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Employee Monitoring Software

Employee monitoring software is a powerful tool that allows businesses to track their employees' activities and ensure their productivity. Staff monitoring software enables employers to monitor and analyse employee performance, attendance, and the use of company resources to promote better work ethics and efficiency. Employee tracking software can help businesses manage remote teams, track field workers, and ensure compliance with company policies. Employee monitoring tools can also make the workplace safer by helping businesses identify potential security risks, such as unauthorised access to sensitive information or harmful content. If you are looking for employee monitoring software in the UK, there are various options available to meet your business needs.

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Boost productivity, security & compliance with behavior analytics. Measure employee performance across web, chat, email, apps & more. Learn more about Teramind
Maximize employee productivity and ensure security and compliance with Teramind's comprehensive employee monitoring solution. With data-backed behavior analytics, you can gain actionable insights to optimize operations, track productivity, and reinforce compliance management, all while maintaining employee privacy. From identifying top-performing employees to streamlining processes and measuring performance, Teramind provides the versatile metrics and insights you need to succeed. Learn more about Teramind

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Cloud-based and on-premises software for employee work time usage tracking. Learn more about WE Controlio
Computer and Internet monitoring software designed for tracking employee work time usage. Work Examiner offers both on-premises (WE Controlio, WE Standard, WE Professional) and cloud-based solutions (WE Controlio) to control in-office as well as remote employee productivity. Learn more about WE Controlio

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Get real-time visibility into work habits, productivity trends, remote vs. in-office performance & easily spot engagement issues. Learn more about ActivTrak
ActivTrak’s workforce intelligence platform transforms work activity data into actionable insights to optimize performance management and boost business productivity. Unlike traditional employee monitoring tools, ActivTrak is the only complete solution with employee monitoring, productivity and performance management, and workforce planning capabilities that deliver measurable ROI in just weeks. Key differentiators include: - Enterprise-class scale to accelerate time-to-value - Employee-centric approach to ensure data privacy - AI-powered insights to help prioritize actions - Best-in-class expertise to optimize outcomes Learn more about ActivTrak

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Ekran System — an excellent employee monitoring solution for large enterprises with the most complete set of supported platforms Learn more about Syteca
Ekran System - universal employee activity monitoring software that tracks any user action on physical and virtual desktops, remote laptops, corporate or jump servers. Ekran System works on Windows and Linux servers recording all connected sessions, and on Windows desktops monitoring local and remote users. Learn more about Syteca

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
United Kingdom Local product
OPX lets businesses monitor employees' activity, oversee their productivity, schedule work and allocate tasks based on their skillsets. Learn more about OPX
OPX software lets businesses monitor their employees activities, and productivity in real-time. OPX has multiple modules that also allow to manage the workforce, automate back-office processes, allocate tasks based on employees' skillsets, schedule their work, monitor operations and generate reports based on real-time data. With OPX you can see what your employees are currently working on, how long they spend on particular tasks, how their productivity compares to others and who needs training. Learn more about OPX

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
SofTrack Managed Assets continuously monitors user engagement, including internet upload+downloads, logon activity, idleness and more. Learn more about SofTrack
SofTrack Managed Assets continuously monitors user engagement, including internet upload+downloads, logon activity plus screen saver events, web searches, application idleness and more. Providing full coverage for all versions of Windows, Terminal Servers, both online and offline. Use SofTrack's SQL-based reporting to satisfy employer requirements such as HIPAA, SOX and various wage and hour regulations. Configure scheduled graphical reports delivered via email. Free evaluation. Learn more about SofTrack

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Kickidler is a powerful tool for automation of employees time tracking, information security and increase in business efficiency. Learn more about Kickidler
Kickidler is the employee monitoring and user activity tracking software. It is a powerful tool for automation of control of personnel, information security and increase in business efficiency. Main Kickidler features: online monitoring of computers, recording and playback of employees history of activity, analysis of efficiency, time tracking and also violations detecting. Besides, Kickidler can be useful for optimization of communications inside the company and remote workers monitoring. Learn more about Kickidler

