Staff productivity trackers, also referred to as employee monitoring software, are frequently misunderstood instruments that can be quite advantageous for any business that prioritizes performance. A few years ago, staff productivity trackers became widely used. They are currently experiencing their peak adoption in the work-from-home era we are currently living in.
Although it is now more commonly recognized, there are still some misconceptions around the use of employee productivity tracker such as Controlio. Therefore, we believed it would be beneficial to draw attention to and correct the most prevalent fallacies.
1. Employee Monitoring is prohibited.
Because laws differ from one nation to another, what employers can monitor depends on where the business and its employees are located. However, in general, most nations allow employee monitoring to a certain degree and in specific situations.
For example, while “stealth” monitoring is permitted in some nations (under specific circumstances), in others, companies are only permitted to deploy monitoring software if they provide workers with advance notice.
The majority of governments have more general regulations pertaining to data collecting, processing, and protection than laws explicitly focused on employee monitoring.
Although the usage of monitoring software may not be expressly mentioned in a nation’s legislation, businesses should think about deploying it in light of privacy-related laws and regulations.
2. Monitoring Employees Is a Spying Tool
To tackle this directly, there are just terrible employers—not lousy monitoring tools in general.
It is possible for an employee productivity tracker to be misused. That cannot be avoided. Consider a micromanaging manager who is more concerned with identifying the smallest mistakes to punish their staff than with enhancing worker performance.
However, the way the instrument is being used is more important here than the tool itself. And whether or not they have monitoring software, this kind of manager is likely to behave in this manner.
The most common—and efficient—use of employee productivity monitors is not to constantly check if your team members are working or on Facebook. Instead, it’s about examining the broader picture of productivity, including what leads to high and low output as well as areas that require development.
Employers can have unbiased, data-driven discussions with their staff about performance when they use data in this manner. Although these conversations can occasionally be unpleasant, they are a great method to give staff members an opportunity to improve.
3. Monitoring Is a Privacy Invasion
Although workers might anticipate some degree of privacy at work, this privacy isn’t always guaranteed, particularly when using company-owned equipment. This does not, however, grant an employer access to sensitive and confidential employee data.
Although it may be argued that employees shouldn’t expose personal information by paying their bills and visiting websites that hold personal data, we are all human and occasionally need to take care of personal problems.
Fortunately, companies that make monitoring software are aware of this problem and have begun adding tools that let employers disable tracking and images when staff members use specific prohibited apps and websites.
Because of this feature, business owners can ensure that they never collect potentially sensitive information by turning off screenshots for banking and other websites.
4. Employees Gain Nothing from Monitoring
It’s a popular refrain that employee monitoring solely benefits businesses. And it makes sense on the surface. But think of the following example as just one of numerous counterarguments.
Recently, a business experienced an unexpected spike in the number of German-speaking clients. Even though their employees spoke German at a basic level, the increase caused them to spend an excessive amount of time using Google Translate to understand what clients were saying and come up with a solution.
Only after the employer examined data from their employee productivity tracker did they learn about this back-and-forth translation process. The business owner used the acquired knowledge to engage a language instructor and provide his staff with language training. After a few weeks, productivity rose as a result of a significant drop in the amount of time spent using Google Translate.
This is but one illustration of the ways in which monitoring data can benefit both businesses and workers. Numerous other strategies to improve job performance and help employees manage their workloads to avoid overwork can be discovered through employee monitoring.
Conclusion
As you can see, the most common misconceptions about employee productivity trackers have less to do with the software itself and more to do with how it is utilized. Improper use cannot be totally ruled out as long as employee productivity trackers are in use. Staff monitoring, however, can improve productivity, well-being, and efficiency when done properly, with solid regulations serving as safeguards and staff education.
