Why More Companies Are Turning to Employee Monitoring for Greater Efficiency

Tracking employees in the workplace can be controversial, but the statistics speak for themselves: companies that use employee tracking to monitor their team’s internet usage report a 30% increase in productivity within the first month.

Look:

Studies show that people waste up to eight hours a week , almost a full day a week, on non-work tasks. Keep in mind that this time does not include lunch breaks and other moments of rest throughout the work day, but the time people spend on their mobile phone, surfing the Internet, shopping online, etc.

Now, let's do the math: With the median hourly wage at $27.12 per hour (as of April 2022), U.S. companies are losing more than $10,000 per year for each employee.

Increasing your team’s productivity by 30% means saving over $2,500 per year for each employee on your team. Do you have a team of 10? Save $25,000 per year. There you have it: the bigger your team, the bigger the savings . For this reason, it’s no wonder that up to 66% of business owners have implemented employee tracking software and track working hours in their company.

In this guide you will learn:

• Types of employee supervision.
• Three reasons why companies monitor their employees.
• The benefits of employee tracking
• How to explain employee monitoring to your workers?
• The dos and don'ts of supervising employees.

Types of employee activity monitoring

Employee activity monitoring involves using different methods to collect information about employee computer activity and the location of staff members. There are many and varied types of employee activity monitoring. Here is a selection of the most commonly used:

Computer monitoring

Often used synonymously with monitoring employee computer and Internet usage, time tracking software collects data on the programs, applications, and URLs a person has used during the workday and for how long. This way, managers can keep track of employee hours and ensure that company time is being used productively .

The top industries that use employee time tracking are marketing and IT, followed by web development and design.

Call monitoring

Telephone monitoring is most commonly used in call centers for quality control purposes. Recording employees' interactions with customers allows managers to ensure that everyone is providing customer service to company standards.

In addition to quality control, telephone recordings are often used for training: workers listen to their conversations for self-assessment.

Email Monitoring

More than 50% of large companies monitor their employees' emails to ensure that workers do not waste company time, as well as for security reasons.

Companies monitor their employees' emails to protect against leaks of sensitive information . Managers also admit that email monitoring is a way to detect and stop potential abuse or inappropriate behavior. Simply put, informing employees of their monitoring helps employers protect both their business and the company's employees.

Time control

Time tracking basically involves monitoring the arrival and departure times of employees using a time tracking app . This allows employers to keep an eye on their employees to ensure that they are not late for work and that they do not leave before the work day is over.

Some companies use electronic cards or chips that employees must scan when they arrive and leave the office building. Other employers use time-tracking systems that start automatically and record the arrival time when the employee turns on the computer.

GPS tracking

Companies often use GPS to track employees who spend most of their time on the road. A very classic example is truck drivers, taxi drivers, visual brand marketers and other professions where a vehicle is driven for work purposes.

Added to their vehicles, the GPS tracking system allows managers to keep track of their employees and plan daily routes more efficiently . GPS tracking of employees is also commonly used to ensure that the car is not used for private purposes unless company policy allows it.

Now that you know the most common types of employee activity monitoring, read on to learn why companies choose to track their employees' activity in the first place.

Three reasons to monitor employee activity in the workplace

Very often, the need to monitor employees arises after conflictual or controversial situations.

For example, when an employer notices that the team is constantly missing deadlines for no obvious reason and cannot find the answer through employee performance reviews. Or, on other occasions, staff are annoyed at having to write weekly reports. Employee performance tracking is a way to automate the process and save the team time.

In any case, these are the three most common reasons why managers in companies, large and small, decide to track employees in the workplace.

Employee tracking increases productivity and motivation

One of the most common reasons companies use employee tracking is to monitor the productivity of their employees.

Managers monitor employees' computer activity because they care about where work hours are spent . Time tracking allows an employer to ensure that all employees spend their office hours on tasks related to the work they are paid to do.

Furthermore, studies show that when employees know they are being monitored, they become more disciplined and are more motivated to stay on task . This explains why just one week after companies start monitoring their employees, they see an immediate 30% increase in productivity.

On a larger scale, team tracking creates a transparent, open and honest company culture. Staff are more disciplined and motivated to give their best.

Tracking employee activity helps you plan resources more effectively

It is said that what cannot be measured cannot be improved.

Statistics show that, on average, large IT projects go 45% over budget and 7% over time . That's why it's important to keep track of past projects, so you can better estimate the costs and timelines of future projects.

Likewise, historical data from your employee tracking app can make you rethink staff allocation . For example, if your sales team spends only 5% of their time on a client that generates 50% of their monthly revenue, you might want to allocate more time to this client because there’s a strong possibility of even better results.

Employee tracking is critical for managing employees working remotely

Employee tracking makes monitoring the work of remote employees much more effective, as managers can track the progress of tasks without having to ask for weekly or daily reports.

