Did you know that more employers than ever before are making use of employee monitoring tools?
Largely this is because of its potential as a way to obtain insights into employee behavior and performance – which is also the reason its popularity has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic to 60%.
What you may not realize however is that there are actually several different types of employee monitoring – each with a different scope and approach. Here and now we’re going to let you know everything worth knowing about them, so you can determine which type is right for your company:
Online activity monitoring
Useful as the internet may be, it can also distract employees and become a massive time sink if left unchecked. To track how employees are spending their time online, Controlio can be deployed and used to keep tabs on what websites they visit and how long they spend on each one. It can also keep records of file uploads and downloads, and block specific websites that are deemed undesirable for security reasons or if employees simply waste too much time on them.
Computer activity monitoring
This is the broadest and most common type of employee monitoring as it encompasses any and all activity on your employees’ computers. In Controlio that includes app usage (and the duration apps are used), active and idle time, file activity, printer activity, and more. It will also calculate a productivity score based on all the data it collects, and that can be used to measure and compare how productive each employee is.
Communication monitoring
While this type of monitoring may sound intrusive, in some cases it is necessary especially for companies that require employees to communicate with customers, or need a higher level of security due to the nature of their business. The features in Controlio allow for a wide range of communication monitoring including tracking both emails as well as IM messages, which in turn will let you ensure employees are adhering to communication protocols, or identify any risk factors.
Keylogging, screen capture, and webcam activation
For an even closer look at what employees are up to, Controlio will let you track everything they type via keylogging, snap images or videos of their screen via screen capture, or activate their webcam and record a video. It may be intrusive, but in some cases it can be necessary for security purposes. That said, it should only be used if absolutely necessary so your employees don’t feel they’re being ‘spied on’.
GPS location tracking
Some employee monitoring tools will let you continuously monitor the location of your employees via GPS. Typically this is used in businesses where employees need to travel as part and parcel of their work – such as courier or delivery companies. The data from such tracking can help track the progress and status of deliveries, ensure the safety of drivers, and even improve route efficiency to save both time and money.
See how each of these types of employee monitoring is different and has a unique role to play? That is the reason why you need to identify the type of monitoring that you need based on the nature of your business and its requirements – so that you can capitalize on it and use it to benefit your company.
Always remember that when it comes to employee monitoring the golden rule is that less is more. Try to limit yourself to only monitoring your employees in the ways that are absolutely necessary in order to gain the insights that you need into their activities.