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Employee monitoring software for tracking team availability, evenly allocate tasks and prevent overload, burnouts and missed deadlines.
Clockify is employee monitoring software helping you track work hours, create staff work schedules, see everyone's availability, make adjustments when allocating tasks, and control costs and overall budgets. Individual time entries become valuable data about how each day is spent and give you insights on your employees' productivity habits. You can export reports on each working week and customize which data you want to include. Learn more about Clockify

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Build custom solutions on monday.com Work OS so you can monitor everything your employees are working on at a glance.
On monday.com Work OS, managers can easily assign tasks and track the progress of any ongoing projects at a glance so they have a real-time source of truth for all of their team's work. Implement the platform's time-tracking feature to monitor how team members organize their time then export a report to Excel to share with management and clients. Finally, generate graphs directly on the platform to visualize how team members allocate time and leverage insights to prioritize more effectively. Learn more about monday.com

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Boost productivity with customizable Docs, Reminders, Goals, Chat & more. Over 3 million teams have joined. Streamline workflow today!
ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform that eliminates work silos. It's the hub where teams come together to plan, organize, and collaborate on work using tasks, Docs, Chat, Goals, Whiteboards, and more. Easily customized with just a few clicks, ClickUp helps teams of all types and sizes deliver work more effectively. By replacing inflexible and overlapping tools, ClickUp helps teams save one day each week! Learn more about ClickUp

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Leverage Toggl Track data to boost your business. Accurately scope projects, improve resource allocation, and plan with confidence.
Toggl Track is a leading time tracking team for all sizes—without invasive surveillance or monitoring features. It helps empower workers through self-awareness around hours and ensures clean and reliable data through employee buy-in. Leverage Toggl Track data to boost your business. Accurately scope projects and pinpoint scope creep, improve staffing and team allocation, plan project budgets with confidence and ensure profitability by comparing labor costs and billable rates. Learn more about Toggl Track

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Deel simplifies global hiring and payroll for over 35,000 companies in 150+ countries, with compliant 5-minute onboarding.
Deel is the all-in-one HR platform built to hire, manage and grow global teams. By bringing together cutting edge HR tools, payroll solutions, compliance and more, Deel enables companies to scale globally with unmatched speed and flexibility. With Deel, you can hire and onboard any type of employee, compliantly, in 150+ countries in minutes. You can run payroll in 100+ countries and all 50 states in a click of a button. You can offer competitive benefits, equity, manage equipment and more. Learn more about Deel

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
See work happen in real-time with Hubstaff's employee monitoring software and identify productivity trends. Start a free trial today!
Gain clarity and peace of mind with streamlined employee monitoring and time tracking from Hubstaff. Know your team is on the right track in real-time through screenshot capture, activity monitoring, app usage, reporting, and more. Available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and iOS. Hubstaff runs in the background so your team can keep working without interruption. We integrate with over 30 business apps you already use, including Jira, Trello, Asana, Github, Paypal, and more. Learn more about Hubstaff

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
The easy way to schedule, track time, attendance, and communicate with workers. Save time. Improve accountability. 14-day free trial.
When I Work is an easy way for businesses to schedule, track time and attendance, and communicate with their hourly employees. Put the schedule and time clock in every employee's pocket with free iOS and Android apps. Keep track of time off, employee availability, and manage shift swaps with just a few clicks. Integrate with your payroll provider to streamline the process and avoid human error. Get started with a 14-day free trial now. Learn more about When I Work

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
WebHR is everyone's favorite and a global leader in Cloud HR - Helps you manage the most important asset in your company - your People!
WebHR is revolutionizing the way HR works. WebHR is a Social all-in-one Cloud based HR Software for Small & Medium Enterprises that handles everything from Hire to Retire, in the most innovate way. WebHR not only saves money to the companies, but also boosts productivity, saves space and make inter and intra-office communications fast, reliable and more efficient. WebHR assists in managing a companys most important asset - its People. Learn more about WebHR

