CleverControl of Employee Productivity

What is employee monitoring?

Employee monitoring means gathering information about activities of the staff in the workplace using various methods: from computer monitoring to video surveillance. The main goals are improving productivity, controlling the corporate resources and preventing data loss.

Research performed by International Data Corp (IDC) shows that employees spend up to 40% of the Internet access time at work for personal purposes. The biggest time consumers are social networks and shopping websites. In total, the annual loss of productivity may be as high as 40%.

What are the types of employee monitoring?

• Web Activity Tracking

  Tracking how your team uses the Internet can restrict distractions. Besides, you can identify the need for training and save on service providers by improving bandwidth efficiency.

• Computer Activity Monitoring

  Covers monitoring configured work-related activity on company-owned devices. It may include application and website usage, screenshots, printer activity, active and idle time, and other configured features.

• Location tracking

  Essential for people who work in the field or frequently go on business trips. GPS tracking helps to find company-owned devices if stolen or lost.

• Call Monitoring

  Usual for sales managers or customer support agents. Recordings allow managers to ensure employees follow communication standards and train new team members.

• Video surveillance

  Most effective in places that raise concerns for the security of employees and the company's property. Helps to prevent theft or sabotage and ensure work conditions meet security requirements.

How to monitor productivity in the workplace?

• Set clear expectations and deadlines

  Set clear and measurable goals not only for the business on the whole but also for each team and team member.

• Use project management software

  These apps let you track who is responsible for what work and how much time they spend on it. Assign tasks, set deadlines and discuss the project — all in one program.

• Measure results, not the work time

  Consider the result of the work, not how much time workers spend in the office. Punctuality does not equal productivity.

• Give feedback

  If you notice a low-productive worker, they may be struggling due to the lack of training or unclear tasks. Create an efficient feedback culture in your company.

• Track computer activity

  Employee monitoring software like CleverControl lets you look into the workflow and see how your team perform their duties.

What does employee monitoring software do?

Nowadays, employee monitoring software is the most widespread method of productivity tracking. The system administrator installs the monitoring program on the company computers. After that, the program automatically tracks the activity and interprets it.

You can receive gathered data by email, cloud storage or your online dashboard and stay aware of the work process both in the office and on a business trip.

What are the pros and cons of employee monitoring?

The main advantage of staff monitoring is improved productivity. It also helps to:

• find out ineffective work patterns or unforeseen difficulties
• analyze work processes and optimize them
• reveal the need of redistributing the workload
• identify the need for training
• track work time and attendance
• ensure that the staff use company resources wisely
• prevent sensitive data leakages
• provide the necessary evidence in internal investigations

However, employees may feel that monitoring violates their privacy, perceive it as the lack of trust, or worry about their performance. The employer must be transparent with the company policy and reasons for surveillance.

Is employee monitoring legal?

In the USA, most monitoring methods are legal. The employer is free to monitor computer and Internet usage, private messages, emails, and phone calls on company-owned devices.

In Europe, most employee monitoring methods are legal if they abide by the GDPR laws. You must notify the staff about the monitoring methods, receive their consent for data collection, and protect the collected data.

To ensure that surveillance in your company does not infringe any laws, we recommend always consulting your local and state laws. It is also advisable to be transparent with your staff about the reasons for monitoring.