Here's how you can incorporate employee tracking into team management:

For example, an employee working remotely is assigned a task that must be completed by the end of the week. Once defined, the task is out of their hands until the deadline arrives. Most managers trust their employees, but they still admit that they want to track progress , to make sure everything is on plan and schedule. Employee tracking software allows managers to take a quick look at employees working outside the office to make sure their time is being spent on the right tasks.

How to explain employee tracking to your team?

When someone mentions employee tracking or time tracking, employees often get irritated. Fearing increased control and an invasion of their privacy, employees perceive it as the enemy.

However, employee tracking is not an enemy to workers. Once you have made the decision to start monitoring your company's employees, take some time to explain it to your team .

Instead of presenting workplace employee tracking as a tool for managers to monitor how they spend their time, teach your team to use the software for their benefit and growth.

Here are some of the advantages that employees can gain from employee work monitoring :

Save time

Every now and then we have those days where we work like crazy, but at the end of the day, nothing really gets done. By not knowing where the time has gone, we can't learn from mistakes and be more efficient in the future .

Monitoring employee work helps workers discover where they are wasting their time and change unproductive habits that are preventing them from growing professionally. Productivity monitoring gives you the insights you need to improve and master your time management skills.

If you think about it, the people who benefit most from employee tracking are teams of highly motivated and ambitious people.

Helps realize hard work

It can be very discouraging when you work harder than others and yet it goes unnoticed. Some people work harder and that is something that should be recognized. With the data collected by employee tracking, managers can easily recognize the best performers and the most dedicated employees.

For example, let's say you notice that some of your employees spend their entire workday on work-related programs, and others take frequent (and long) breaks to check social media or shop online. It would be unfair to ignore the efforts of team members who give their all and put them on the same level as those who don't.

When you introduce employee tracking to your team, also let them know that you'll be taking the data into account when considering promotions and raises. This way, your top employees will be confident that their dedication won't go unnoticed.

Help managers realize how long things take

When hearing the phrase “here’s this little task that should take you five minutes,” many people feel like they could literally explode. It’s often obvious to everyone except the person saying it that this little task will probably take at least an hour.

The reality is that managers who organize workflow and assign tasks often don't know how long certain tasks take because they've never done them. They've never done them. As a result, employees are often overloaded with unrealistic deadlines, which leads to frustration and sometimes even downright despair.

Supervising employees means getting to know the details of their work better. Explain to your team that when time is tracked, it helps management realize the volume of their work tasks . As a result, there will be no more impossible deadlines or unrealistic expectations.

When you introduce your employee tracking software to your team, start by recalling a moment they can relate to – a situation that made them angry or frustrated. Then, explain how employee tracking can help them avoid these situations in the future.

Prevent employees from overworking

As a manager, you want your team to be happy and rested. This improves job satisfaction and productivity. However, the problem with medium and large teams is that management cannot monitor each employee and ensure that they take care of themselves by taking breaks and leaving work at a reasonable time.

I used to work up to 16 hours a day. One day my boss saw my time tracking report and told me that I shouldn't stay so late so often. Not only because it's unhealthy, but also because he noticed that I was extremely unproductive the next day after such a long shift . Staying late at the office didn't help me get more done, but instead made me more tired and unable to concentrate the next day.

Let your team know that employee time tracking is just another tool for management and HR to keep track of the team's well-being. It's not forbidden to stay in the office a little longer , however, you shouldn't work double shifts every other day for the sake of your employees.

The Dos and Don'ts of Employee Tracking

Okay, so now you understand that monitoring employee activity in the workplace has its benefits, and you've made the decision to track employee computer usage. You've chosen a solution that fits your needs, and you're ready to start monitoring your employees.

But wait a moment!

Before you get started, you need to be aware of the dos and don'ts to keep managers happy and your team happy.

YES to informing your team

Monitoring employee activity serves to increase transparency between the team and management. Letting your employees know they are being monitored is the ethical thing to do, otherwise you would be practicing double standards.

DO NOT interfere in the private lives of your employees

Never use employee monitoring to intrude into their personal lives, even if the software collects some private information. Monitoring your employees' performance is one thing, but using the information to intrude into their private lives is unethical and illegal .

USE IT to increase motivation

Make your employees aware of their performance and compare it to that of their peers. This boosts their self-motivation , as no one wants to be the worst performing member of the team.

DO NOT threaten your team

Acting like Big Brother is ineffective in the long run, so don't monitor employee activity with the aim of intimidating them. In other words, don't confront your employees for any reason: fear is not the path to productivity, especially when it comes to "knowledge workers."

YES to looking at the bigger picture

It's important to look at the bigger picture and only pay attention to extreme cases and repeating patterns. For example, pay attention to the employee who constantly misses deadlines, but don't make a scene about a one-time delay.

NO to micromanagement

Unless you want to lower your team's morale and increase employee turnover, don't micromanage their work. Give your employees autonomy and use employee tracking only as a tool to help them stay on track.