Workforce monitoring can be tricky as employers need to use ethical ways to gain insight into employees’ behaviour and activities while respecting their privacy. This is why, while there are several ways of monitoring your workforce, you must find the healthiest methods.
Such healthy monitoring methods are generally the ones that will help strike a balance between workforce monitoring and the employee’s right to privacy. In this guide, we will delve deeper into these workforce monitoring solutions and how to choose the best one to suit your specific needs.
Employee Monitoring Software
Whether you want to keep track of your in-office employees or your remote team, perhaps the best monitoring solution is monitoring and management software. This runs in the background of all company devices, which is why it trumps all other workforce monitoring techniques. Using such software is the least invasive method while simultaneously providing a direct monitoring experience.
Today, there are several Excellent management software, which will take your operations to the next level. They contain helpful features, including providing the status of each employee, time tracking, and the progress of each project and tasks completed by an employee.
Video Surveillance
In the form of CCTV cameras, video surveillance is one of the most common ways to monitor employee misbehaviour, misconduct, and safety. They can help you identify whether your workers are at the field and working stations, but that is about it.
You cannot install video surveillance directly onto the employee’s computer screen because that would violate their privacy. Similarly, you can only install such cameras in common working areas.
Network and Email Monitoring
This is one of the most direct ways of monitoring employee activity while they work. It helps you identify and track all the traffic coming in and going out of your office networks. This means that you can identify any unethical internet usage and whether employees are using unproductive network sites.
Similarly, email monitoring involves identifying all the emails coming in and sent from an employee’s work email. It is normally used to identify whether employees use email addresses for personal purposes.
However, both of these monitoring solutions work only for employees in the office and not the remote ones working in the field.
Use of Biometrics
If privacy and security are your office’s utmost priority, you should consider this workforce monitoring technique. They involve the use of fingerprints and iris detection to ensure that only selected individuals can access restricted areas. As a result, there are minimal chances of data breaches and theft.
GPS Tracking
As mentioned earlier, if you have employees who work remotely and in the field, you cannot use video surveillance and network or email monitoring. The best alternative to monitoring them is through GPS tracking. This is particularly helpful for construction workers as you can keep track of them on the field.
However, GPS tracking can be slightly challenging to undertake since employees might not be willing to download a GPS tracking system on their phones. Moreover, it can breach their privacy if they are not aware of being tracked.
Final Words
Among these five workforce monitoring methods, it seems clear that the most comprehensive and all-inclusive is the management software. It is the least invasive, so you will not have issues with privacy breaches. Additionally, it involves most of the aforementioned monitoring techniques, including network and email tracking, and helps identify how productive employees have been.
Whether you wish to track in-office employees or remote ones, as it will help make workforce monitoring a breeze. Not to mention, it is ideal for companies in the construction sector.
