Employee monitoring has become the need of the hour. It is present in almost every organization now, no matter how big or small it is. Almost all companies are considering installing the monitoring solution in the workplace, especially on the employees’ devices so they can monitor their work activity during office hours.
Before deploying employee monitoring software in the workplace, the employer should know everything about employee monitoring policies and workplace privacy. Employees should be informed about employee monitoring tools because they are installed on their devices. That way they won’t feel their privacy is being invaded.
If the employers have handed over company-owned devices to their employees, they can install employee monitoring software on them. For instance, if an employee is using an Android phone, Android spy software can be installed on it to keep track of their activity.
Recently, a survey by the American Management Association reported that employers monitor their employees in the following ways:
- 45% of employers use keylogging software to track keystrokes and the time spent by employees at the keyboard.
- 43% of employers record and keep a track of computer files
- 12% of employers monitor the blogosphere to see what is being written about the company on the internet
- 10% of employers monitorthe social media activities of their employees
Ways to Monitor Employees in the Workplace
Thanks to advanced technology, employers can now use different types of employee monitoring in the workplace. With new technology, the employee monitoring systems seem to get better. Gone are the days when employers used to install CCTV cameras only to keep a watch on their employees during work.
Now, employee surveillance has advanced. With the help of modern and versatile employee monitoring solutions, employers can collect different forms of data related to their employees. Below, we have discussed a few types of employee monitoring solutions that are being used in the workplace.
Email Monitoring
The best way to find out what your employees have been up to is to track their emails. Employers can consider using email monitoring software to monitor incoming and outgoing emails. The monitoring software can help allocate bandwidth and identify if there are any issues with the company’s email server.
With employee monitoring software, employers can find out details such as the name of the recipient, the subject line of the email, the content, the attachments in the email (if any), as well as the date and time of the email sent or received. However, employers should keep in mind that they should only monitor the work emails. Monitoring personal emails would cause privacy invasion which can offend your employees.
Network Monitoring
Networking monitoring can be used by employers to monitor internet traffic that comes and goes out of the company’s network server. Employers can enable networking monitoring through internet routers and firewalls that can hear the traffic and point out if there are any irregularities in it.
With networking monitoring, employers can stop malware from infecting the company’s electronic devices. It prevents employees from browsing inappropriate content on the web, tracks an employee’s internet activities, and points out problems in the network.
Computer/Cellphone Monitoring
Employee monitoring software can be used to monitor an employee’s computer, cellphone, and internet usage. Employers can find out what their employees have been doing on their devices and how they are using them. By using employee monitoring tools, employers can record their keystrokes, web browsing history, emails, social media activity, etc. Android spy tools can also be considered for monitoring your employee’s activity on their cellphones.
Employers can also track what project a particular employee has worked and how many hours he/she has spent on that project. By doing this, an employer can evaluate their work performance, and then they can decide whether they need to offer them an increment, bonus, rewards, etc.
GPS Tracking
Employers can also use GPS tracking or location tracking apps to find more information on their employees. If your employee has to often step outside for work, you can install a GPS tracking app on their vehicle and see where they go.
Employers can track the whereabouts of their employees and find out if they are on the same location or spot where they were supposed to go for work. These tracking apps can also be installed on the employees’ cellphones and monitor their every move.
When it comes to employee monitoring, employers should design clear workplace monitoring policies and should implement them in the right way. No personal emails or work should be monitored during off-hours. Because when employers monitor their personal work, they can invade their privacy.
Most employees do not like the idea of being monitored because they think employers are invading their privacy. Thus, they can lose trust in employers and consider moving to some other company. To ensure your employees do not feel offended, you need to take them in confidence and inform them about monitoring tools and how you will collect their data during office hours.
Employee monitoring does increase employee productivity and enhance employee engagement. However, if it’s not done right, it can cause severe problems between the employer/employee relationship. Therefore, make sure you monitor your employees the right way.
