Is Employee Monitoring Useful or Inappropriate?

Nowadays, our data is being used in ways that we don’t understand. Companies are beginning to use data to monitor employees throughout the employee lifecycle.

In today’s age, there are a variety of employee monitoring software solutions which are becoming increasingly popular, particularly with companies who are looking to improve employee engagement and productivity.

These technologies bring into question the legal consequences of tracking employees and whether certain monitoring practices violate employees’ privacy. Employers need to know where employee monitoring crosses the line and goes from becoming an asset to becoming a potential hazard and burden to employees.

 

Why employers invest in employee monitoring

• Employee monitoring makes it possible to find out how often workers are distracted by non-work-related actions. By revealing these distractions and helping employees develop better habits, employers can significantly improve worker productivity.

• Employee tracking data can also show how long employees spend on specific duties. This data will tell you what tasks employees are grappling with, so employers can then provide them with more guidance for those duties.

• Employee monitoring also allows employers to reprioritise tasks if they want an employee to focus more attention on a special project. Employee monitoring software also guarantees data security by exposing hackers or blocking unauthorised access to private company data and information.

Monitoring your employees could lead to increased productivity, but it could also harm your organisation.

The problems with employee monitoring

• Monitoring your employees may indicate a lack of trust in them which causes a feeling of resentment among them. It may also cause negative public opinion of your organisation which can make it harder to hire top talent.

• If your employees discovered they were being monitored without their knowledge, or if they find out you were collecting their data with a hidden motive, it can do irreparable damage to your organisation. There is also a potential for disaster if your system experiences a data breach. If private data about employees at your company is leaked, it could lead to legal issues for your company.

 

Best practices

Employee monitoring can be valuable, but it must be implemented very carefully. It would be best if you considered who can have access to the data and how they will be held accountable. Remember that you shouldn’t be collecting data to “catch” employees, but rather to work to change problematic behaviour patterns to make your company more efficient overall.

Employees might be more okay with being tracked if you make it clear that the aim of the program is to enhance the business, not to micro-manage individuals. The most crucial thing is to be transparent about your practices and strive to keep data on an aggregate level. Let your employees know exactly what information you will be collecting and describe the specific business goals you hope to achieve with the program.

 

Finally, while the goal of employee tracking technology is to enable businesses to make data-driven decisions to improve the efficiency of their office, companies need to tread carefully to ensure they are not imposing on their employees’ privacy.

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Source: Recruiting Daily

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