Why Monitoring is a Must for Remote Companies

Maria Petit

Working remotely is like an elite club, everyone just wants to join in! Working from home has become so popular that sometimes it feels like it is the VIP room of workers! This popularity has increased since employees are constantly looking for better work-life balance and companies are realizing the cost savings of having a remote workforce. However, as good as it may sound, working remotely and managing a remote workforce comes with a couple of challenges. Primarily because employers want to ensure that employees are productive when they’re not in the office!

This is where employee monitoring comes in. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the importance of employee monitoring in remote companies, and why you need a remote productivity monitoring tool like Monitask to make sure your business is running smoothly! Don’t hesitate and keep reading!

Over the years, the number of remote companies has significantly increased. According to Owl Labs, back in 2018, 16% of companies worldwide were fully remote, and by fully we mean: with no central headquarters or office that employees are required to work from. People can instead pick their workspace, whether it’s at home or somewhere else entirely.

In 2019, that number had already increased to 30% and is projected to continue growing. A report by Gartner shows that 43% of employees will work remotely at least some of the time by 2023! The trend is very clear: remote companies are on the rise and more and more people are working from home. 

However, as working from home becomes the new normal, employers are starting to realize that they need to find ways to ensure that their employees are productive when they’re not in the office. Because let’s face it, it can be pretty difficult to keep track of what everyone is doing when you can’t just pop into their office and see for yourself, and that’s where employee monitoring comes in!

Employee monitoring is the practice of tracking, observing, and measuring employee activity to ensure that they are working productively and not wasting time

There are many different ways to monitor employee activity, but the most common one is through the use of monitoring software. This type of software allows employers to track employee activity such as keystrokes, mouse movements, website visits, and even taking screenshots of what employees are doing on their computers. 

Employee monitoring software can be a great way to improve productivity in your remote company. But why is it so important? Let’s take a look at the top reasons why employee monitoring is essential in remote companies! 

Top Reasons Why Employee Monitoring is Important in Remote Companies

We have compiled the top reasons why it is important for remote companies to keep track of their employees, read them below!

To Make Sure Employees Are Working 

Yes, we know this sounds very obvious, but we still need to clarify it! And, even though surveys affirm remote employees work a lot more than in-person employees, — 78% of people say they work more than 40 hours per week. When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to tell if they are working or not. As we previously told you, you can’t just pop into their office and take a look!

With employee monitoring software, you can track employee activity and see exactly what they are doing (or not doing) during work hours. This way, you can quickly identify any issues and take appropriate action. 

You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure

This is a phrase that’s often used in business, and it applies to remote work. When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to gauge their productivity levels. This is why employee monitoring is so important in remote companies- you need to be able to measure productivity to manage it effectively.

Monitask is the perfect remote productivity monitoring tool for this purpose. It allows you to see which applications and websites your employees are using, how much time they’re spending on each task, and even take screenshots of their work. Below, you can see an example!

This way, you can easily identify any productivity issues and take steps to improve them!

Remote Workers Need Structure and Discipline

While working from home has its perks, it can also be quite easy to get distracted. After all, there’s no one around to tell you to focus on your work! This is why it’s important to provide remote workers with structure and discipline, and employee monitoring can help you do just that.

You can also build a culture of employee discipline by encouraging accountability and responsibility!

Rely on Monitask to build employee discipline! This software allows you to set up productivity goals for your employees and track their progress over time. This way, you can ensure that they’re staying on track and meeting their targets. You can also use the software to give feedback and provide motivation, which is essential for remote workers.

Employee Monitoring Helps Prevent Misuse of Company Resources

When employees are working remotely, they have access to all of the same company resources as they would if they were in the office. However, this also means that there’s a greater risk of misuse. For example, according to several studies, employees can spend up to three hours surfing the web for non-work related topics instead of doing their job.

An employee monitoring tool like Monitask helps to prevent this by giving you visibility into how your employees are using company resources. If you notice that someone is spending too much time on personal activities, you can take steps to address the issue.

Helps to Maintain a Professional Image

When you have a remote workforce, it’s important to maintain a professional image for your company. After all, your employees are the face of your business! With employee monitoring, you can make sure that your employees are representing your company in a positive light and upholding your standards, how? Let’s see!

Employee monitoring helps you to enforce internet usage policies. This means that you can block certain websites and applications that you don’t want your employees to have access to. For example, if you want to maintain a professional image for your company, you can block social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. This will keep your employees from posting on their social media accounts during work hours!

Employee Monitoring Increases Transparency and Communication

In a remote company, it’s essential to have good communication to ensure that everyone is on the same page. With employee monitoring, you can increase transparency and communication within your company. This way, you can avoid any misunderstanding or miscommunication between employees and managers.

