But first, let’s understand what is employee monitoring and why it doesn’t work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is remote employee monitoring?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nRemote employee productivity monitoring involves tracking employee activity data gathered through software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remote employee monitoring software is installed on the employee\u2019s computer to understand their productivity and track website and app usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea is to ensure employee productivity by identifying activities that waste employee time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, monitoring is an invasive tool that incentivizes micromanaging remote workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remote employee monitoring methods<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThere are a few different methods of employee activity monitoring during work hours, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Screenshot capturing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Screen recording<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tracking apps and websites<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Webcam screenshots<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Computer activity monitoring<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tracking mouse and keyboard activity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Monitoring keystrokes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
While these methods can give you a peek into what your employees do during work hours, studies show that they have a detrimental influence<\/a>, negatively impacting job satisfaction and increasing employee stress levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy does remote work monitoring go bad for people and businesses?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nGenerally speaking, the intention behind monitoring remote team members is to ensure that employees work their full hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, regardless of how or why the data is gathered, most employees are not comfortable with an employee monitoring software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A survey conducted by ExpressVPN found that 59% of surveyed employees reported feeling stress and\/or anxiety<\/a> about their online activity being monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmployees reported feeling increased pressure to be actively online doing productive work, to work longer hours, or to work more than their colleagues. They also reported taking fewer breaks, constantly worrying about being watched, and even feeling dehumanized as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, 43% of employees said they felt employee surveillance violated trust. A further 28% said they felt unappreciated, and 26% said they felt resentment toward their employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s look in more detail at why monitoring a remote workforce can go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fosters a culture of busyness instead of business growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFirst, remote employee monitoring tools encourage employees to spend more time at their computers, faking \u2018busyness,\u2019 even after completing tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They could instead spend this time with their family, pursuing hobbies and interests, or learning new skills, leading to a better work-life balance and a more fulfilling career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harvard Business Review<\/em> even found that monitoring employees leads to more time theft<\/a>, such as purposefully working slowly. This was because monitored employees subconsciously felt less responsible for their behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSecond, when employees feel they need to pad their time entries because their activity is monitored, the time data is skewed. Businesses don\u2019t know how long it really took to complete a project, so future quotes are less competitive, and profitability is affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This eventually affects the business\u2019s growth rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees don\u2019t feel trusted<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nEmployee surveillance breeds a culture of distrust. By tracking activity and productivity during an employee\u2019s workday, you basically tell them that you think they\u2019re incapable of managing their work, time, and tasks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This distrust fosters stress, makes work less enjoyable, and makes employees feel belittled, as employees surveyed by ExpressVPN<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMany companies today focus on the outcomes rather than on the time spent pursuing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our head of people ops, Dajana Berisavljevi\u0107 \u0110akonovi\u0107, says, \u201cOnce you hire a team of A players, you want to give them full freedom and trust <\/em>[them] to do their best work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s why we prioritize<\/strong> results.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nJessica Zwaan, COO at Talentful, echos Dajana\u2019s sentiment: \u201cUltimately, by treating employees as adults capable of managing significant life decisions, remote-first companies can encourage a faster, higher agency, and responsible approach to work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nManagers use time monitoring data to evaluate employees instead of improving productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nEmployees, both in-office and remote, are susceptible to distractions that could be emotional, physical, or environmental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expecting every employee to work full hours at a peak productivity level is expecting too much. They are people, no machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judging employee performance by unrealistic standards is harmful in the long run. It allows managers to unfairly target people, which is bad for the workplace atmosphere and can lead to legal issues and harm to the company’s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, there\u2019s a better method of employee tracking that avoids all these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A better way to track remote employees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nInstead of monitoring individuals and excessive micromanagement, use time tracking data to improve the productivity of your company or team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Focus on outcomes: <\/strong>At Toggl, we employ something called Results and Accountability First at Toggl (RAFT)<\/a>. That means we focus on the outcome rather than how long an employee takes to complete a task, giving our team more control over their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encourage employees to use their time data<\/strong> to improve efficiency and create a better work-life balance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stick to macro-level data: <\/strong>Screenshots and device activity data are meaningless in the grand scheme. Instead, focus on macro data like billable vs. non-billable hours<\/a> and estimated vs. actual time spent to reduce admin overhead and weed out bottlenecks in your workflow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use data to improve project and business profitability <\/strong>instead of individual monitoring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Foster a culture of individual accountability: <\/strong>Set time tracking goals at the company or team level to give everyone something to work toward as a team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Next, let\u2019s look at the best way to track remote employees\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to track employees working from home the right way<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe best method of tracking employees working from home is simple: time tracking software.