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Accurately measure how people work with Time Doctor’s workday analytics that’s helped 200k+ users boost productivity by 22% on average.
Time Doctor’s industry-leading employee monitoring software helps you accurately measure and analyze how teams spend their time for unparalleled visibility. Uncover insights that empower everyone to improve their performance, wherever they work. Our 200k+ active users have been able to lift productivity by 22% on average. Employee-friendly automated time tracking and in-depth analytics brings transparency and accountability to the workday, so you and your teams can get better together. Learn more about Time Doctor

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
The user-friendliest time tracking software. DeskTime is a time tracking software that analyzes productivity & effectiveness real-time
A fully automatic time tracking software that has proven to boost employee productivity by 30% within the first weeks of using it. See how you and your employees spend their time online and offline, track time by projects and automatically calculate their costs based on workers' hourly rates. Additionally, generate custom reports for in-house use or your customers, plan employee vacations and time offs, calculate overtime pay, and store your team member's contact information in one place. Learn more about DeskTime

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Collects statistics and build reports of the employee's work based on the employee's presence status Skype for Business.
Collects statistics and build reports of the employee's work based on the employee's presence status Skype for Business. Learn more about SkypeTime

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Connecteam is a friendly employee monitoring software for easy communication, scheduling, time tracking, training, & task management.
Connecteam is an employee monitoring software that allows managers to put their business on autopilot, save time and increase productivity with mobile-first custom checklists, forms, and reports; Schedule shifts and track work hours with GPS time clock; Simplify employee communication, enhance professional skills, manage daily tasks and so much more, all in one app. Start for free now! Learn more about Connecteam

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Monitor the work process of your employees in real time. See their activity level, app & web usage at work and how productive they are.
WebWork is an advanced employee monitoring software that enables you to track the work process of your employees in real-time. See what they are working on at the moment through screenshots, what apps and websites they visit, and how much time spend on each. Get actual data on employee availability and manage tasks accordingly. Manage productivity through activity level reports and ensure your employees don't burn out or miss deadlines. Learn more about WebWork Time Tracker

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Time tracking software - The fastest and most accurate way to track time for employees and freelancers.
Timely is the easiest and most accurate way to track time across teams and projects. Timely's automatic time tracking software helps companies stay connected with their workforce and report accurately on their business from billing and project management to team management and resource planning. We’re 100% committed to user-level privacy by design, and therefore making Timely a tracking tool that employees and businesses actually trust. Learn more about Timely

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Effortlessly track and monitor employee productivity. AI-driven time-tracking for reliable data & enhanced productivity and performance
Enhance employee monitoring with Timesheets by Tempo, the leading time-tracking app in Jira. Utilize AI-powered automated time-tracking for valuable insights. Produce reliable data for reporting, invoicing, and accounting, ensuring accurate monitoring. Effortlessly track employee activities and boost visibility for effective monitoring. Make informed decisions, enhance productivity, and optimize workforce management with Timesheets by Tempo. Learn more about Tempo Timesheets

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Automated time tracking and employee monitoring with leave schedules, screenshots, used apps log, browser URL tracking, and more
Trackabi is a service for time tracking, employee monitoring, and leave management. The Trackabi desktop application can track user activity and automatically pause and start the timer depending on mouse moves and keystrokes. Screenshot capturing and browser URL tracking are available as well. Trackabi is an excellent instrument for freelancers, agencies, service providers billing by the hour, and other businesses willing to improve employee productivity or work on time-sensitive projects. Learn more about Trackabi

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Web-based time management and analytics tool for knowledge workers who want to be more efficient and productive.
Web-based time management and analytics tool for workers who want to be more efficient and productive. Prevents distractions and possibilities of becoming scattered in your digital life. RescueTime helps you understand daily habits so you can focus and be more productive. It runs securely in the background on your computer while keeping track of time spent on applications and websites giving you a clear depiction of your day. Learn more about RescueTime

