The Benefits of Monitoring Employees
The act of tracking and observing an employee’s behaviour at work is known as employee monitoring. A number of techniques, including keystroke logging, video surveillance, and computer monitoring, can be used to accomplish this.
Employee monitoring has a lot of benefits. Being able to:
Boost productivity: Employers can find areas where productivity is poor and make modifications to increase it by monitoring employee activities. Employers can put policies in place to control things like how much time employees spend on social media.
Preventing theft of firm assets and intellectual property is possible with employee monitoring. Employers can spot suspect behaviour, such as downloading huge files or sending emails to personal accounts, by monitoring employee computer use.
Employee monitoring can assist in protecting employees from violence at work by recognising potential threats. Employers may step in to stop an employee from expressing threats on social media, for instance.
Comply with regulations: Employers are obligated to keep an eye on employee activity in particular sectors, including healthcare and financial services. For instance, in order to prevent insider trading, financial services businesses must keep an eye on employee trading behaviour.
But there are certain drawbacks to staff monitoring as well. It can:
Employee privacy rights may be infringed upon by surveillance practises. Employers should only monitor employee activities when it is necessary and appropriate since employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy at work.
Employee monitoring may lead to tension and anxiety for the workers who are subjected to it. Their morale and productivity may suffer if they think they are always being observed and evaluated.
hostile workplace: If employee monitoring is not carried out fairly and consistently, it may result in a hostile workplace. Employees who receive greater monitoring than others may feel unfairly singled out and treated differently.
Before introducing employee monitoring, employers should carefully consider its benefits and drawbacks. Employers should monitor employee activities only if it is reasonable, fair, and transparent to do so.
For employers that are thinking about employee monitoring, here are some extra suggestions:
Prior to monitoring an employee’s conduct, an employer should obtain their consent. A written policy or a signed agreement can do this.
Be open and honest about the monitoring: Employees need to understand what is being watched over and why. Additionally, employers must disclose to workers how the data will be used.
Employers should only keep an eye on employee behaviour when it is necessary and appropriate. For instance, if a company is concerned about fraud or theft, it may need to keep an eye on staff activity.
Employers should only utilise the data obtained from employee monitoring for proper business goals, therefore use it prudently. Employees should not be subjected to discrimination or personal punishment as a result of the information.
Employers can use employee monitoring in a fair, open, and beneficial manner by paying attention to these suggestions.