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nHere\u2019s how you can implement it effectively:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals<\/strong> for metrics like tracked time, estimated vs. actual variance, utilization, and billable utilization. Tie them to your business performance instead of individual performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use time tracking software to track the time spent on tasks and projects<\/strong>. Toggl Track<\/a> is an intuitive time tracking tool, with no computer monitoring or employee surveillance features, <\/strong>that lets users track time automatically, manually, or using a start\/stop timer<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"Entering](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-10.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPast time data can be used to estimate project durations. This is valuable information for project managers, helping them make accurate time and cost estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Use time data reports to track progress against goals. <\/strong>Toggl Track has various methods of monitoring insights, including:\n
\n- Project insights <\/strong>that show you the status of a project in relation to a project time estimate<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Weekly, Summary, and <\/strong>Detailed reports<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>break down time spent on tasks according to billable and non-billable time and can be filtered by team, user, project, and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Project dashboards <\/strong>that detail the project forecast, time tracking chart, billing amounts chart, and clocked hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Custom time analytics reports<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>to break down and share data in different ways\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set up 1:1 check-in meetings<\/strong> with low-performing individuals to get feedback and understand how you can help them. It\u2019s worthwhile speaking to high-performing individuals, too, to understand their processes and what is going right for them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set up <\/strong>timesheet approvals<\/strong><\/a> for employees who consistently underperform. <\/strong>In Toggl Track, all time entries are added to an employee timesheet<\/a> that can be shared with managers for approval before going to payroll for processing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"Setting](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-1024x346.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are many time tracking apps<\/a> available today.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow do you choose the best one for your needs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our next section, we will discuss what to look for in a time tracking tool to ensure you choose the right tool for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to choose the right remote work time tracking software<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere is no one-size-fits-all solution to employee time tracking<\/a>, but there are a few key features you should look out for when considering time tracking tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThey are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Time tracking methods: <\/strong>Look for a tool that offers multiple time tracking options to suit individual employee needs, like automatic real-time time tracking that starts when they clock in, manual time entries, or a simple timer. Idle time tracking helps ensure accuracy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Project and task tracking:<\/strong> Time data is more beneficial when you know what project it is associated with. Choose a tool that lets you assign time entries to specific tasks and not just projects for deeper insight into employee time usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Intuitive interface:<\/strong> Your chosen time tracking tool will be used by every employee at your company, so make sure it is easy to use and has an intuitive interface to streamline the onboarding process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reporting and analytics:<\/strong> To make the most of your employee time data, you need a tool that provides robust reporting and analytics. Opt for software with detailed, summary, and custom time data reports that can be broken down and filtered differently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Integrations: <\/strong>To simplify time tracking, look for a time tracking tool that integrates<\/a> with the tools your company uses daily, such as Slack, Asana, Jira, Google Calendar, and Salesforce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mobile Accessibility:<\/strong> A time tracking tool with a mobile app for Android and iOS allows your employees to track their time wherever they are. Toggl Track\u2019s mobile app<\/a> syncs time across devices for more accurate tracking even when employees are on the move.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshots](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-12-936x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Offline Tracking:<\/strong> Most employees can complete at least some of their work without an internet connection, so choose a time tracking platform that supports offline time tracking. Toggl Track has offline tracking capabilities that sync time when reconnected to the internet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Compliance:<\/strong> Ensure your chosen tool complies with local, state, and federal labor laws regarding data security and stores employee time data for the required time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Above all, make sure you opt for an anti-surveillance time tracking tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are some great time tracking apps?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nHere are some great time tracking apps that don\u2019t monitor employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a few different methods of employee activity monitoring during work hours, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Screenshot capturing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Screen recording<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tracking apps and websites<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Webcam screenshots<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Computer activity monitoring<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tracking mouse and keyboard activity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Monitoring keystrokes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
