Employee monitoring software is one of the best ways to improve your company’s workflow if you choose the right tool. Choosing the wrong tool, on the other hand, can do more harm than good. Suppose the productivity monitoring software you choose does not meet your business and monitoring goals, is overloading your network and computers, and has invasive features. In that case, it can cause damage to your business instead of helping it. Because of this, it is very important to choose the best monitoring program that is right for you.
We are gradually approaching a New Year, and it is already pretty evident that teleworking will remain one of the significant trends in 2021. So it seems like the perfect time to recap some of the lessons we learned in 2020 and see how teleworking affects our productivity.
Survey data: are we doing well?
The best way to find out how a particular factor affects a business is to ask questions. After a quick search, we found dozens of survey-based studies, most of which paint a pretty rosy picture:
- 94% of companies surveyed by Mercer said their productivity has increased or stayed the same since they switched to teleworking;
- KPMG collected feedback from large US companies (with more than 1,000 employees), and 79% of employees saw improvements in the quality of their work and productivity;
- We found that remote working did not affect the decrease in overall employee productivity by more than 1%.
And the list goes on. At this point, it should be noted that the researchers have primarily focused on technology companies as these specialists have more experience in organizing remote working processes and have better infrastructure. But does that also apply to other people? Because when the technicians have done it, everyone else can too.
It becomes more difficult with Passing time
Almost all studies that positively assess the effects of remote working on productivity have one thing in common: They were carried out either in the spring or early summer of this year. This means that respondents rated the changes based on their experiences in the first few months of remote working.
Why is that important?
The answer is quite simple. Man is a social being; Communication in connection with social interactions fulfills our basic needs. The longer people remain in enforced isolation, the greater the discomfort they feel because of loneliness.
Another critical point is that many people do not have the technology and network connection necessary to make working from home comfortable enough. Slow computer, slow internet speed, high ping – around 35% of remote workers face similar problems even in the US. In the first few months of quarantine, it still seemed relatively easy to come to terms with such things and view the situation as merely a temporary hardship. However, the longer these problems persist, the greater the accumulated stress becomes.
Here are four helpful tips for choosing the best employee monitoring software for your business:
1. Set business goals
Selecting the right employee monitoring software should begin by answering these questions: What are your business objectives? How can employee monitoring software play a critical role in achieving these goals? What problems do you want to address when monitoring employees? The answer to these questions influences various factors, such as: For example, the selection of productivity monitoring software with functions that best suit your company, how they are implemented, data protection measures, and transparency.
2. Research the employee monitoring software Market
Finding the best employee activity monitoring software shouldn’t be rushed. It is best to research the market before deciding, as most employee monitoring software vendors try to add as many features as possible to make their products appear less straightforward. In reality, some of these features end up being too “heavy,” consuming a lot of resources, slowing down computing, and not suitable for larger businesses. As you research the employee monitoring software market, keep in mind that the potential of employee monitoring software is determined not by the number of its functions but by its effectiveness.
- Monitoring of attendance: The attendance monitoring tracks the registration and deregistration of employees. This also includes the time of clocking in and out.
- Website / URL monitoring: Website monitoring logs the websites that an employee visits. For example, if the webpage you are staying in has nothing to do with work, you can see when and how long that page was accessed.
- Active/idle time monitoring: The time that is actively worked on the computer and the time that is not spent on the computer is monitored.
- Monitoring computer activities: The application monitoring shows which applications are used frequently and which are not.
- Reporting Options: The best employee monitoring software provides real-time reports on employee activity. You should also be able to retrieve the data at any time.
- And so forth.
3. Contact employee monitoring software vendors.
Contact the software providers to see how well they respond to urgent questions. Also, make sure that the vendor has what you need and can help you choose so that you don’t end up with too much or too heavy software.
4. Choose employee monitoring software that can grow with your business.
Business goals change over time as the business grows. It would be best if you made sure that the employee monitoring software you choose is scalable. In this way, the monitoring tools can evolve with your company. Consider the following features:
Transparency
Implementing employee monitoring software can create some concerns for your employees. It’s best to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Make monitoring transparent and establish clearly defined monitoring policies that provide sufficient information about the monitoring.
Flexibility
How flexible and versatile the employee monitoring software is can indicate what the user experience will be like in the long run.
Ease of use and adaptability
You shouldn’t need extensive technical knowledge to implement the software successfully, and the process should save you a lot of time.
Encryption of the data
It is best to choose employee monitoring software that focuses on the security of company data.
Pricing
The next point to consider after features is pricing. The software for employee monitoring offers different price plans depending on the scope of functions. You can download the software, test it, and see if these free versions are suitable for your business.
Why do companies use employee monitoring software?
The behavior of employees in the workplace has a significant impact on the company’s success. Nobody wants to pay an employee to act or catch up on a series during work hours. This is why many companies need to ensure that their employees do what they are paid to do.
Employee monitoring software is a dynamic tool for companies that want to monitor and manage their employees (in the office and the field). When used correctly, this technology can bring numerous benefits to the business.
Proof of work and avoidance of overtime
Significant reason companies need monitoring software is proof of work and compliance with working hours for all employees.
The best monitoring program has functions such as logging in and out and active and inactive times. In this way, you can determine how much time your employees work, whether they are late, and whether they are entitled to overtime.
Conclusion
Choosing the best employee monitoring software is different for every company. However, if you keep these handy tips in mind, you are well on your way to choosing the right tool for your business.
