Does Employee Monitoring Boost Productivity or Kill Privacy?

Why Do Employers Monitor Their Employees?

Nowadays, more and more business leaders use different types of employee surveillance and monitoring to check their team member’s activity when they are on the clock. The survey shows that about 80% of the biggest companies track their employees’ emails, phone calls, and their logs of keystrokes. The main reason for such a decision is the desire to protect their business and to increase the productivity of their employees that becomes crucial in the time of crisis. 

The most widespread issue in the workplace is the improper use of working hours. The latest researches show the following employees’ statistic:

• 64% use 15 minutes to one hour for personal business;
• 46% read news and personal mail every day;
• 33% use different messengers to decide personal questions every day;
• 26% check social media at work.

Add here the employees with regular late comings or early leaves, and you get a great deal of working time spent in vain. And what about frauds who may appear in every company? All these often lead to serious company losses and even to business collapse.

Types of Employee Monitoring

To prevent the misuse of the working time and to increase safety, business leaders use different types and techniques of employee monitoring. The most popular among them are the following:

1. Computer Screen Monitoring Software. It is usually a software that helps to track the activity employees perform on their computers. It shows the apps they use, the speed and accuracy of information entered, the time spent away from the computer, the traffic that comes and goes on the company network, and other related information.
2. Video Surveillance. This type of monitoring helps to track employees’ behavior. The cameras installed in noticeable areas as well as secret cameras are intended to prevent pilferage and harassment.
3. Undercover Investigators and Operatives. Some companies practice hiring employees whose main task is to monitor the activities of other employees. 
4. Eavesdropping and Wiretapping. This method is often used to monitor conversations with customers to ensure better service and prevent giving critical company information to outsiders. 
5. Location Tracking. It is typically performed by the system of special electronic locks installed on every door in the company. Each employer has a personal card that allows checking when and where your employees have been during their shift. 

The company owners may use one of these systems or combine several of them for better results.

Pros and Cons of Employee Monitoring

The very idea of employee monitoring has many serious advantages for both the employers and their teams:

• It helps to track the time spent on every task;
• It highlights whether employees need more or less time than expected for every specific task;
• The monitoring process can help to check whether the employees follow safe practices;
• It uncovers harassments and other similar issues that make work in the company uncomfortable;
• It helps to monitor and record employees’ interactions with customers. It is useful not only for the business owners due to possibility to evaluate the workers’ performance properly but also for the workers themselves as it gives them the opportunity to check what was wrong and to improve the quality of service;
• It shows whether the workload needs to be redistributed or rebuilt.

It looks like employee-monitoring practice is welcomed by everyone. However, if used improperly, it has numerous drawbacks that may have a considerable negative effect on the work of the whole company. The most important are as follows:

• Privacy Concerns. The employees may feel that the monitoring tools put their privacy at risk;
• Breakup of Trust. Some employees may regard the monitoring tools as a sign of distrust. That may create a toxic working environment and lead to employee turnover;
• Data Misuse. The immense amount of the gathered personal information may result in its misuse;
• Legal Issues. Every employer must ensure that the chosen type of surveillance and the subsequent use of the gathered information do not break any country or local laws.

That is why business owners should be very careful when choosing the tools for employee monitoring. Moreover, it is crucial to present the implementation of the system properly. The workers should understand all the benefits of it both for themselves and the company and do not regard it as the spying and the sign of distrust.

Employee Monitoring Software

Employee monitoring software is among the most useful tools that help to perform a delicate check of staff performance. It allows time tracking and controlling of the employees’ activity without making them feel like Big Brother is constantly watching you. The software market offers a vast choice of employee-monitoring programs. Among the most popular are ActivTrak, Teramind, SentryPC, Veriato 360, Work Examiner, Kickidler and others. The extensive choice allows every business leader to find the best decision for the specific company.

Kickidler is an employee monitoring software that allows performing a real-time check of the workers’ activity. It shows what each member of the team is doing at the moment, records the information about the visited websites, and used apps. It also gives the possibility to set the generation of immediate alarm if any of the employees make certain violations.  

Among the indisputable advantages of the software is an intuitive interface that facilitates work and understanding of basic processes. Kickidler offers easy and handy remote employee monitoring of an unlimited number of computers. It also gives the possibility of remote PC access. The software allows making individual settings for each employee of the company depending on the duties performed. It analyses the staff activity and productivity, creates reports, and sends them to the e-mail. Besides, it has a lot more functions that allow not control the personnel effectively and to save the team leader a lot of time.

Read also: Legal Aspects of Using Employee Monitoring Software

Kickidler Employee Monitoring Software

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