While these methods can give you a peek into what your employees do during work hours, studies show that they have a detrimental influence<\/a>, negatively impacting job satisfaction and increasing employee stress levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does remote work monitoring go bad for people and businesses?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Generally speaking, the intention behind monitoring remote team members is to ensure that employees work their full hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, regardless of how or why the data is gathered, most employees are not comfortable with an employee monitoring software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A survey conducted by ExpressVPN found that 59% of surveyed employees reported feeling stress and\/or anxiety<\/a> about their online activity being monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees reported feeling increased pressure to be actively online doing productive work, to work longer hours, or to work more than their colleagues. They also reported taking fewer breaks, constantly worrying about being watched, and even feeling dehumanized as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, 43% of employees said they felt employee surveillance violated trust. A further 28% said they felt unappreciated, and 26% said they felt resentment toward their employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s look in more detail at why monitoring a remote workforce can go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fosters a culture of busyness instead of business growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
First, remote employee monitoring tools encourage employees to spend more time at their computers, faking \u2018busyness,\u2019 even after completing tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They could instead spend this time with their family, pursuing hobbies and interests, or learning new skills, leading to a better work-life balance and a more fulfilling career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harvard Business Review<\/em> even found that monitoring employees leads to more time theft<\/a>, such as purposefully working slowly. This was because monitored employees subconsciously felt less responsible for their behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, when employees feel they need to pad their time entries because their activity is monitored, the time data is skewed. Businesses don\u2019t know how long it really took to complete a project, so future quotes are less competitive, and profitability is affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This eventually affects the business\u2019s growth rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees don\u2019t feel trusted<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee surveillance breeds a culture of distrust. By tracking activity and productivity during an employee\u2019s workday, you basically tell them that you think they\u2019re incapable of managing their work, time, and tasks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This distrust fosters stress, makes work less enjoyable, and makes employees feel belittled, as employees surveyed by ExpressVPN<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many companies today focus on the outcomes rather than on the time spent pursuing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our head of people ops, Dajana Berisavljevi\u0107 \u0110akonovi\u0107, says, \u201cOnce you hire a team of A players, you want to give them full freedom and trust <\/em>[them] to do their best work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why we prioritize<\/strong> results.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jessica Zwaan, COO at Talentful, echos Dajana\u2019s sentiment: \u201cUltimately, by treating employees as adults capable of managing significant life decisions, remote-first companies can encourage a faster, higher agency, and responsible approach to work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managers use time monitoring data to evaluate employees instead of improving productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employees, both in-office and remote, are susceptible to distractions that could be emotional, physical, or environmental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expecting every employee to work full hours at a peak productivity level is expecting too much. They are people, no machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judging employee performance by unrealistic standards is harmful in the long run. It allows managers to unfairly target people, which is bad for the workplace atmosphere and can lead to legal issues and harm to the company’s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, there\u2019s a better method of employee tracking that avoids all these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A better way to track remote employees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Instead of monitoring individuals and excessive micromanagement, use time tracking data to improve the productivity of your company or team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Focus on outcomes: <\/strong>At Toggl, we employ something called Results and Accountability First at Toggl (RAFT)<\/a>. That means we focus on the outcome rather than how long an employee takes to complete a task, giving our team more control over their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encourage employees to use their time data<\/strong> to improve efficiency and create a better work-life balance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stick to macro-level data: <\/strong>Screenshots and device activity data are meaningless in the grand scheme. Instead, focus on macro data like billable vs. non-billable hours<\/a> and estimated vs. actual time spent to reduce admin overhead and weed out bottlenecks in your workflow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use data to improve project and business profitability <\/strong>instead of individual monitoring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Foster a culture of individual accountability: <\/strong>Set time tracking goals at the company or team level to give everyone something to work toward as a team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Next, let\u2019s look at the best way to track remote employees\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to track employees working from home the right way<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The best method of tracking employees working from home is simple: time tracking software.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how you can implement it effectively:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals<\/strong> for metrics like tracked time, estimated vs. actual variance, utilization, and billable utilization. Tie them to your business performance instead of individual performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use time tracking software to track the time spent on tasks and projects<\/strong>. Toggl Track<\/a> is an intuitive time tracking tool, with no computer monitoring or employee surveillance features, <\/strong>that lets users track time automatically, manually, or using a start\/stop timer<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPast time data can be used to estimate project durations. This is valuable information for project managers, helping them make accurate time and cost estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Use time data reports to track progress against goals. <\/strong>Toggl Track has various methods of monitoring insights, including:\n