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking
Employee monitoring and time tracking software for companies, teams, and freelancers.
Monitask delivers employee monitoring solutions to boost productivity, efficiency, and accountability across your team. Advanced screenshot and activity monitors, as well as time tracking capabilities, keep teams focused on the task at hand. Our software is powerful, yet lightweight, making it simple and easy to use. Managers can also access their dashboard on any of their devices to keep track of their team anytime, anywhere. Sign Up for Monitask and start saving time and money, today. Learn more about Monitask

Features

  • Keystroke Recording
  • Attendance Tracking
  • Timesheet Management
  • Task/Project Tracking
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Reporting & Statistics
  • Browsing History
  • Remote Access/Control
  • Screen Activity Recording
  • Location Tracking

Employee Monitoring Software Buyers Guide

Employee monitoring software is any tool used by organisations to observe and control the activities of their workforces while on duty. This may include online activities, journeys, the software tools they access, the premises they enter, and the hardware they use. Monitoring these activities enables employers in the corporate sector, healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, and finance to keep workers on track, ensuring that company resources are used adequately, safely, and efficiently.

Employee surveillance technology has been part of the British corporate environment for some time. According to a Capterra survey cited in How Do UK Workers Feel About Employee Monitoring, the most monitored workplace activities are attendance and time management. In recent years, 6% of UK workers have noticed a rise in the use of employee monitoring software, even as 50% of Britons surveyed are more concerned about the privacy and safety of their data, based on a survey cited in ]Has COVID-19 Monitoring Changed How UK Consumers Feel About Sharing Biometric Data?](/blog/2715/covid-monitoring-and-biometric-data-uk-consumers/)

Tracking software for employees often comes with downloadable time card-style reports and performance metrics displayed alongside workstation availability reports, forms, and custom checklists on a central dashboard. Managers can use this data to schedule shifts, match work hours with GPS locations, track time spent on each project, estimate project costs, generate invoices, calculate overtime, plan time off, and store contact information. As such, this type of tool may resemble Clocking Systems and Remote Work Software.

Employee tracking software may also carry out computer monitoring tasks for on-site and remote workers for security reasons. These can help identify suspicious activity, detect security threats, optimise productivity, prevent data loss, and ensure regulatory compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and other laws. Some work with remote desktop connections (RDC) to gain access to workstations and servers, gathering logon and screen capture data in real-time. With real-time alerts and logs, these tools enable administrators to send warnings or lock users out to keep the business running smoothly and securely.

However advanced an organisation's staff monitoring software may be, it must satisfy a few basic criteria to serve as an employee monitoring tool. Here are some of the basic capabilities of employee monitoring software:

  • Monitor and record employees' online and offline activities while on duty
  • Gain remote access to company hardware and software tools
  • Log browsing history, screen activity, and keystrokes
  • Track active and idle phases in employee activity
  • Monitor employees' use of email, chat, and data transfer tools
  • Send alerts, reminders, and notifications for unauthorised, suspicious, or inadequate activities

What is Employee Monitoring Software?

Employee monitoring software is a tool that gives organisations visibility into their workers' location, activities, and hardware usage. Its purpose is to help keep workers on track, ensuring that company resources and data are used appropriately. This provides peace of mind to employers and other stakeholders, who are kept abreast of security breaches and productivity slumps.

Employee tracking software usually runs in the background, continuously monitoring online and offline activities, tracking how workers spend their time and sharing the data gathered with HR staff, senior managers, and supervisors. This may include screenshot capture, app usage data, GPS-enabled time-clocking, browser history reports, and other essential information that feeds into individual worker and group productivity reviews. With time card reports, checklists, forms, and other documents that update in real-time, supervisors can download and share this data instantly, schedule shifts more adequately, simplify communication with workers, and manage various other daily tasks.

