Even in the post-pandemic world, businesses remain firmly focused on performance and productivity. As more employers shift from conventional models to remote or hybrid structures, they run into new (but increasingly common) challenges.
One such challenge is being able to monitor worker productivity and discipline. Fortunately, best employee monitoring software offers a fairly quick fix for not just employee performance tracking needs but also for calculating their productivity. Choosing the right one may require some deliberation, however.
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The Best Remote Employee Monitoring Software in 2023
There is a very fine line between monitoring workers and invading their privacy. Developing a reputation for invasion of privacy will derail even the best talent acquisition strategies. Employers must carefully consider any such monitoring software c. From a workforce management perspective, the following software may be of considerable help when tracking productivity and workflow:
Teramind – Comprehensive Tracking Options
Teramind is a great SaaS solution intended to track a wide variety of employee activities. The software is capable of capturing screen recordings and displaying a real-time view of any selected computer. It can even track keystrokes, email correspondence, and video conferencing sessions.
Once you have successfully used the Teramind login and started using the software, you will see that it has a comprehensive range of tracking tools and modules, capable of being deployed both on-premises and remotely. This makes it one of the top employee monitoring software solutions around, despite some of the features not being completely intuitive.
ActivTrak – Employee Monitoring and Scoring
ActivTrak is a popular tracking and monitoring tool, with efficient functionality as well as an appealing price tag. ActivTrak has improved capabilities when it comes to monitoring remote workforces, offering managers access to reliable monitoring and analytics.
However, once you have made the successful attempt to use the ActivTrak login credentials and access the software, it then requires some configuration to properly define users and metrics. It also does not have optical character recognition, keystroke logging, or a customizable dashboard.
Veriato Cerebral – Detect Insider Threats
Other than issues relating to physical workplace safety, many office threats can be harder to detect. Insider threats, in particular, can go largely undetected, even with an on-site workforce in place.
With remote workforce models, this threat detection can become exponentially harder. This is exactly the problem that Veriato Cerebral addresses. It has an adequate set of features to track worker activity and engagement. Its real value, however, lies in AI-driven threat detection.
Veriato Cerebral doesn’t just help managers to monitor and track performance; it also offers protection in terms of detecting insider threats. The only downside to this solution is that it can become fairly expensive to deploy across larger teams. It can also cause some issues with remote installation, as well as with covert deployments to track new users.
Interguard – Track Widely Spread Teams
With more businesses employing offshore workers, tracking employees across locations and time zones becomes more challenging. Interguard is a software solution built specifically to address this problem. With its sophisticated monitoring capability, Interguard can offer historical analytics as well as proactive alerts.
It has a convenient universal search feature, allowing managers to zero in on specific users or metrics. It also offers effective reports and automated alerts relating to specific metrics. However, it can prove pricey, especially for smaller employers. In addition, the software involves purchasing modules that address different aspects like tracking, analytics, and reporting.
Over time, the number of users and modules can drive the costs up considerably. It may be more suitable for a national-level mortgage staffing agency, but not so much for a small local business.
Hubstaff – Monitoring and Time Tracking
At its core, Hubstaff has historically been used by employers as a time-tracking tool rather than an employee monitoring software. However, as you use your Hubstaff login credentials to explore its dashboard, you will see an array of useful tools and features that offer managers basic monitoring functionality. These include monitoring GPS, tracking apps, browser activity, and even logging keystrokes.
However, the tracking features are not very advanced, and the reports that Hubstaff can generate are fairly basic. As a time-tracking tool that also helps employers, it is still a great option to consider for most employers.
Maximizing the Positive Aspect of Employee Performance Monitoring
Nearly every organization is monitoring its employees in some way even if it’s not explicitly using monitoring software. Security cameras are one such example. Despite the organizational business of using an employee monitoring system, this practice can leave an adverse impact on employee satisfaction, behaviors, and fairness perceptions.
As per evidence-based recommendations for employee performance monitoring, it is vital to draft practical guidelines and have a purposefully designed structure for monitoring your employees to minimize the negative implications. These tips can help maximize the benefits of employee monitoring without stepping on the fine line of violating employee privacy:
- Be transparent about the use of employee monitoring tools
- Inform employees of the type of data collected, how it’s collected, and its intended use
- Restrict the use of these tools to work-related activities and behaviors only
- Protect employee data to ensure compliance with privacy laws
Pros and Cons of Employee Monitoring
An employer should understand both the pros and cons of employee monitoring to be able to create an effective strategy around it.
The Pros
- Boosts employee productivity
- Improves team performance
- Helps optimize business processes
- Assists in uncovering problems such as harassment and theft
The Cons
- May raise employee privacy concerns
- Can hurt employee sentiments and trust
- Can raise privacy or legality concerns
Takeaway
Monitoring workers is a tricky proposition, at best. That said, managers can’t effectively manage teams, especially remote ones, without some degree of oversight. Best employee monitoring software can offer a number of solutions, but there is always the risk of infringing on worker privacy to consider.
In extreme cases, excessive or mismanaged oversight can tarnish an employer’s reputation, particularly among younger workforces who are more vocal about digital rights and privacy. Ultimately, it can even impair an employer’s ability to source new talent, whether through internal recruitment processes, or working through a third party like a staffing agency in Austin.
With the world growing increasingly literate when it comes to digital privacy, employers may find it safer to inform employees that their work devices and activity are being monitored.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to detect employee monitoring software?
Unusual apps, background processes, data usage, and programs on work devices usually indicate monitoring software in place.
How to know if remote employees are working?
To make sure your remote employees are making productive use of their time, you can use a combination of employee task management, time tracking, and remote monitoring tools.
How do I track my employee’s daily work?
Compare monitoring information against employee performance and daily deliverables.
What are the three methods of employee monitoring?
Software monitoring, location monitoring, and video surveillance are 3 key methods in use.
How to track employee internet usage?
Employers can monitor and track the internet usage of their employees with Internet monitoring software and tools to capture the highlights of non-business-related internet activities.
How to know if your work laptop is being monitored?
- Open the Task Manager on Windows 10 by pressing the Alt+Ctrl+Del keys.
- Click on the “processes tab” and you should be able to see an employee monitoring software running in the background.
In MacBook, go to Utilities and open Activity Monitor. If you find an unusual software that has taken up a lot of RAM or CPU, it’s likely to be a monitoring software tracking your activities.
How to check if ActivTrak is installed?
- Go to the Control Panel from the start menu of your PC.
- Choose “Program & Features” and search for “ActivTrak.” If it’s installed, you should be able to find it in the list of programs.
Why do you need staff tracker tools for remote employees & teams?
Managing remote teams can be a challenge. Keeping up with employee clock-in and clock-out times and attendance in particular can be a problem. Tracking tools make it easier to accurately manage the workforce, track employee productivity, and process payroll.
