Why is Remote Productivity Monitoring So Important?

There are many concerns about remote employee monitoring.

 

 

However, it is an effective way of giving employees more freedom, and it can motivate them. Find out how…

 

In every office, employees can see and hear each other, so there is usually a sense of accountability under the surface (or perhaps even spoken).

 

Become punctual, stay focused, and be productive. If not, everyone will notice.

 

I remember my colleague who played an online game on his phone for hours every day in the office. He was terminated.

 

But would we even have realized the difference if he'd been remote?

 

 

Many employers were reluctant to allow remote working in the past because they were uncertain that employees would still be productive without the monitoring habits inherent to office life. 

 

In the aftermath of the pandemic, many employers discovered their teams can be more productive remotely than they expected.

 

Workers, on the other hand, are unwilling to go back to the traditional workplace. 

 

Despite this, crisis-driven remote working has provided workers with the opportunity to escape monitors. 

 

They are able to get away with a lot more these days.

 

While the majority of employees are sincere, there are some disgraceful people just as an example, playing on their phones all day and even letting other people do their job while they sit back and chill.

 

I know that appears excessive. The fact is that almost every global company will be subjected to a certain type of fraud at some point.

 

Any company that offers global-scale remote work must find a strategy to alleviate this risk.

 

Employers find themselves facing questions of how to make the transition without compromising accountability measures as more workers request remote work.

 

This will be accomplished via a quid pro quo approach to productivity monitoring, where certain concessions are made by the worker accepting a degree of accountability via tracking in exchange for the convenience and autonomy of working remotely.

 

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Employee Monitoring

 

 

In some ways, employee monitoring gets a bad reputation.

 

After all, nobody likes to think about 'big brother' watching them all the time. 

 

We may not like it, but it's unrealistic to expect remote workers to have no accountability.

 

People like these are perfectly happy to work around others in a brick-and-mortar workplace because they have nothing to hide. 

 

Remote workers are no different. They are sometimes scared of software because it's unfamiliar to them.

 

You now have solid evidence of doing your part! 

 

The Advantages of Productivity Tracking

 

New technology and change management can create fear in employees and employers, which leads both to overlook the opportunity and benefits.

 

1. Productivity has increased.

 

 

People function best when they are aware that others are watching.

 

Employees were more productive when they knew their bosses were watching, according to one study. It's a natural instinct.

 

In many companies, the loss of this effect is the major barrier to full-time remote work.

 

Getting employees to accept a measure of productivity monitoring is a small sacrifice when they can enjoy the benefits of remote work from saving on rent and meals to living closer to family.

 

Providing both incentives and rewards at the same time can also result in a boost in productivity that impacts your bottom line. 

 

Additionally, having a better sense of performance allows you to reward particularly good work or greater productivity more appropriately.

 

2. Enhanced Team Performance

 

 

Just as sports coaches use fitbits to get insight into athlete performance, the information gathered on individual performance on a given day helps forge stronger teams that work more effectively together.

 

Make sure strengths are maximized, weaknesses are minimized, and teams are well balanced with the right tools to collaborate effectively and increase productivity. 

 

This creates a concrete and clear structure for team members to discuss productivity issues, find solutions, and be empowered to enhance.

 

The team is confident that everyone is contributing because issues are caught earlier and greater losses are prevented.

 

3. Effectiveness And Efficiency

 

Monitor your employees to discover where they are being inadvertently expensive to your business.

 

Plug those leaks and you will save your business money in the long run. 

 

In addition to accidental time waste, you can also identify instances of people intentionally wasting the company’s time. 

 

The Disadvantages of Productivity Monitoring

 

There are disadvantages to employee monitoring, as with anything else in life.

 

Employees can feel their employers don't trust or respect them when productivity monitoring is implemented, which is a downside of productivity monitoring.

 

Employees who are monitored for productivity feel their employer doesn’t trust or respect them and their privacy has been violated. 

 

To combat this, it is important to: 

 

1. Time management can be difficult at times. As long as someone is pulling their weight and getting the job done, it shouldn't matter what time they start work or how long they take for lunch.

 

Don't stress over the little stuff.

 

2. Explain what the monitoring is all about and explain that it does not threaten honest workers.

 

3. You must remember that productivity software is data input, not the end-all.

 

It can provide you insight into how your workforce is performing, but there are plenty of legitimate reasons why certain tasks or roles may have fewer keystrokes during specific time periods.

 

Communication is essential. For workers, it is imperative to know their supervisors understand their logical variances and they will not be unfairly punished.

 

4. You can offer workers an 'off switch' where they can temporarily deactivate the software when they need to do something else besides work, so they understand they are only being monitored during working hours and how to protect their privacy when necessary.

 

5. The workers should have the option of viewing their productivity data and deleting any time cards they are uncomfortable with, especially if there are screenshots or webcam photos.

 

This is not a state secret.

 

If workers are aware of the boundaries in place and are aware of the benefits that could be gained by making this small concession, monitoring is a lot less intimidating and even transformative.