Employee monitoring tools may also integrate with popular business apps to enable tracking use of collaboration software, video chat apps, payment processors, and other tools. This data may then be interpreted, compared with company benchmarks and historical data, and analysed to generate attendance and productivity metrics. It may feed into performance reviews, productivity reports, employee recognition initiatives, and wider business practices. It can also point out work habits, issues to do with company culture, and areas HR managers need to address.

Employee monitoring software also gathers login activity and usage data for every company workstation and server, both on and off the premises. It includes remote work in its activity reports and updates the data continuously. With this tool, IT administrators can monitor computer run time, identify suspicious activity, block users, and prevent data loss. With remote desktop control, they can respond to breach alerts, check logs, and restrict access to sensitive data. Using employee computer monitoring software, corporations, SMEs, educational institutions, healthcare clinics, and government agencies with distributed workforces can better manage their security, time, and resources for optimum productivity.

Depending on the type of monitoring software for employees, it may be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or outsourced to a trusted managed service provider (MSP). The first comes with setup and maintenance costs for on-site servers and security tools, while the other two passes these costs onto the MSP or SaaS provider, as explained in On-Premise vs. Cloud: Which Option Is Better for Your Company?.

What are the benefits of employee monitoring software?

The benefits of employee monitoring software tools relate mainly to how they streamline back-office activities and reduce task redundancy. But there are many other advantages to using staff monitoring software, including:

  • Higher productivity: Knowing that their activity is tracked for performance purposes can serve as extra motivation to workers. Using machine learning technologies and pre-determined benchmarks, supervisors can view the amount of work being carried out directly from their dashboard, gauge productivity, single out distractions, and match these temporary slumps with screenshots captured from the workers' screens. Aware of this, workers are more likely to avoid procrastinating and pausing their work for too long.
  • Seamless project management: Employee productivity monitoring software also enables supervisors to view worker progress on individual projects. With this information, which works as a single source of truth for all managers across departments, they can assign new tasks and prioritise existing ones, replace workers, regroup teams, reallocate resources, and rethink project deadlines. Time-tracking data can also be downloaded, shared with managers and clients, or fed straight through to project management and other tools via API linkage.
  • Better performance insight: With seamless, automated attendance and time tracking, managers can obtain in-depth insight into employee performance. They can then use this information to make decisions that may enhance their performance and well-being. This may include time off, employee benefits, and team-building activities. The information can also inform succession, dismissal, and promotion decisions.
  • More accountability: If employers suspect foul play, they can use employee computer monitor software to collect evidence before confronting the workers involved. Illegal activity may involve data leakage, theft, misappropriation, and computer misuse. The latter includes hacking, unauthorised data copying, chat room abuse, identity theft, and virus attacks, which are activities forbidden and punishable under the Computer Misuse Act. Notifying workers that they are monitored may help prevent these activities, but employers may feel safer knowing that they can collect evidence to support their claims in case of litigation.
  • More transparency: Employee computer monitoring software ensures transparency and compliance within the organisation. Non-invasive monitoring is preferable, but workers can also be made aware automatically that their communications via email, video chat, and instant messaging apps are stored. They also know that their browser history, social media activity, file transfers, and document edits are recorded, often with video surveillance cameras on their computer screens or in communal areas. As noted in a Capterra blog post titled How Do UK Workers Feel About Employee Monitoring, 46% of employees surveyed freely accepted being monitored by their employer, while 41% succumbed to pressure. Invasion of privacy, low morale and increased stress were some of the most essential concerns, but staff monitoring tools ultimately ensure the safety and job security of all employees.
  • Greater security: Employee monitoring software generates actionable reports and alerts, helping IT administrators and security staff prevent and respond to incidents. It also enables them to focus on high-risk individuals and devices, protect the organisation's resources, and decide on the type of cybersecurity needed, such as ECC encryption and server-level blurring.

What are the features of employee monitoring software?

