As beneficial as employee monitoring can be – if it is implemented poorly it can make employees feel they’re being ‘spied on’ and gradually erode trust. That is something you’ll want to avoid, so it doesn’t end up affecting morale, as well as performance and productivity.
Want to know how to implement employee monitoring without killing trust? There are two main pillars you need to rely on:
Be Fully Transparent
Being transparent is non-negotiable if you want to implement employee monitoring without eroding trust. After all, if you want your employees to trust you then you need to trust them too.
Although employee monitoring software such as Controlio can run invisibly in the background – it is best not to use it that way. Instead, avoid secrecy and be open with employees by informing them about the employee monitoring software you want to install, how you intend to use it, and what it will be tracking.
All this should be outlined in a clear and concise monitoring policy. The policy should also include other details such as why the monitoring is necessary, how the data will be stored, and whether the security measures will comply with General Data Protection Regulation or other requirements..
To put it simply, your goal is to be fully transparent with your employees. To prove that you have nothing to hide you can set up Controlio so employees can access their own data or have reports emailed to them regularly – which will show them exactly what is being monitored.
Avoid Being Intrusive
Another important aspect of preserving the trust of your employees is avoiding any type of monitoring that is too intrusive. Essentially you should try to respect the privacy of your employees and only monitor the areas that are absolutely necessary in order to fulfill your goals.
In most cases you’ll want to avoid using some of the types of monitoring features in Controlio. Most notably its ability to capture keystrokes, screenshots, and screen recordings are likely to be viewed as intrusive due to its potential to monitor personal and private information.
On top of that you may also want to reign in your monitoring of personal communications via email, IM messages and social media. If you really do need to monitor these areas, be transparent with your employees and let them know why it is necessary.
Ultimately your goal should be to try to make sure your monitoring is as minimal as possible. Not only will this help stop trust from eroding, but it could actually build trust instead if your employees know you’re making an effort.
Conclusion
Make no mistake, if you are careful and take into consideration the privacy of your employees – it is possible to implement employee monitoring without destroying their trust. However for that to happen you need to lean heavily on both being transparent as well as avoiding any monitoring that is too invasive.
Assuming you can do that your monitoring roll out should go a lot more smoothly and with fewer objections from your employees.