Monitoring productivity at work

Before monitoring colleagues’ productivity at work, it is important to understand whether it is necessary to implement staff monitoring, and define what you are trying to achieve. This could have both positive and negative effects on staff, and careful consideration should be taken before any form of monitoring is implemented. The idea of monitoring has led to increased privacy concerns, and ensuring you remain compliant during this process is crucial to avoid ruining your reputation as an employer.

There are various types of staff monitoring to suit different types of work environments, and the global Covid-19 pandemic has intensified this due to more people working from home. Monitoring alternatives include shadowing, getting reports from staff themselves, and reviewing random samples of work produced.

Some pros of implementing a monitoring system include providing staff the opportunity to showcase their work outputs; delivering data and information to inform accurate billing; and it could be used to track the amount of time spent on work projects. However, there are also cons to implementing a monitoring system including challenges with new software adoption and training; colleagues losing trust in their employer; and excessive monitoring negatively impacting mental health and wellbeing.

There are many important things to consider when implementing a monitoring system, such as a communications strategy to remain transparent and to keep staff fully informed; and remaining compliant by limiting access to staff data to only those necessary.

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