{"id":60014,"date":"2024-08-03T14:21:20","date_gmt":"2024-08-03T19:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/?p=60014"},"modified":"2024-08-03T14:21:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T19:21:21","slug":"employee-privacy-and-monitoring-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/employee-privacy-and-monitoring-software\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Respect Employee Privacy While Using Monitoring Software"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not too long ago, employee monitoring wasn\u2019t really a big thing. Sure there were punch card systems and time tracking tools \u2013 but neither of those hold a candle to employee monitoring that can monitor all employee activity including app and web usage, emails, IM messages, keystrokes, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of how potent monitoring software is, many employees often feel like their privacy isn\u2019t being respected and they\u2019re being \u2018spied on\u2019. That in turn affects their motivation, engagement, and satisfaction levels \u2013 which can affect stress, productivity, and turnover rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put it simply, it is important that you avoid that and do what you can to respect the privacy of your employees. Here are some of the best ways to do that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let employees know they\u2019re being monitored<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Controlio can be installed and set to run invisibly in the background, it is best that you don\u2019t use it this way. Instead, be upfront and open about the fact that it is being used so that your employees don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re spying on them surreptitiously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t collect data that isn\u2019t required<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The features in Controlio allow you to collect a ton of data, including some that can be personal by monitoring emails, capturing keystrokes, or taking screenshots and screen recordings. As a rule however, you should only collect the data that you need \u2013 no more, no less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a clear monitoring policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creating a monitoring policy that provides details on what data will be collected and why it is necessary can go a long way towards assuaging some of the concerns your employees may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consult your employees beforehand<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Try to meet with your employees and consult them before implementing employee monitoring. Explain the policy itself, and address any feedback or concerns they may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get employee consent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In some jurisdictions employee consent is required \u2013 but in others it isn\u2019t. Regardless it is a good measure to take, and will give your employees some agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure the data is secure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because you\u2019re going to be collecting private data, it is important you make sure it is secure. In Controlio that isn\u2019t too much of a concern due to its security features that include encryption, 2-factor authentication, brute force protection, blacklists, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid measures that are too restrictive<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many employee monitoring software<\/a> will give you the means to block certain actions. The features in Controlio will let you block websites, apps, and so on \u2013 and even set up a variety of other custom rules. However being too restrictive will be seen as encroaching on employee privacy \u2013 so it is best to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let employees view their own data<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One way to reassure employees that you\u2019re not violating their privacy is to let them access their own data. This can be set up fairly easy with Controlio, either by giving employees limited access to the dashboard and analytics, or by setting it up to send them reports at fixed intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make no mistake, employee monitoring software does raise privacy and ethical concerns \u2013 but it is worth it. The benefits it provides in terms of improving productivity, boosting security, and optimizing business processes makes it worth the hassle of dealing with any issues that may arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as you follow the steps listed above, you should be able to avoid most of the major issues involving privacy.  By adopting an open, transparent, and clear attitude that puts the privacy of your employees front and center \u2013 you\u2019re more likely to be able to monitor your employees without being too intrusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You may also read: Tax reform: these are the points that MSMEs are asking the government to address<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not too long ago, employee monitoring wasn\u2019t really a big thing. Sure there were punch card systems and time tracking tools \u2013 but neither of those hold a candle to employee monitoring that can monitor all employee activity including app and web usage, emails, IM messages, keystrokes, and more. Because of how potent monitoring software […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":60018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_focus_keyword":"monitoring software","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_primary_category":"759","footnotes":""},"categories":[759],"tags":[1636,820],"mc_distribution":[688],"class_list":["post-60014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","tag-article-en","tag-sponsored","mc_distribution-ninguna"],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60014"},{"taxonomy":"mc_distribution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mc_distribution?post=60014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}