The Slack-Monitask integration allows you to easily and quickly communicate with all of your departments

With this integration, you can send and receive tasks, comments, and screenshots directly to and from Slack. This way, you can keep everyone in the loop and avoid any communication issues. The Slack-Monitask integration is a must-have for any remote company! It allows you to maintain clear and concise communication between all departments, which is essential for a successful business.

Employee Monitoring Catch the Cheaters 

Let’s face it, employees will sometimes try to cheat the system, whether it’s by taking longer breaks than they’re supposed to, doing personal tasks during work hours, or even trying to trick the time tracker! However, with employee monitoring, you can quickly identify any such issues and take corrective action.

Monitask does the trick to avoid this! This tool serves this purpose as it allows you to track your employees’ activity in real-time. This way, you can easily spot any potential cheating and take steps to address it.

Employee Monitoring Helps You Foster a Positive Work Culture

When you have a remote workforce, fostering a positive work culture is essential to keep your employees happy and motivated. With employee monitoring, you can efficiently identify any issues that could be damaging your company’s culture. 

For example, if an employee is regularly engaged in personal activities during work hours or any other action that could be hindering the team’s performance, with employee monitoring you can take measures to address the issue.

Employee Monitoring Helps You Comply with Laws and Regulations

Depending on your industry, there may be laws and regulations that require you to monitor your employees’ activity. For example, in the financial industry, there are strict regulations that require companies to monitor their employees’ trading activity. With employee monitoring, you can easily comply with these laws and regulations.

While you monitor your employees, you can easily spot any potential compliance issues and take steps to address them

If you are a U.S registered remote company, you have the right to monitor the following:

Employee Monitoring Helps You Protect Your Company’s Data

In today’s world, data breaches are becoming more and more common. For example, back in May, data from 21 million users of 3 Android VPNs was put up for sale after hackers breached their systems. In addition, 10GB of sensitive information was made public and leaked on Telegram!

Therefore, if your company stores sensitive data, it’s important to take steps to protect it. With employee monitoring, you can easily identify any potential security risks and take steps to address them. You can trust Monitask to keep your data safe and sound! 

Here you can extensively read about the company’s privacy policy. In Monitask’s words: “They collect personal information that you provided to them.”

Employee Monitoring Helps You Save Money

When you have a remote workforce, it’s important to ensure that your employees are productive. With employee monitoring, you can effortlessly identify any issues that could be costing your company money. 

For example, when you monitor your employees you can get accurate data on your employees’ working hours, so you don’t end up paying for the time they haven’t worked. As well, it can help you to better allocate resources and tasks to not get behind your business plan!

Employee Monitoring Helps You Keep Your Employees Engaged

When you have a remote workforce, it’s important to keep your employees engaged. With employee monitoring, you can easily identify any issues that could be affecting your employees’ engagement. 

By monitoring employee productivity and progress toward goals, managers can provide individualized feedback and support to keep employees on track

Through employee monitoring, managers can also identify employee training needs and implement development opportunities to keep staff motivated and invested in their own growth. This not only improves overall efficiency in the workplace but also allows for more personalized coaching and development opportunities for individual employees. 

Employee Monitoring Helps You Address Employee Performance Issues

While employee monitoring may seem invasive, it can be a helpful tool in addressing performance issues. For example, employee monitoring can track employee attendance, identifying patterns of lateness or excessive absences. 

Remember that:

Monitoring employees can track employee productivity and activity, giving managers visibility into the amount and quality of work being completed

This information can then be used to address specific performance issues with individual employees, allowing for targeted coaching and development. Additionally, employee monitoring can highlight areas where processes or systems may need improvement, improving efficiency for the entire team. 

Employee Monitoring Helps You Stay Ahead of the Competition

And, finally monitoring your employees keeps you on the top! In today’s competitive business world, it’s important to stay ahead of the competition. With employee monitoring, you can easily identify any issues that could be affecting your company’s competitiveness.

By tracking and analyzing employee productivity and workflow, you can identify areas for improvement and increase overall efficiency

Additionally, monitoring employee activity helps to prevent security risks, such as the unauthorized sharing of confidential information that can set you back. Employee monitoring can also help to protect your company from liability, as it allows for documentation of employee actions before a dispute or lawsuit. 

A good set of reasons, eh? Fair enough to make you run to build a nice and clear employee monitoring plan. Also, always take into account the best practices for employee monitoring:

Takeaway

We have come to the end and the conclusion is: monitoring your remote company is a must and there are several good reasons to do so. Monitask is the best tool you can use to keep tabs on your employees. It’s got all of the features you need to make sure that your business is running smoothly and efficiently. Give it a try today!

Don’t forget to follow our blog for more posts like this one, stay tuned!

-The Monitask Team

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