Last Updated on November 17, 2023
Gone are the days when people used to get dressed up, grab some breakfast and be on their way to work. The year 2020 left us all feeling very helpless, scared, and alone. People had to stay away from their families and loved ones. Some went into complete isolation. So, they could keep others and themselves safe from the spread of COVID-19.
The Pandemic and its Effects on Businesses
Of course, workplaces and businesses took great losses as well. Being in closed spaces with other people for long hours is a big no-no under current circumstances. As quarantines and lockdowns were in place already. So, remote work (telework) was the only option left to keep the wheels turning for most companies.
According to research, only 56% of US employees have jobs that are compatible with work-from-home conditions (fully or partially). While, in 2020, during the pandemic, 46% of the American workforce was working remotely. And about 43% working class already wanted to work from the safety of their homes according to another survey done in 2016.
We have all heard the saying: “Careful what you wish for.” Now, we all got what we wanted and it’s time to figure out what to do with that.
This, however, meant huge changes were required on the company’s end. They were the ones that had to deal with their employees working from different places. And not the other way around.
Companies explored their options. Surveillance at work is one thing. Now, they needed to monitor staff members spread all across the country. And so, businesses found the best employee monitoring app or software to oversee their staff remotely.
What Includes Employee Surveillance?
We cannot just move on, any further, without going over what employee tracking or monitoring is in the first place.
Employee monitoring is another term for workplace surveillance and the practice of tracking employee activity and engagement with job-related tasks.
However, this small description doesn’t explain the processes of implementing these staff tracking methods. They can be long, hard, and filled with trial and error situations. But given the pandemic and lockdowns. Monitoring your workers and their progress is worth the effort. Why’s that you ask?
You will better understand when we discuss some advantages of employee monitoring.
Benefits of Monitoring Employees
Business is all about productivity and numbers. The better you can evaluate something, the better the results. Usually, good outcomes mean profit. And that is something every company wants at the end of their quarter (or year).
So, here are the ways employee monitoring can help you keep things running smoothly even during quarantine situations:
- Boosts Productivity Like Never Before
Companies were already transitioning to remote staff tracking methods due to the influx of freelancers in the market. And now, most businesses are adapting to them. Because this way they can keep track of their workers’ progress on the job and encourage them to spend their time productively.
We know how one’s mind can easily wander to indulge in activities unrelated to a work task. More so, when they are sitting at home. Away from the prying eyes of their superiors.
That’s why monitoring your staff can help them stay focused (most of the time) and produce better results. Ensuring success and profits for your business!
- Better Team Performance
Surely, when everyone knows their tasks and accountable for their tasks’ completion. You are going to see efforts being made between team members to get everything done as per schedule.
No one would want to waste their time scrolling their Facebook newsfeed when another team member is waiting on them to finish their work.
The team leaders greatly benefit from all that. And eventually, they manage and help anyone that needs extra supervision. All in all, you get to see an improvement in every team’s and individual’s performance.
- Security Gets Reinforced
Supervising your workers in such a manner also strengthens your overall security. As you know what each staff member is working on and how they are handling the corporate data. And you can easily find if someone is trying to steal, leak or corrupt it.
So, mitigating corporate espionage and security breach risks is another great advantage of implementing employee monitoring.
Because your company trade secrets and clients’ personal information always hold more value than short-term gains. If they get leaked, your business might not survive the repercussions in the long run. How can you stop this from happening?
Using the best employee monitoring app you can find, like XNSPY, or other tools such as TimeDoctor. As we are going to mention more on that later. So, for now, let’s focus on the disadvantages of tracking your workforce.
Drawbacks of Tracking Staff
We can’t just talk about the good stuff surrounding the matter, can we?
That’s why we are going to let you in on the demerits of monitoring your employees as well. And they are:
- Nervous Employees
Having an eye on them, at all times, can make your staff perform poorly. Many workers would be nervous if they know their superior is watching their every move.
So, even when they don’t intend to waste their time on the job. They can still become less productive. Due to the mental stress and pressure that comes with you monitoring them.
- Privacy Concerns (are expected)
Naturally, one will be tracking your staff all the time, as they are working remotely. So, they can start complaining to the company about issues regarding their privacy. They don’t know how much of their activities are being monitored. And that can make them question the company’s intentions.
This can never be good for your business. As concerned employees might just up and leave their jobs. Only because they can’t handle being tracked in this manner. So, it’s up to you to be transparent with them on what parameters are being monitored and due to what reasons. Transparency, between you and your workers, is a must to make this work.
Even XNSPY mentions on their website that you need to inform your staff about the monitoring app and its features before you start using it.