The features of employee monitoring software are made possible today by advanced technologies like GPS tracking, machine learning (ML), speech recognition, and optical character reading (OCR). Some developers go as far as developing white label versions of their tools. But staff monitoring tools do not need to contain advanced features or customisations to serve an organisation well. Here are the basic features of worker monitoring software:

  • Activity monitoring: See how employees are using their devices in real-time. This capability is useful to companies with distributed teams, whose managers log in remotely to check up on staff. Supervisors unable to remain online throughout the day can check in periodically or when prompted by alerts and notifications triggered by suspicious activity.
  • Email monitoring: Keep a record of employee communications from their work email addresses. Employee computer monitoring software can help store these messages for future references, archiving them and any attached documents for a specific amount of time, in line with requirements on tax returns, privacy data, and the employer's preferences. Saved data can also serve in training initiatives and procedural improvements.
  • Time tracking: Track and record the time employees spend on specific projects, apps, or websites. With real-time updates, staff management tools can help managers visualise a worker's time across apps, websites, and projects while the work is still in progress so that they may take immediate action to address gaps in activity or poor use of time. As the tool matches each increment of time with specific projects and tasks, it enables supervisors and team leaders to calculate project costs based on hourly rates, generating reports and invoices for clients.
  • Attendance management: Track worker attendance and participation in projects, meetings, or online activities. When it comes to tracking software for employees, it can be used for both physical and virtual tracking. Linking with visitor management software, meeting room tools, and smart buildings, a staff tracking system can help confirm an employee's location via GPS and IoT technology, confirming to supervisors that they have achieved their attendance benchmarks.
  • Workload management: Keep an eye on time spent on projects and devices to optimise workloads—various programs and apps. According to government guidance, workers are entitled to various types of rest breaks at work, whether they work at an office, in a factory, or the open. Employee tracking software can help managers enforce these rules so that the workload does not become too hard to bear for employees. The software can also help plan and schedule employee vacations and time off, calculate overtime pay, and store contact information for temporary workers willing to pitch in at peak times.
  • Idle time monitoring: Monitor when and how long workers are away from their workstations. Staff monitoring software can help determine not only when an employee is away from their device but also when they are inactive while using their device. It can also pinpoint specific times during the day when workers are affected by fatigue, distractions, or other issues, helping managers address these instances and boost motivation.
  • Screen activity recording: Save and store visual footage of employees’ screens. Whether it is continuous video recording, regular screenshots, or random screengrabs, employee computer monitoring software can capture this information and store it for future reference or immediate action.
  • Keystroke recording: Keep a record of what workers are typing at their workstations. This type of monitoring could be considered invasive but may prove particularly useful in fields like education, policing, journalism, customer service, and entertainment, where back-office workers with access to sensitive information must carry out strenuous typing activities with tight deadlines.
  • Productivity analysis: Generate productivity reports for individual workers, groups, and departments. Thanks to employee monitoring tools, managers have access to comprehensive reports on a weekly or monthly basis, making it possible to compare output over time and across projects or departments and determine where best to allocate resources.
  • Performance analysis: Generate performance analyses for workers, teams, and departments. Staff monitoring enables managers to track individual progress over time, detect changes in work styles, and identify patterns in their performance. This data can be used in performance reviews, reward initiatives, and resource allocation if the worker's equipment is found to affect their performance. Staff monitoring platforms come with all these features as standard, albeit at a different cost and using different technologies. For more information on standard and advanced capabilities, our readers are welcome to scroll through the Capterra software directory, where filters and comparisons can help narrow down the list of employee tracking tools to that perfect match.

What should be considered when purchasing employee monitoring software?

