Employee Monitoring for Remote Workplaces

Automatic time tracking, proof-of-work screenshots, website logging, and productivity scores.

Monitask - time tracking software for teams

What is Remote Employee Monitoring?

Remote employee monitoring is a set of activities performed by the employer to improve company transparency, security, and engagement.

Over the last five years, the remote workforce has increased by 44%, and we expect it to grow by at least 150% in the next decade. This trend of remote hiring comes with a unique set of challenges, but one, in particular, stands out: Without proper processes and tools, it is harder to keep companies profitable and productive.

According to Buffer, most remote employees prefer to work from home, and naturally, this can affect motivation and performance.

Monitask comes with a set of tools to help businesses solve this fundamental problem:

Screenshot monitoring - Automatically capture screenshots at random intervals.
Live dashboard - See which employees are online and what they are working on.
Automatic time tracking - Eliminate the need for manual timesheets with automatically calculated hours. Automated time tracking is as easy as a click to start a shift and another click to end it.
Activity monitoring and productivity monitoring - Check activity levels to identify team members with poor productivity.
Internet monitoring - Check that only work-related websites are visited. Reduce social media browsing and unproductive web surfing.
App monitoring - Review apps used by each team member and the time spent in each app.
Project management - Assign tasks and projects to each remote worker and monitoring progress.
Idle time removal - Remove unproductive time automatically.
Compatible with most operating systems - Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
And more scroll to more features!

How Can a Business Start Monitoring Remote Employees?

Step 1

Create Monitask account

Step 2

Invite employees and remote workers.

Click "Invite your team" from the dashboard and add your team members' email addresses. You can add an unlimited number of employees to your account.

Step 3

Ask employees to start tracking time using Monitask.

Your team members will need to download the time tracker and start using it to track their time. Company owners, administrators, and managers do not need to install Monitask, as data is accessible via the web-based real-time dashboard.

Step 4

Review screenshots and activity.

Use daily timelines to review screenshots and activity levels of employees.

Step 5

Review internet and application history.

Use the application and website report to understand which websites your team is using the most.

Step 6

Review online members.

View who is online and working using the live dashboard. Quickly glance over their work activities and productivity throughout the week.

Why track time with Monitask

Automatic Timesheets

Forget about manual time entries and excel templates with accurate, automated time tracking apps.

Internet and App Monitoring

Review websites visited and applications used by your team. Identify unproductive sites and time spent on repetitive tasks.

Project Management

Create and assign projects to responsible employees, review project reports, and money spent on each project.

Offline Time Entry

The time tracker even works offline when there's no reliable internet connection. All recorded time is securely uploaded as soon as the internet connection is available.

Screenshots

Proof-of-work screenshots are a great way to review daily operations and identify unproductive employees. Screenshots can be turned off or blurred for sensitive content.

Activity Levels

Activity levels show how active an employee is during their workday. Activity levels are calculated based on the general keyboard and mouse usage.

Idle Time Detection

Automatically identify and remove idle time by enabling this feature. Idle time detection can help you save thousands of dollars a year by reducing your payroll.

Employee App

The Monitask application is for employees including contractors and freelancers to track their work hours for projects assigned to them in Monitask.

Tips to Better Monitor Remote Employees

Measure Often with Detailed Reports

Activity and time reports can uncover valuable insights into the day-to-day operations of your organization. For best results, run reports often and check for outliers. Very low or very high activity level percentages might mean that the remote employee is not performing well or is stuck and needs assistance.

Review Daily Timelines

The daily timeline page is the most popular tool in Monitask. It shows screenshots of the employee's desktop and activity levels divided into 10-minute intervals. Also, you can see all employees who are currently online and their visited apps and websites. Such valuable information can help you reduce precious time being spent on social media and web surfing.

Generate Timesheets

Use time entry details to generate daily, weekly, or monthly timesheets. Export timesheet data to CSV to import into your accounting and payroll software.

Be Transparent

Organizations inevitably benefit from transparency. Always communicate with your team regarding what you expect from them and what's measured. Help your team grow by sharing insights and by helping them when they are stuck on a task or a project.

If you need help understanding and evaluating monitoring options for your company, you can always contact us at [email protected]

FAQ

How Many Companies Use Employee Monitoring?

According to the American Management Association, nearly 80% of major companies use remote employee monitoring software. According to the AMA report, companies find employee monitoring tools to be effective in managing employees and increasing productivity.

How Does Screenshot Monitoring Work?

Screenshots are taken at random intervals every 1-10 minutes. You can set how many screenshots you want to see every hour for each employee. Options include 0 (no screenshots), 6, 18, and 30 (one screenshot every two minutes).

Does Employee Monitoring Increase Productivity?

Yes, after using Monitask for several weeks, your team will increase productivity by 10% to 80%.

How to Monitor Employees Who Work with Sensitive Data?

You are in complete control of what's measured and tracked. If your team works with sensitive data, you can disable screenshots or activity monitoring for a specific member or all members at once. Each screenshot also has a blur option, just in case you accidentally capture sensitive data.

How Does Internet Monitoring Work?

Monitask collects browser data from all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Edge, and others. It analyzes website visits and sends the data to an employee's timeline, where it is available for administrators to review.

How are Activity Levels Calculated?

Monitask calculates activity levels for every 10 minutes of work. Every 10 seconds, we check if there's a mouse or keyboard movement. If we detect activity during a 10-second interval, then we save it as "1". If we do not detect activity, then we save it as "0". We then divide inactive periods by active periods and come up with a percentage.

Are There Guidelines on Productivity Levels?

We consider daily activity levels of >70% to be a good indicator of a productive employee across industries. Depending on the industry, this metric can fluctuate. For example, for data-entry jobs, we consider >85% activity levels to be a good indicator, while for programmers, >60% is good.

Does Monitask Record Keystrokes or Sensitive Data?

No, Monitask apps do not record keystrokes. Monitask only captures the number of keystrokes and mouse movements every 10 seconds.

Is Employee Monitoring Legal?

According to the Privacy Rights group, most employee monitoring solutions are legal. Note that Monitask is a non-intrusive monitoring solution and only works during work hours. More info: https://privacyrights.org/consumer-guides/workplace-privacy-and-employee-monitoring

Can I Disable Employee Monitoring for Some Employees?

Yes, settings are fully customizable for each member. You are in full control of what Monitask captures.

Can Employees Turn Off Monitoring?

Employees decide when to start and end time tracking. Company managers will see monitoring information when employees track their hours, but Monitask never spies on employees and only monitors when an employee decides to start time tracking.

How is the Data Stored and Secured?

Monitask encrypts data during transmission and at rest. Enterprise-grade servers with encryption are used to store your data. If you need additional information about data security, please contact us.