Employee Monitoring and Time Tracking Software: What Is It and Why It’s Here to Stay

Over the years, we’ve faced a lot of significant changes in the way we work. Companies have gotten larger, branching out to different countries is a standard for success and the workforce has become much more diverse with the rise of remote work. And let’s not forget the extent of digitalization.

Each of these changes has brought about the necessity to oversee and control employees and the workflow in general in a much more aggregated, automated and all-encompassing way. And so employee computer monitoring software was created.

What is Employee Monitoring and Time Tracking Software?

Computer tracking software and employee hour tracking software are two similar and usually interconnected programs used for optimizing business processes and increasing work control. While program activity monitor focuses on employee monitoring and surveillance, employee time clock solutions are directed towards time management and organization. However, most computer tracking apps are essentially time trackers as well.

But let’s get into some more detail - how does employee monitoring software work?

It’s typically a lightweight program that’s installed on every corporate computer you wish to monitor. After that, it works in the background collecting data which you receive in real time in your master dashboard.

The extent of monitoring and the features you get largely depend on which particular software you’ve implemented. And there are many. But most of them will typically have the functionality to detect which apps your employees are actively using and which websites they’re visiting, as well as how long they spend on these activities.

Some of the more advanced and sophisticated systems for tracking computer usage have additional capabilities, such as compiling attendance timesheets, calculating billable hours, taking screenshots, tracking employees’ productivity, and much more.

As technology advances, so do these types of programs. The general trend in the software employee time tracking and surveillance industry seems to be in the direction of increasing automation. Now, for instance, we have things like automated time tracking software that assigns time to projects based on file names. And this development is only expected to continue.

The Value of Computer Activity Tracking Software

So, is work time employee monitoring here to stay? In order to answer this question, let’s take a look at some of the benefits that this kind of system can bring to a company.

First of all, with the growing number of employees, accountability and control become serious issues. But with the software that automatically collects computer activity data for each individual employee, this problem becomes much easier to deal with. All of the reports can be aggregated and analyzed on a team, department or even company level which makes overseeing all operations much easier.

Secondly, desktop activity monitoring software provides an additional layer of data security by giving you insight into who is accessing which files and who’s visiting untrusted websites. The protection can be further enhanced by using technology such as screenshots or computer keystroke tracking software.

In addition to this, time clock management systems can give you data and insights that can help you optimize your work organization and improve overall employee productivity. Tracking time on tasks and projects lets you keep an eye on the progress and gives you a clear picture of what your teams are capable of. Based on this data, you can make adjustments in work delegation, setting deadlines, time management and so on.

Furthermore, the level of automation that employee computer monitoring software brings to the management of the company can’t be overlooked. The ability to track computer usage time, project progress, attendance and even payroll relieves the upper management of these responsibilities and makes additional room for creativity and business improvement.

And finally, employee tracking software isn’t useful only for your company and your employees, but it can also improve how you handle clients. Some of these systems are essentially project time tracking and billing software which means that they produce accurate timesheets and billable hours reports that you can give to your clients. But even a simple time tracking app makes you much more informed in estimating how long each project is likely to take, which is an essential piece of information when managing client expectations.

Conclusion

By now, it should be clear that employee computer monitoring and time tracking software is here to stay. Because it’s a powerful yet easy-to-use program, it’s not hard to imagine that more and more companies are going to go after its many benefits. Even now, a lot of employers have already realized the huge potential this software can offer, and the future looks even brighter