In 2021, ExpressVPN conducted a study to understand the implications of surveillance on the remote workforce.
About 83% of the employees outlined "ethical concerns" associated with employee monitoring.
56% of the employees reported having felt stress and anxiety owing to employer surveillance
In fact, 48% of the employees agreed to take a pay cut, if it meant that they wouldn't be monitored
But why such a sense of unease? Well, some employees are spooked by the lack of privacy in their working environment, and that's mostly because of the obtrusive monitoring policies adopted by some employers.
In essence, employee monitoring is immensely viable — especially when it comes to identifying bottlenecks to productivity, ensuring adherence to security protocols, and enhancing overall performance. However, often, the lack of a uniform, robust monitoring program can lead to severe consequences — like a decline in employee morale.
The Case for Obtrusive Monitoring - How It Impacts Your Team
A while back, a German retail company was entailed to pay a fine of $12.6 million in response to its use of video surveillance cameras to monitor workplace activity - something that violated the privacy regulations defined by the country and the European Union. Likewise, a computer hardware company in Norway was fined $24,000 by the authorities as it transferred personal email addresses to its servers.
It's no wonder, then, that employees are hesitant to be monitored. Tech.co recently interviewed some employees who were subjected to obtrusive monitoring activities. The responses were pretty revealing - with employees saying that they "felt violated." One employee even said, "At one point, I asked if I needed to put in toilet breaks."
Now, that's something that says a lot about how difficult it can be to reconcile workplace monitoring with privacy concerns when intrusive and obtrusive monitoring practices are rife.
The last thing you want to do is to dwindle the trust that employees feel towards your company. It eats away at productivity and can certainly even have a negative impact on employee retention, not to mention the regulatory concerns that would pop up. In 2021, the Italian SA fined a municipality (controller) EUR 80,000 on account of a breach of data protection laws against the complaint lodged by an employee about their sensitive information having been collected.
In order to avoid the regulatory backlash that often ties up the deployment of an obtrusive monitoring program, it is of utmost importance to build trust within your team. To help you lay the foundation for an effective employee monitoring program, we have compiled some essential tips that you can follow.
How To Implement a Monitoring Program and Not Lose a Team
In one of our recent surveys, we found that an extra day off increased employee productivity by more than 5%. In another survey, we were able to outline how the active and inactive times increased/decreased before and after the Christmas Break. How did we do that? By analysing the online monitoring data that our clients accumulated over the period. And how did it help? We were able to outline the proactive measures that our clients should take to help their employees feel better and work better.
The point is - data doesn't lie. But to have that data at your disposal, you need to make sure that you have a handle on your employees, your teams, and their work requirements. And that's exactly what an "unobtrusive monitoring program" aims to do. From streamlining workflows to identifying problems and bottlenecks, an unobtrusive monitoring program can optimise processes, prioritise tasks that need attention, increase operational efficiency, augment employee productivity, and bolster the bottom line.
Here's how to implement such a monitoring program and not lose the team:
Start by Defining the Goals of Control
To implement your monitoring program, it is imperative to first define the goals of control. This means:
Don't Evaluate for the First Few Weeks or Months
Like any other new project, you need to give this time to settle in. You don't get a snapshot of the effectiveness immediately. As much as possible, allow the employees to adjust to having the monitoring system in place for a few weeks or months. Don't jump into evaluations right away, or you run the risk of being too harsh.
Meanwhile, keep gathering the data. By the time you do an evaluation, you will have profound insights associated into:
Redefine the Policies and Rewards
Now, it's time to re-engage with the employees and involve them in the idea of being monitored. Here's where you need to redefine policies and encourage people to think about
Refine & Improve
As you set up a monitoring program in your company, there is always room for improvement. You need to continuously review the system to keep moving forward. You might notice that the employees are not getting enough work done. Or, a few of them are slacking off. Perhaps, you are not receiving timely progress reports. Maybe the employees are not taking ownership of the feedback. Perhaps, the software is missing some feature that is key to your needs.
All such observations point towards one thing: you need to refine the approach. Keep talking to the employees to manage their expectations. Make it a point to set up checkpoints and assess the progress. Revisit the policies and ensure that they are as relevant as ever.
The Bottom Line
A monitoring program would be deemed a success if it helps you improve the working culture and workflow. For that, it's essential that you install a robust, comprehensive, and unobtrusive employee monitoring software fine-tune the operational processes after discerning the bottlenecks and inefficiencies, and establish a clear vision with your team.
Evaluate the Criteria for Monitoring
Next, you need to make sure that you evaluate the criteria for monitoring. This could entail something like:
Let the Staff Know About the Potential Monitoring Function
Seeking staff consent and keeping them abreast of the monitoring functions is critical. Having informed consent is imperative to have an effective monitoring program in place, as it ensures that you are accountable for the program and that you are not overstepping boundaries. To that end, this would effectively involve:
Study the Relevant Region-Specific Laws
By now, we've established that it is imperative to ensure that you have a firm grasp of the laws in your region that govern the type of monitoring activities you can engage in.
How can these laws suggest directions for the monitoring function? Let's look at some examples:
Choose an Employee Monitoring System
Now that you have a good sense of the obligations that you need to fulfil, it is time to choose the right employee monitoring platform. But how to go about it, especially when the market seems saturated by a sea of different solutions? To help you with that, here are some questions to answer:
Consult with a Local Lawyer
Although the general rules are broadly outlined in the regulations, there are still nuances that need to be explored. For example, let's say the employees are set up in the EU, whereas the company is based in Singapore. What kinds of principles would apply to both countries? To capture these nuances, you need to seek the services of a legal expert. They would also successfully guide you on the viability of the specific monitoring software that you've chosen.
