Nowadays, when an array of businesses have transferred their work online, increased demand for employee monitoring software doesn’t come as a surprise. Everybody started using it, from major corporations to small businesses. This has raised many questions, regarding serious ethical issues.
Employers claimed that they use workforce analytics and time tracking software to enhance security and productivity. Employees, on the other hand, were frustrated, asking where the fine line between taking care of business and invading employees’ privacy is.
We don’t intend to turn this question into a philosophical debate of what “ethics” and “ethical” mean in the world of business. Nor do we intend to debate whether it’s right to sacrifice a bit of someone’s privacy for the “greater good,” i.e, the company’s good.
Instead, we’ll show you how to use workforce analytics and time tracking software, such as Workpuls, while having your employees’ best interests at heart.
Be Transparent About It
We can’t stress enough how important it is to be honest and open about using the productivity tracker on your employees’ devices. Based on a survey conducted on this issue, 77% of employees in America stated that they would be more at ease if they knew their employers were monitoring them. At the same time, 70% of them said they would leave if they found out they have been monitored secretly. According to this percentage, being transparent about your intentions makes all the difference.
Breaking the news about monitoring may be the hardest part of this conversation. For this reason, try to remember why using productivity tracking software would be perfect for your business. If you want to use it to prevent cyber threats and potential data breaches, increase productivity, and boost team performance, let your employees know, focusing on benefits they can have from it.
Letting employees see their data collected is another significant part of being transparent. This way, employees will see how the software works and what work aspects are tracked. Most importantly they’ll be able to analyze this information and improve their performance or revel in success.
Finally, being open and honest about including the monitoring system into your workflow is the most ethical thing you can do that will crush any resistance and make your employees at ease.
Devise a Detailed Employee Monitoring Policy and Stick to It
Employee monitoring policy will help you break the ice, by answering crucial questions about the implementation of the workforce analytics software, like why, what, and who is going to be monitored? Here are some key questions and answers you can include in your Employee Monitoring Policy to show how to use the workforce software effectively and ethically.
Why Should You Use The Monitoring Software?
This is the first question you can expect employees to ask you, so prepare to give some solid arguments, instead of vague or general statements. Even better, try asking yourself the same question first. If your answer is “I don’t know,” or “ Everybody else’s doing it”, using employee monitoring software may not be a good idea.
Make sure you monitor employees for the right reasons: to improve security and productivity and see how they handle the company’s equipment.
What Activities Should You Monitor?
Workforce analytics software, like Workpuls, contain numerous features and monitoring options. This said you shouldn’t use all of these feats because surveilling all computer activities may be time-consuming and, more importantly, may lead to the invasion of privacy. So, try to set goals you want to achieve by monitoring and use the productivity tracker accordingly.
For example, if you want to boost productivity, start tracking the use of different apps. Or, you maybe want to focus on data security? Take screenshots when employees deal with vulnerable data.
Who Should You Monitor?
The shortest answer to this may be “Monitor all employees or none of them.” Because deciding to monitor only some of your employees may get you on the slippery slope filled with ethical issues. You may have reasonable doubt to monitor specific workers, but how would you justify your decision to other employees? Is this decision based on previous behavior, rumors, reputation?
Imagine that your assumptions proved to be true and this select monitoring prevented significant data leakage. You would be a hero who saved the company from a harmful cyber threat.
However, if your decision was wrong, and monitoring results showed no illegal activities on specific computers, the results would be devastating. Your reputation and your employees’ trust would be shattered.
Therefore, when you decide to apply workforce analytics software, apply it on all employees’ computers, to avoid these dangerous traps.
Using employee monitoring software may often feel like walking a tightrope. So, you need to make well-balanced decisions and be open and honest about it.
