Let’s be straight: Employee monitoring has a lot of benefits – which is the reason why it has become so popular. However it is far from perfect, and there are significant drawbacks involved in using it too.

Here and now we’re going to take a quick look at both the pros and cons of using employee monitoring, so you know exactly what you can expect from it.

The Pros: Why Companies Are Jumping Onboard

• Better Security

By tracking employee activities using Controlio or software like it, you can identify any suspicious behavior such as file transfers, illicit communications, and so on. In fact if you want you could even block ‘high risk’ apps or websites, or set it to send you an alert when employees access them.

• Improved Productivity

Employee monitoring software such as Controlio can track the attendance, work hours, and activity of employees – and promote a culture of accountability in the process. It can identify if employees are active or idle, and whether they’re spending their time productively or not.

On top of that, tools like Controlio can also calculate a productivity score for each employee. This score coupled with its other analytics can be used to spot workflow bottlenecks, identify training needs, and observe other trends and patterns that could affect productivity too.

• Support for Remote Teams

Managing remote teams is not easy, but employee monitoring is a great solution. It can not only track attendance and work hours, but also monitor progress and make sure that all team members are aligned regardless of where they’re working from. Simply put, it is a great tool to support remote teams and facilitate flexible work options.

• Data-Driven Decisions

Employee monitoring tools collect and analyze tons of data that can be used to make better decisions. Its analytics provide insights that can be used to improve workflows, resource allocations, employee recognition, and numerous other areas.

The Cons: What Makes People Wary

• Privacy Concerns

Lots of employees are uneasy about being monitored. They feel it invades their privacy – which is a valid concern, especially with features like screenshots, screen recordings, and keystroke logging.

• Potential Misuse

The fact that managers can access a ton of data about employees opens up the possibility it will be misused. In some cases it could stray into dangerous territory where data is used to target certain employees.

• Legal Issues

The legality of employee monitoring varies in different jurisdictions. In some countries explicit permission is required, while in others it is not. Nowadays there are also various data protection regulations that need to be followed and that can make things even murkier.

“So Is It Worthwhile?”

Based on the pros and cons it should be clear that employee monitoring does have a lot to offer – but there are also going to be hurdles you need to overcome. At the end of the day you’ll have to be proactive and tackle the legal and ethical issues that surround monitoring if you want to reap the rewards of using it.

Sources:

1. https://controlio.net/employee-monitoring.html
2. https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/labour-and-employment/collecting-employee-data/277305
3. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6685-employee-monitoring-privacy.html