A hybrid type of working is here to stay. Some estimate that almost 22% of the entire workforce will shift to remote working by 2025. Therefore, a comprehensive monitoring system is essential for your employee productivity. With people being out of the office we need to know how our employees spend their working hours.
When you install tracking software, you gain valuable insights into employee productivity but can also infringe on their privacy. This is a delicate balancing act that can sometimes trump the benefits of monitoring.
This is why we will explore some of the employee monitoring tools you can use, their benefits, and their cons.
Types of Employee Monitoring Tools
These are great at giving you insights and a ton of data but bad for employee morale and privacy. You can also face legal issues, primarily if your employees work from Europe. Here are some ranked from very intrusive to least intrusive.
Very Intrusive Employee Monitoring Tools:
Keystroke logging is one of the most controversial types of tracking software. This employee monitoring tool will record everything you type on your keyword during working hours. Keystroke logging is helpful if you want to know how much an employee has spent real time on your project and how much on something non-essential.
Live streaming of your employee's screen throughout the day. This means that you can monitor employees and user activity whenever you like. It feels like you are sitting in front of the monitor yourself. Some software even allows you screen recording to quickly review employee time spent.
Take screenshots when the employee monitoring software takes a screenshot every few minutes or by another metric. Great if you fear an insider threat to your remote workforce.
Monitoring systems record your employees during work hours with a webcam and a mic. This employee monitoring solution usually contributes to safety and culls inappropriate behavior.
Least Intrusive Employee Monitoring Tools:
Install a website blocker and have a list of sites your employees can't spend time on. Limit websites like Facebook, Netflix, Reddit, or HBOMAX when your employees work.
Gps tracking software is essential when your workers regularly go out in the field or work on a construction site. Time attendance tracking via QR code or geo-location will quickly determine the status and location of your employee. This type of workplace monitoring is done using mobile apps with a location feature and tracks automatic time and place. Every smartphone has this feature today.
Essential tools like biometric terminals for high-security installations. Thee can be voice recognition, iris scanning, or fingerprint scanning—a valuable employee monitoring tool, especially when many employees walk in and out of your company building. You can also build these in sensitive mobile apps your employees are using.
Top 3 HR Software With Employee Monitoring Tools
Youbelee
Probably the best HR tool with GPS tracking software. Youbelee is a fantastic employee monitor tool because even if the geo-location software fails, you can always use QR codes on the location for login. Since everyone has a smartphone with a camera and GPS, so everyone can use it. Employee tracking is easy when you have the software to back it up.
Every employee must have a certain amount of working hours for a specific period. With Youbelee's automatic tracking, they are all calculated and tracked. All the check-ins and check-outs during that particular period are displayed so there can be no mistake in the final count. This is essential for workers who charge by the hour, consultants, and freelancers.
Employees work hard throughout the day, and all their hard work can be recorded and saved in a cloud which helps in data loss prevention. Productivity tracking is done in a simple and intuitive UX, with automatic time tracking and time spent on the job.
Teramind
With a comprehensive tracking set, you can capture any user activity. For example, productivity tracking goes from screen recording and looking at employee webcams to tracking their emails.
This comprehensive employee monitoring software will protect your company's sensitive information. This software can also take screenshots and save them for any later need. The biggest con is that it is complicated to use, and its UX is messy.
Veriato Cerebral
An advanced AI system will collect all data and also process it. It uses advanced algorithms and behavior analytics to measure and analyze employee engagement. Veriato Cerebral is also impressive at threat detection, powered by employee tracking. All the data it collects will help your company stave off any insider threats.
The cons are its price. This software can get expensive despite its great features if you have a big team. When you monitor massive amounts of in-office or remote workforce, you will generate incredible data that can take up a lot of space. And lastly, you need an army of engineers to install it remotely and covertly.
In conclusion
There are many types of employee performance tools out there, and using tracking software can get a little tricky. It would help if you struck a delicate balance between tracking and outright distrusting your employees. Some types of employee monitoring are acceptable and can even serve a higher purpose, like tracking their hours and accurately rewarding their efforts.
You can't treat your employees like they represent an insider threat. When all your employee monitoring tools are highly intrusive, you fuel a lot of distrust toward the company, which can affect morale. This, in turn, will negatively affect your attrition rate and make your employees' work hours hell, making their decision to quit much more accessible.