How do you check the productivity of remote employees?

I think a lot depends on the culture of the company. If employees have clear tasks and deadlines, they will work responsibly even without tracking. Of course, there are exceptions, but in general, a good specialist is interested in doing his job well. Control is good, but the main thing is that it should not create additional stress and distrust.

I faced just such a problem when our company switched to remote working. At first we thought that trust was the best control tool, but then we noticed that productivity dropped. It's important not just to rely on trust, but also to have a transparent mechanism for time tracking. We tried different tools, and the best solution for us turned out to be https://www.monitask.com/en/. This service allows you to track employee activity without strict control. It records working time, takes screenshots of the screen and analyzes what programs are being used. Everything is transparent - employees know that records are kept, but there is no feeling that they are constantly being watched. This motivates them to work more efficiently, because everyone can see their own statistics and understand where their time is being spent.