wrike or Hubstaff are great for keeping track of time and productivity for remote employees. For example, Hubstaff tracks activity levels based on the user’s cursor movement and keyboard strokes. It even takes screenshots of their screen! With these tools, you’re able to get productivity reports on tasks and projects without having to spend a lot of time monitoring them yourself.

– Solomon ThimothyOneIMS 

11. Time Doctor 

Andrew SchrageTime Doctor is a great technology for tracking remote worker productivity. It’s simple and easy to use and is designed rather specifically for tracking remote workers.

– Andrew SchrageMoney Crashers Personal Finance 

Share This Article
Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.