When purchasing employee monitoring software, users may experience some difficult decisions. Assuming the use of an employee tracker doesn't clash with corporate culture, users should ask themselves these four basic questions before deciding on a staff monitoring tool:

  • What is the legal context for using an employee tracking tool? In the UK, employee tracking is legal and part of a wider culture of mass surveillance. However, the practice is regulated. The Data Protection Act 2018 and the Employment Practices Code stipulate that, while employers don't necessarily need the worker's consent to monitor them, covert monitoring should only be carried out in exceptional circumstances, with senior management's approval, and with reasonable suspicion that criminal activity or malpractice is taking place. Also, covert audio and video monitoring are forbidden in areas workers deem private, such as restrooms and private offices, and must only be used in and during investigations.
  • Does the staff monitoring tool raise employee security concerns? People are rightfully concerned nowadays about how their data is used and especially their biometric data. This includes signatures, fingerprints, voice, face, iris, movement, and DNA data. With more smart buildings, devices, and software tools secured with biometrics-activated mechanisms, it's surprising that 60% of surveyed Britons are unaware that their data may be shared with third parties. What's not surprising is that 69% of the people surveyed don't feel comfortable with that knowledge. According to a Capterra blog post titled Has COVID-19 Monitoring Changed How UK Consumers Feel About Sharing Biometric Data? People have grown more concerned about data security since the pandemic. Companies considering staff monitoring tools must address these concerns and allay their employees' fears before proceeding with implementation.
  • Does the employee tracker support access and escalation? It's essential to delegate employee monitoring duties and privileges to the right people from the onset. This includes day-to-day monitoring activities, typically carried out by an IT administrator or member of cybersecurity staff, as well as complex situations due to escalations, which require a very different set of skills. Designating reliable people to handle every aspect of the incident quickly, from detection through to HR reprimand and even police involvement, minimises complications further down the line.
  • How would the employee tracker affect communication with staff? The use of an employee tracker may lead staff to change their behaviour and how they interact with one another. So, when notifying employees that they are under surveillance, it's essential to clarify the extent to which their communication is monitored without going into too much detail. Ideally, employers should draft a policy that workers can access at any time and strive to obtain universal consent before implementing the software.

The most relevant employee monitoring software trends are derived from new expectations relating to lifestyles, work-life balance, and learning. Unimaginable decades ago, these trends were likely a harbinger for even greater societal change. Program managers and organisations trying to prepare for the future would do well to contemplate these emerging trends in mentoring:

  • Remote work is no longer a privilege: As remote work is part of the new normal, more employers are adapting their monitoring to this growing chunk of their workforce. But monitoring people in their own homes comes with limitations, and organisations that choose to go down this path must be sensitive to the growing needs and expectations of off-premise workers, which may include things like 'remote fika' or spontaneous family time when monitoring should be off-limits.
  • Personalising data: Employee data is a valuable commodity. Rather than sell it or misuse it, organisations should apply it to personalise and optimise their employees' work experience. Whether it is redesigning their workstations, coming up with new layout options for their software, setting up custom lighting ambiences, or letting them set up new workflows, a data-storing staff monitoring tool can be a gateway to a more inclusive and comfortable work environment.

Sources:

The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in Capterra's directory that offer them. The following sources were used for this document:

  1. Employee Monitoring Software- Capterra UK (Date accessed: Sun, June 26, 2022)
  2. Data Protection Act 2018- legislation.gov.uk (Date accessed: Mon, June 27, 2022)
  3. On-Premise vs. Cloud: Which Option Is Better for Your Company?- Capterra UK Blog (Date accessed: Tue, June 28, 2022)
  4. Computer Misuse Act- Crown Prosecution Service (Date accessed: Tue, June 28, 2022)
  5. How Do UK Workers Feel About Employee Monitoring- Capterra UK Blog (Date accessed: Mon, June 27, 2022)
  6. Rest Breaks at Work- Gov UK (Date accessed: Tue, June 28, 2022)
  7. The Employment Practices Code- Information Commissioner's Office (Date accessed: Tue, June 28, 2022)
  8. Has COVID-19 Monitoring Changed How UK Consumers Feel About Sharing Biometric Data?- Capterra UK Blog (Date accessed: Mon, June 27, 2022)