- Understanding Fetched Data is Time Consuming
Even though you start monitoring your employees right now. It doesn’t mean you can expect to see betterment from day one. That’s impossible.
It will take time for you to compile the necessary data for the first few months. Only then you will be able to separate the good from the bad. To make the best decisions based on your workers’ performance.
Finally, it’s time to know, how companies are getting all the promised data and benefitting from it during the remote work conditions imposed due to lockdowns.
Workings of Workplace Surveillance Tools
Thanks to the advanced technological era we live in. Businesses now have all sorts of devices, apps, and software to help them oversee their workers from a distance.
The internet, computers, and smartphones are a blessing after all. At least for the companies that are using them to track their staff in every part of the country (or world).
Even before the pandemic, workplace surveillance was underway using monitoring tools, like TimeDoctor, to track their workers’ time relative performance. Their computers were already monitored and that was not an issue.
The issue on hand was: What’s stopping them from using their smartphones?
A tool that can track employees’ activities on their phones.
Yes, and that’s where XNSPY comes in. This monitoring app is regarded as a pioneer among the mobile surveillance tools available in the market.
Now, coming back to the main question, how XNSPY enables businesses to monitor their workers successfully?
The answer to that is quite straightforward. With some of the best employee monitoring app features a company can require during these times. So, what are they?
The XNSPY app once installed on your worker’s iOS- or Android-based phone can give you access to view all of their texts and emails. That means you can assess the reasons behind why, what, and when they were texting someone. It can be useful to know how they talk to your clients and other employees.
Phone logs are also being monitored. So, similarly, every call made, received, or missed on the target smartphone is available for your perusal. Again, lets you know if they are making office calls during work hours or wasting time talking to non-work-related people. Or, worse your business rivals.
Being able to read emails is a very crucial feature you get with the XNSPY employee tracking app. So, you can go through any email, sent or received, on the monitored mobile. This helps in figuring out they are not sending your work emails to other people (outside of work) or in contact with someone they shouldn’t be. After all, knowledge is power and information is your key to a company’s survival.
Some of the most popular Instant Messenger (IM) and Social media app chats are within the app’s monitoring range. So, viewing any in-app messages is possible. Again, this helps companies in ascertaining whatever the activity collected using these apps was productive or otherwise. Surely, chatting with their friends on WhatsApp or Facebook is not benefitting any business, right?
Oh, wait there’s more. XNSPY offers several remote tracking features that come in handy, whenever such a need arises. What are they all about?
Let’s say, a shipping or trucking business wants to track their drivers and delivery men out doing their jobs. What can they do? Is there something this app can do? It can.
Using the XNSPY employee phone tracking app feature, the company can find out any employee’s exact location at any time. And this is extremely helpful for said businesses. Because, now, they can tell their customers when their deliveries are coming in with the utmost precision. We all know, more satisfied customers mean greater profits!
If all of this wasn’t more than enough already. You can even listen/record calls and ambient phone sounds. So, if you suspect a staff member of corporate espionage, you can remotely listen in on their phone’s surroundings or calls to know who they are talking to and why. In case, it’s true, you can record them leaking your sensitive data to the outside party as evidence.
But what most businesses benefit from, while using this app, is its alert notifications. What are they and how do they work?
XNSPY watch list alerts are instant notifications sent if an activity occurs on the target phone that was listed in its word, location, or contact watch lists. When you want to know if a worker is chatting about something, talking to someone, or going somewhere specifically. You can enter the relative keyword, contact number, or location in the respective watch list.
Utilizing that unique employee tracking feature, companies get to take a hands-off approach to workplace surveillance. So, you get the information you want without always going through the huge data fetched from their phones every day.
Should You Start Monitoring your Employees as well?
Now, that you know all about the best employee monitoring app functions and their respective purposes. You must be wondering whether to use it for your business or not. And given all the benefits you read so far, why not?
If you are worried about what it will cost to get these tools, then don’t stress. Most staff tracking software and apps are offered at a fair price.
Still, if you are on a budget then XNSPY has an edge over all its competitors with monthly subscriptions of USD 4.99, for its basic version, and USD 7.99 for its premium version that comes with all its features enabled.
Once again, bear this in mind, monitoring employees and using such tools are only legal, in the US, if one informs their employee about the tracking activities first. Getting their consent is a must. Otherwise, it’s them who have to face any consequences.
Because, according to their policies, the monitoring software and app developers are not responsible for their service’s misuse. And they will actively assist the law enforcement agencies in the capture of a workplace surveillance abuser.
