Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, more and more employees now work from home than ever before. Remote working has become extremely popular, and the acceleration of remote working as a trend has forced many companies to reassess their age-old methods of employee monitoring and management in favour of new, digital remote monitoring tools.

When employees are working in the office, there is a greater degree of control over what employees do with their time. After all, as an employer, you are paying employees for their time. Therefore, any time wasted or spent on non-work-related activities is a loss to you as a company. Naturally, many managers have been eager to find ways to minimise the potential loss in time not spent on company-related activity and losses in work productivity.

Technology Options

The world of software development and technology has not been idle in light of this increased demand for greater monitoring capability. As a result, numerous powerful software solutions have been rolled out that allow companies to closely monitor remote workers’ digital activities by installing certain apps on employees’ computers.

Among these software solutions are apps such as StaffCop, Hubstaff, Clever Control, Time Doctor and Teramind. Real-time activity tracking can be achieved with such software, providing screenshots of workers’ computers taken at regular intervals, keystroke logging, screen recordings and much more.

However, while such staff monitoring tools are available to you as an employer, there remains the question of whether you should roll it out at all and, if so, how you should do it.

Transparency Goes Both Ways

While you may have the right to monitor your employee’s activities on their computer, especially if it is a work computer owned and issued by the company, you run the risk of creating an oppressive culture in your company if you police your staff so closely.

Staff retention hinges on a positive and amenable company culture, which cannot be achieved in an environment where employees feel as though they are being policed and micromanaged ‒ particularly when it is done without their knowledge and consent.

Research shows that, in general, productivity did not change significantly when the pandemic hit and remote working was enforced on a wide scale. In fact, in many cases, it went up. Employees who feel they are being policed and micromanaged are more likely to get annoyed and choose somewhere else to work where they are freer and better trusted.

Importantly, this is not to say that you cannot monitor employees because certainly some staff require it. However, it is strongly advised that if monitoring software is installed, it should be done with the employees’ full knowledge and not behind their backs.

Workers who are aware that they are being tracked and monitored and who have agreed to this will be much more accepting and understanding, particularly if management consults with them and is open and honest.

It’s About Building Trust

Trust is an important aspect of employee satisfaction and building good relationships. By installing management software, you are communicating a lack of trust, and trust is built or broken in two directions.

If monitoring solutions are installed in secret, and if employees don’t feel they can trust you to be transparent with them, they might see no reason why they should have to be transparent with you.

The key to a successful remote working monitoring programme is transparency because it builds trust, which is ultimately what it is all about.

Employees should be held accountable for their time, for the company equipment in their possession and for how they use it, although clear, open and honest communication can go a long way towards building trust, which is mutually beneficial in the long run.

If you want to improve efficiency and need advice for your small or medium business regarding remote employee monitoring and are concerned about privacy issues and security