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As you probably know, employee monitoring is commonly used nowadays due to the fact that it allows businesses to track what their employees are doing. But what you may not be as familiar with is exactly what this type of metrics this software can typically track.
Let’s dive into some of the metrics that employee monitoring can keep tabs on, so you know exactly what it can do:
Monitoring tools like Controlio are often used as an employee hours tracker seeing as they can log how much time employees spend on their computers, as well as whether they’re active or idle during that time. Because of this it can be an easy and convenient way to monitor both attendance and work hours, as well as identify signs that employees are overworked.
The insights from time tracking can also be helpful in checking the average work hours, average overtime, and other important details. Some businesses may even use it to accurately track work hours for payroll or billing purposes.
In addition to time tracking, most monitoring tools such as Controlio can break down the time spent on various apps and websites. This can help determine if how much time employees are spending on apps or websites that aren’t work-related, and if they’re accessing any that may be a security risk.
On top of that the duration employees use apps when performing tasks can also give insights into whether or not they’re are using the tools available effectively.
Most employee monitoring tools will measure productivity in some way – such as the productivity score in Controlio. Tracking productivity is one of the main reasons businesses use monitoring tools, and it can help make data-driven decisions, identify workflow bottlenecks, track the results of initiatives to improve productivity, and much more.
Although it may be a bit intrusive, some monitoring tools can directly capture the contents of employees’ screens – either as images via screenshots, or video via screen recordings. Typically it is used to ensure employees are focused on the tasks assigned to them, verify their work, or comply with certain regulations.
Some monitoring tools can track various forms of communication – including emails, IM chats, video calls, and more. In most cases employers are focused on the amount of communication that is taking place and whether or not it is work-related, though some may also look at the content of emails or messages for security purposes.
As a rule it is always best to steer clear of the content of personal communication and only monitor emails or messages that are work-related to avoid invading employee privacy.
For businesses that deal with sensitive data, tracking file and data access is important. The features of some monitoring tools can keep tabs on what files or directories employees access, edit, share, or copy to ensure only authorized personnel have access and there are no leaks or data breaches.
Although this typically requires project management software, some monitoring tools have in-built features that can do the same. Essentially they will let you add tasks, set deadlines, monitor progress, and track how long it takes to complete them.
The data obtained from tracking tasks progress can provide even greater insights into how employees spend their time and how productive they are.
To track employees who are working remotely or on-site, some tools nowadays can track location and GPS coordinates to show exactly where they are working. It may even use geo-fencing, to activate monitoring or notify managers when employees are within a certain area.
As you can imagine this metric is particularly important for businesses that to field work or handle logistics. However it can also be used in office settings, to verify that employees are actually at their desk when they start working.
The latest tools sometimes include ways to track biometric data such as fingerprints or facial recognition to verify the identity of employees. Some may also track other data such as heart rate or fatigue levels using wearables – but these can be more controversial despite normally being used to monitor employee wellbeing.
It should be noted that there are employee monitoring tools that go above and beyond these metrics, task and project progress, keystrokes and mouse movements, as well as various other metrics. Some may even be able to integrate with SaaS apps to share information for other functions.
Just remember that although employee monitoring can track a wide range of metrics – it doesn’t mean that you have to use all of them. Ideally you should only monitor the areas that are necessary for your business, and find a balance between oversight and autonomy so that your employees don’t feel they’re being spied on intrusively.
