The pandemic has caused a seismic shift in how we work. Nothing is the same anymore, and that's not necessarily a bad thing! Remote working offers plenty of advantages: it saves time on commuting costs; raises employee morale; increases productivity...it could be just what organisations need to succeed post-pandemic. We've been forced into this new way of life - let's make sure our employers are ready for the revolution!

Working remotely has been skyrocketing in recent years, with 16% of workforces completely operating from home and 40% reflecting a hybrid structure.

Unfortunately for the 44% of organisations that don't permit remote working, this new trend presents some serious concerns; namely data security threats and managing employee productivity when out-of-sight. To combat these issues, employers are increasingly turning to monitoring tools - but whether or not employees appreciate them is another story entirely!

What tools can you use?

Let the future of employee monitoring take over! Digital-savvy software can follow every move, from logging when your team logs in and out to taking snapshots hourly. Hubstaff & BambooHR gather this data for you into a neat report - everything that's keystroked or mouse clicked is captured, alongside website visits and applications used (and their length). So whatever they do online – tech savvy tools can be watching!

Employers have access to an array of surveillance tools, from tracking sounds and videos to monitoring productivity without the employee's knowledge.

But with such intrusive practices come potential risks: will it benefit or just drive away your staff? We'll take a closer look at the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision on whether this is right for you.

The pros of these tools:

Time tracking

Time tracking tools can help managers make the most of employees' time - and money! These special programs provide insight into where workers are investing their efforts, letting employers re-align priorities to get the highest return on investment.

Non-work related activities

Employers know that remote work can be a productivity double-edged sword: if used correctly, it empowers employees to fly through tasks; however, left unchecked the temptation of social media may reduce efficacy.

The truth is even when no one’s looking over their shoulder roughly half of all monitored works spend 3 or more hours each day on non-work related activities! Fortunately though studies have shown that simply letting your team know they're being watched will cause many to buckle down and focus on business matters - everybody loves an audience after all!

Makes life easy

Modern businesses don't have to worry about keeping tabs on their remote teams— with tracking tools, you can easily keep track of how long your employees work and make sure payments are organised.

All it takes is a click! Plus, stay in control by setting an hourly limit or manage payments quickly through the app. It's all made easy for 21st century managers!

The cons of these tools:

The damage to morale

Working life can be restrictive; it's like being caged up in the office all day. Monitoring systems have been known to cause stress amongst employees, due to feelings of constantly having productivity judged and scrutinised throughout their daily tasks.

After all, who among us hasn't felt anxious about not looking busy enough when on a difficult call? Productivity isn’t everything but monitoring should never make you feel boxed-in!

Many workers feel wronged when they experience being monitored, feeling like a number rather than an individual. It's not surprising that people may react to this type of pressure with feelings such as betrayal and hurt - after all, trust is the foundation of any relationship! That said, it can still be difficult for companies to preserve loyalty in the face of regular monitoring techniques.

This doesn't also lead to more productivity

Work these days is all about tracking, from the inputs you make to how productive your employees are. But while activity reports might show what keys were pressed and where the mouse hovered over-- they don't always accurately paint a complete picture of an employee's day-to-day performance.

After all, valuable time can be spent deep in thought working on complex ideas that aren’t so easily quantified by clicks or calls - let alone zoom meetings! It looks like productivity tools need some tricks up their sleeves for measuring those moments as well…

The activity report measures productivity, not how hard you've been working. So even if your fingers were flying and the mouse was blazing, our score might still depict it as a slow day at work- but we're sure that's far from reality!

It could cost you good employees

It looks like having a Big Brother-style boss isn't working in tech. Nearly half of employees said they'd be out the door if their employer was tracking them every minute - and who can blame 'em?

After all, when you try to rein creativity in with numbers on spreadsheet cells, there's not much left other than feeling unappreciated. Tech professionals might want money and benefits but at heart what they really need is trust so that intelligence sparkles instead of feeling smothered!

Find the right balance

Finding the right balance between tracking too much or not enough can be tricky. But don't worry! Here are some key questions to consider:

• Do you really need all that data?
• Should everyone get treated equally in terms of monitoring?
• Do your employees have any opinions on it?
• Is there actually an issue here worth solving, or is this a case of "if ain't broke..."
• Are those features crucial - and if they're off, will the accuracy suffer?

Have at them and nail down productivity metrics with confidence!

Get expert advice

Your business deserves nothing but the best and our cloud tools are a great place to start! Don't delay; reach out now for valuable advice on how you can make the most of them. A conversation with us is just what your enterprise needs -- schedule yours today.