It’s important to regularly check in with your employees to ensure they’re not hitting any unnecessary roadblocks or inadvertently wasting time on a project, but observing them too often could be hindering their overall performance.
A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology takes the age-old idiom of “a watched pot never boils” and applies the concept to workplace productivity and other areas of life. Much like a pot of water seems slower to boil when consistently monitored, employees are slower to complete projects when observed too frequently.
Researchers dubbed this phenomenon the “monitoring frequency effect” and described how “progress is seen to slow to the extent it is monitored more frequently.” The monitoring frequency effect thrives on unconscious perception from both employees and managers.
Although a manager may have accurate, conscious perceptions of one employee completing work faster than another, they may be unaware that they’re monitoring the “less productive” employee more, causing that employee to perceive disapproval of their work and negatively impact overall performance.
Put simply, the study found that “frequent monitoring decreases perceptions of progress,” and the discrepancy only grows with increased monitoring.
Becoming aware of unintentional excessive monitoring is the first step to building a more productive environment for you and your employees. From there, you can explore a few different methods to ensure you’re there for your employees without impairing performance.
1. Find the optimal monitoring frequency for each employee
Every employee’s needs are different when it comes to touching base on current projects, and the best way to find out when an employee would like to check in regularly is to ask them.
Some employees may prefer weekly or biweekly check-ins, while others would rather touch base monthly or even quarterly. When onboarding a new employee, the frequency of check-ins will naturally be higher as the employee adjusts to the environment and workload.
Whether you’re working with a new hire or a long-standing employee, the initial check-in frequency that you set may not stay the same, and that’s OK.
2. Don’t be too rigid with the monitoring rules you set
Prepare to be flexible with the frequency of check-ins your employees need. Some employees may think they need more check-ins than they actually do, while others may underestimate how much monitoring they need.
Adaptability is one of the best values a leader can have, and your employees will inevitably be more comfortable with setting an initial check-in frequency if they know it can change in the future if need be.
3. Use task management software to collaborate effectively
One of the easiest ways to decrease monitoring while still ensuring your employees stay on top of their work is by utilizing task management software, like Asana, Monday or Trello. With task management systems like these, you can break down a huge project into bite-size checklist items, delegate those tasks to specific employees, assign due dates for each task and more.
These universal workspaces allow managers to keep track of which stage of a project an employee is at or how much they have on their plate at any given time, without needing to formally check in as often. On top of being able to track project progress and active workload, task management tools let you address employee concerns in real time, improve overall team communication and see how long a project took to complete, which can help with future planning and task delegation.
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