Privacy-Respecting Approaches to Remote Work Monitoring

Remote work or hybrid arrangements for employees are not about to disappear.

Regardless of efforts by conservative-minded employers to move their employees back to a physical office, there is no chance of reversing the trend. It is more cost-effective than maintaining large offices and wasting time on the road to these spaces. It also gives companies more flexibility to hire top talent when not restricted to a single location.

Alongside this migration, interest in remote work monitoring has also risen. Of course, business leaders who want to save resources and scale are interested in reviewing their employees' work to ensure teams are on track to fulfilling their commitments and goals. Before employing this kind of control, it is important to consider the factors that make a remote company successful. Monitoring employee activity and performance is helpful, but leaders will find it difficult to understand the data they receive without establishing proper processes, clear communication, and defined expectations.

Monitoring has negative associations, but doing it does not mean business leaders and managers want to spy on their employees. Any communication related to current projects and work is a form of monitoring. For example, in an office, a manager asks an employee in the breakroom when they can expect to get a report. Online, this conversation could happen in a chat, such as Slack. Video meetings, such as stand-ups, are another way managers can monitor their remote employees' performance.

As practice has shown, these types of check-ins, either spontaneous or planned, can interrupt progress. They distract employees and managers from strategic tasks and tie up teams in meetings. Remote monitoring software offers an alternative to such check-ins by allowing employers to log keyboard strokes, analyze behavior through computer cameras and metrics, and employ programs that record employees' screens. Unfortunately, the software creates more problems than it solves.

There are several reasons for implementing remote work monitoring. It is natural to want to ensure everything is in order and see what teams are doing. Managers understand what employees are working on and receive updates on project health. Behind this innocent purpose, though, there may be other reasons that harm performance:

• Micromanagement
• A lack of trust
• No defined procedures and expectations

If these are the true motives for a business to use remote work monitoring, they will encounter unpleasant surprises.

According to Forbes, 4 out of 10 employees believe that remote monitoring, or surveillance, negatively affects their relationship with their employer. Similar numbers say that it can affect the morale of a team or company. Likewise, Glassdoor reports that 40% of workers believe monitoring makes them less productive.

While the surveys do not mention the type of monitoring software involved, the companies in the studies likely use screen capture, camera recordings, and other intrusive approaches. This makes a business's priorities very clear: they value time spent at a workstation over the quality of work done.

This type of focus will deliver the numbers mentioned in the surveys but not growth. If a business wants to scale and build trust between managers and employees, there is another way.

A business needs data if it wants to keep things in order. This data comes from procedures and practices that everyone in a company follows, from management to junior employees. They give new employees clear instructions to follow and create disciplined routines within teams. When employees perform according to these processes, it is easier for managers to notice challenges and roadblocks to achieving the company's or project's goal.

It is also easier to notice when employees need support. Unobtrusive monitoring builds trust because there is no "spying" involved. Employees:

• Write asynchronous stand-ups
• Log the time they spend on tasks
• Use task trackers to change the status
• Leave comments on tasks

This data comes from the employees themselves without using obtrusive monitoring software. Enji collects all the data and presents it to business leaders and decision-makers to provide a clear picture of employee performance. There is no need to send a message to get updates when the data is visible 24/7.

If managers see a problem, such as a task that has been "on hold" for too long, they can step in and communicate with the necessary team members, resolve the issue, and then leave the employees to continue their work.

This monitoring focuses on the quality of employee performance and not the time they spend at a computer. However, business leaders must clearly communicate the reasons for using a program like Enji and implementing procedures. When employees understand the purpose and see that their privacy is protected, leaders will not encounter reduced productivity or motivation. Instead, they will have data that can be used to make decisions to scale their business.

1. Define clear expectations for all employees
2. Create procedures that everyone follows
3. Collect data from processes
4. Analyze data to see roadblocks and successful strategies
5. Make data-driven decisions to scale business and improve employee well-being