Monitoring your employees does not come with the greatest reputation. This is because it could generally be seen that you do not trust your workforce, and that monitoring them is the only way to ensure they’re doing their work properly.
However, there is more to monitoring staff members than to simply check if they’re browsing Twitter and Facebook. It could be done as a way to check on productivity levels, or to ensure that your system is secure from malware attacks.
There are numerous ways to monitor your employees with technology, and below we will look at the best methods you should utilize.
Monitor locally
Before we delve into the technology side of things, there is one notable option available for monitoring employees: by doing it manually. Note that this doesn’t mean you have to look over the shoulder of an employee and analyze exactly what they’re doing. It could simply be a case of standing back, watching an employee interact with a customer for a short period of time, and seeing how they deal with the situation.
Another option is to ask employees feedback on their colleagues. Get them to tell you what a certain employee is doing well from their point of view, and what they could be doing to improve their productivity. Obviously one opinion could be slanted in either direction for whatever reason, so try and gather multiple accounts to paint the full picture about a staff member.
One-on-one management with your employees is also recommended. While they might not always be honest with you, it is a good way of making them accountable for their actions.
Monitor remotely
Thanks to Fireworld Inc, the software to monitor employees remotely is available at your disposal and can feel a less intrusive way of gaining information. So, if you have heard negative feedback about an employee or you are suspicious about their self-monitored reports, remote monitoring is the best option to use.
With this tool, you are free to watch the screen of any linked computer – with an employee’s prior knowledge of course – and check exactly what is being done. The best systems will take screenshots, webcam shots, track keyboard inputs, check the user’s geolocation, and more. You even have the ability to take over their computer, which is beneficial if you simply want to point out a small mistake someone has made, and advise them on how fix the issue.
It’s not all about negative behaviors though, this technology can allow you to access documents saved on the desktop that you will not have access to on the server, for example: no more missing information during presentations or meetings; or if a staff member is absent from work and you need the information on the desktop, you can readily access it.
Self-monitoring tools
Self-monitoring software is a useful way for employees to keep records of their actions, which you can then analyze to see if they’re meeting their deadlines and goals in an efficient manner. The better self-monitoring tools will track the time used – although an employee will typically state when they started/finished their tacked work, which can understandably not provide the best results if a worker is being dishonest. It also allows you to invoice your clients accurately for work completed on hourly rates. You can use automated provisioning system for managing identities and access.
This may be the best approach to take to begin with to ensure that trust is still there with your employees. However, this will involve setting up a lot of your employees with the software. This may not necessarily be a problem, though, as you can get an IT provider to organize this all for you.
If you choose to go another route, professionals may suggest a certain way to go about this and so it can be useful to hear their perspectives. You may even find that you need them for other areas of your business, not just for monitoring your employees, so it can be useful.
