Because of the increase in demand for better performance and security among organisations, employee monitoring software is a popular application among employers. The type of software enables managers to monitor activities of employees within the organisations for the devices owned and how the workers utilise their time.

Advantages of the Employee Monitoring Software

There are several key benefits that make employee monitoring software worthwhile for many businesses:There are several key benefits that make employee monitoring software worthwhile for many businesses:

1. Increased Productivity  

Since one of the major purposes of the monitoring software for employees is to enhance productivity, organisations implement it to achieve this goal. The software generates productivity reports that show things like:

– Tasks and tracking projects, thus, become a means of measuring time.

– Specific websites or applications used (including time spent)

– Keyboard and mouse activity refers to the recording of key presses and mouse movements as performed by a user on a computer keyboard and mouse during use of the computer.

It is important for the managers to be able to use these insights to be able to identify areas of weakness in productivity to be able to support employees in these areas. They also may utilise it to identify the star employees they need to reward.

As mentioned in the previous sections of this work, the literature supports the contention that simple forms of employee surveillance curtail the use of the internet for personal purposes during working hours, thus ensuring increased productivity among employees.

2. Protect Sensitive Information

Monitoring tools also help protect confidential business information in several key ways:

– Inform the managers of organisations about the transfers they never authorised.

– They should be used to detect and trigger an alert for access to specific undesirable websites. 

– All activity on the devices can be recorded to look for signs of data leakage.

In the context of healthcare and finance and other industries where data privacy is a critical issue, monitoring ensures that the set standards are met.

3. Support Performance Management

In addition to operational insights, monitoring data can support employee performance evaluations by providing impartial information on:

– Performance by employee in relation to the work done

– Collaboration within teams

– Summarising, the rates of internet and computer usage

This information provides support to management’s decisions on promotions, disciplinary measures, or transfers within the organisation.

It is critical to understand the key features of monitoring tools to be able to make the best decision when choosing a tool for your business:

Employee monitoring software encompasses virtually any function that can be deemed necessary for any company, with unique options available to suit a specific business. Some of the most popular features include:

– Screen monitoring – Take screenshots at least 15 minutes into the activity to illustrate the pace of the employees. Managers can also work through images backward, which enables them to look at tasks.

– Website and app blocking – Some of the biggest time-wasters at work are the distractions originating from the internet and mobile applications. Excellent for raising work output and protecting information.

– Data loss prevention (DLP) – Monitor messages and files to detect instances of employees transmitting certain words or other sensitive data outside the network.

– Productivity metrics – Reporting tools that are pre-integrated in the application, allow to track the productivity of employees, the time taken to complete tasks, rates of collaboration and the like. 

– Stealth mode – Ensure that the employees are unaware of the monitoring application being used for fairness in its findings. (Note: It allows businesses to know whether secret monitoring is legal in their state or not (Conley, 2018).

– Alerts – The mobile application sends custom alerts to managers, which include data leakage, unauthorised application, and any other event that is of concern.

Choosing the right employee monitoring tool 

As there are numerous solutions with competitive offers, the choice of an employee monitoring software mainly depends on the field of business and the given employees. Here are key considerations for an informed decision:

– Cloud versus on-premise – using tools in the cloud costs less IT effort to keep and manage but the costs can be more due to recurring subscription. On-premise solutions are slightly costlier but allow for complete data and IT environment management.  

– Number of users – The cost may depend on the licence for the number of users and therefore decide accurately how many users need to be given access.

– Depending on the complexity of your organisation’s IT landscape, you may want to include other systems that the monitoring tool should be compatible with, such as a directory service, office suite, or HR management system. 

– Data Privacy – Determine if the internal security features adapted conform to the state, federal and industry regulations on data privacy.

– Custom reporting – Evaluate whether the Analytics and Reporting offered is sufficient to meet business requirements for productivity, data security, or motives.

With the development of new employee monitoring software, organisations have a greater opportunity to monitor employees and their work with less of an effect on the performance levels. The right solution combined with formal accurate policies concerning performance and privacy contribute to the optimal conditions for both engaged and motivated employees.