- \n
- Project insights <\/strong>that show you the status of a project in relation to a project time estimate<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Weekly, Summary, and <\/strong>Detailed reports<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>break down time spent on tasks according to billable and non-billable time and can be filtered by team, user, project, and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Project dashboards <\/strong>that detail the project forecast, time tracking chart, billing amounts chart, and clocked hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Custom time analytics reports<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>to break down and share data in different ways\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set up 1:1 check-in meetings<\/strong> with low-performing individuals to get feedback and understand how you can help them. It\u2019s worthwhile speaking to high-performing individuals, too, to understand their processes and what is going right for them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set up <\/strong>timesheet approvals<\/strong><\/a> for employees who consistently underperform. <\/strong>In Toggl Track, all time entries are added to an employee timesheet<\/a> that can be shared with managers for approval before going to payroll for processing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are many time tracking apps<\/a> available today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you choose the best one for your needs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our next section, we will discuss what to look for in a time tracking tool to ensure you choose the right tool for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to choose the right remote work time tracking software<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to employee time tracking<\/a>, but there are a few key features you should look out for when considering time tracking tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Time tracking methods: <\/strong>Look for a tool that offers multiple time tracking options to suit individual employee needs, like automatic real-time time tracking that starts when they clock in, manual time entries, or a simple timer. Idle time tracking helps ensure accuracy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Project and task tracking:<\/strong> Time data is more beneficial when you know what project it is associated with. Choose a tool that lets you assign time entries to specific tasks and not just projects for deeper insight into employee time usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Intuitive interface:<\/strong> Your chosen time tracking tool will be used by every employee at your company, so make sure it is easy to use and has an intuitive interface to streamline the onboarding process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reporting and analytics:<\/strong> To make the most of your employee time data, you need a tool that provides robust reporting and analytics. Opt for software with detailed, summary, and custom time data reports that can be broken down and filtered differently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Integrations: <\/strong>To simplify time tracking, look for a time tracking tool that integrates<\/a> with the tools your company uses daily, such as Slack, Asana, Jira, Google Calendar, and Salesforce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mobile Accessibility:<\/strong> A time tracking tool with a mobile app for Android and iOS allows your employees to track their time wherever they are. Toggl Track\u2019s mobile app<\/a> syncs time across devices for more accurate tracking even when employees are on the move.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Offline Tracking:<\/strong> Most employees can complete at least some of their work without an internet connection, so choose a time tracking platform that supports offline time tracking. Toggl Track has offline tracking capabilities that sync time when reconnected to the internet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Compliance:<\/strong> Ensure your chosen tool complies with local, state, and federal labor laws regarding data security and stores employee time data for the required time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Above all, make sure you opt for an anti-surveillance time tracking tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are some great time tracking apps?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Here are some great time tracking apps that don\u2019t monitor employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Compliance:<\/strong> Ensure your chosen tool complies with local, state, and federal labor laws regarding data security and stores employee time data for the required time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Project and task tracking:<\/strong> Time data is more beneficial when you know what project it is associated with. Choose a tool that lets you assign time entries to specific tasks and not just projects for deeper insight into employee time usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Weekly, Summary, and <\/strong>Detailed reports<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>break down time spent on tasks according to billable and non-billable time and can be filtered by team, user, project, and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Project insights <\/strong>that show you the status of a project in relation to a project time estimate<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use time tracking software to track the time spent on tasks and projects<\/strong>. Toggl Track<\/a> is an intuitive time tracking tool, with no computer monitoring or employee surveillance features, <\/strong>that lets users track time automatically, manually, or using a start\/stop timer<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Encourage employees to use their time data<\/strong> to improve efficiency and create a better work-life balance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Focus on outcomes: <\/strong>At Toggl, we employ something called Results and Accountability First at Toggl (RAFT)<\/a>. That means we focus on the outcome rather than how long an employee takes to complete a task, giving our team more control over their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n