Features and Benefits of Employee Tracking Software

Running a business is tough. There’s a lot to think about, from how to attract new clients and customers to how to produce the highest quality product or service. And you also have to keep ahead of the competition and protect your proprietary data and sensitive information from people who might try to steal it and use it for their own gain. Doing that, while also ensuring your most valuable resource (your employees) are being efficient and productive can be a lot to handle.

Employee tracking software can help take some of the stress off your plate. If you are evaluating employee tracking products, please read this article to find out what you need to know to make the best choice. What features can you not do without? What benefits can you expect to receive from this tool?

What Can Employee Tracking Software Do for You? 

Stop CyberLoafers from Wasting Company Time

Employee tracking can help save your company money in a number of different ways. One major benefit is the ability to detect and prevent cyberloafing. Cyberloafing is a term for when employees spend on-the-clock time performing personal tasks or entertaining themselves online. This can be a big drain for your company. 

When employees spend work time browsing Amazon, scrolling through Facebook, or answering their personal email messages, you end up paying for work that’s not being done. While it may not be a major problem for an employee to briefly check their messages or spend a few minutes of downtime on a social media site, all you need is a few employees who abuse the privilege to wind up with a substantial loss of productivity.

Prevent Data Loss and Detect Insider Threats

Deploying a software to track your employees is also an effective way to prevent information losses that can be costly to your company. Whether maliciously or accidentally, employees can be responsible for some of the most devastating security breaches. 

Disgruntled employees have been known to sell information or access to competitors in order to get revenge on an employer who they feel has mistreated them. Employees who are vulnerable to blackmail or experiencing serious financial difficulties may also pose a risk. And sometimes, outside entities target well-meaning employees through social engineering, phishing attacks, or other tactics. 

No matter how a breach comes about, it can be a serious loss for your company. Not only can you lose valuable information, but you can also lose public trust, which can result in a loss of valuable business. Depending on the type of information exposed, you could be held liable for damages caused by the release of sensitive information. And it costs time and money to repair a compromised network following a breach. Preventing these types of loss is one of the most important benefits of employee tracking software. 

What Monitoring and Blocking Features Should You Look for in an Employee Tracking Product?

Customize your employee tracking software to meet the needs of all parts of your company.

Any employee activity and time tracking software should provide you with the ability to monitor and block in a way that works for you. There are no one-size-fits-all tracking solutions – your company’s needs are different from those of the business next door, and even your own company may have different needs in different departments or at different times and days. 

You may want to allow internet surfing on breaks and at mealtimes, but not during other times of the day. Your marketing department might need access to social media sites, while your accounting department probably does not. You may need to allow access to one specific site while blocking other similar types of sites. Your software should allow you to block by URL, keyword, or category as needed, and to create user groups with their own settings and permissions. 

Custom Notifications and Reports

Your tracking software is only as good as its ability to let you access and understand the data that you need. An important feature of a superior workforce time tracking software is the ability to generate multiple different types of reports and notifications. 

For example, you may want to receive reports showing how many employees try to access blocked websites in a specific time range, or notifications when a user attempts to download a file from a different network or device than they usually use. In some cases, you may want employee-blind data, while in other cases you might need to focus in on one employee specifically. You should be able to create reports that contain visual breakdowns and easy-to-understand statistics. 

Ease of Use and Responsive Customer Support

Insist on fast support when you need it. 

Using your employee tracking software shouldn’t be an overly complicated process. Look for software that is intuitive and makes it easy to find the answers to your questions, even when you’re new to the software. The interface should be simple and uncluttered – you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed just trying to navigate through the software. 

In the event that you do need additional help using and understanding your tracked data, the company should be easy to contact and respond quickly to your questions and concerns. A live chat option often provides the best instant support, but ideally, a company should provide other contact options as well, including phone, email, or online ticketing.

It’s also important to consider how long you’ll have access to live customer support. In many cases, support is included for the first year, but you may have to pay additional money to receive ongoing support and updates in subsequent years. Look into the costs and limitations of ongoing support and include these factors into your cost comparison while you shop. 

Archived Data

Sometimes, a report with data that seemed innocuous originally takes on a different meaning in light of new information or later developments. You could find yourself with a need to review an employee’s internet history far after the time when it actually occurred. You need an employee tracking product that is capable of archiving and saving data and allowing you to access it when you need it whether that’s in the office or from a remote location.