Every job requires tools. Whether you’re a gardener or an engineer, you need the right tools in order to do your job successfully. The key word there is ‘right.’ Even with all the manpower and knowledge in the world, if you try to use a whisk to dig a hole, you aren’t going to get very far. For companies and especially HR teams, employee monitoring software can prove to be a useful tool to help analyze and understand the cultural climate and happiness levels of an organization. With so many tools out there, it can be difficult to identify what features are the most important. Here are some features and aspects to consider when selecting an employee monitoring tool.
Even in our daily lives, we all hate the convenience of adapting to something new or learning a new system. If you want your employees to actually participate in using a wellness-monitoring tool, it needs to be easy to understand and integrate seamlessly into their daily work routine. It should take mere seconds to use and not require a day-long workshop. Also, look for something that is Windows & Mac OS compatible and can sync with their Outlook or Gmail for calendar and email.
The road goes both ways. These tools can provide insightful analytics to leadership teams but it’s important that employees are also armed with this information. With it, they can actively work on things they need to improve on and be aware of stress triggers before burnout sets in. Look for software that provides real-time analytics and data about employees’ strong points, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth to the users themselves.
The days of the annual or bi-annual surveys are long gone. Things are constantly moving and changing in the world of business, and the polling of employees' well-being should be as current as possible. If you wait too long, details and the association between events and emotions can be lost if they aren’t recorded quickly enough. Obviously, it’s impossible for leaders to ALWAYS be checking in with members of their team. However, it is possible for the team members to be constantly checking in with themselves. Leaders should still try to have formal or informal check-ins at least once a month to stay in the loop with their team’s well-being.
Having data and insights is great, but it is up to teams and leadership to create a plan of action. The use of these monitoring systems goes far beyond the computer screen. Initiating conversations about the findings can help encourage your team to create action plans to work with their strengths and identify where they need some extra help.
Remember that this software should be a tool that provides information to help your teams and team members. It shouldn’t just track keystrokes or the words per minute that they type. Be sure to include your IT team in deciding on and implementing the software to make sure the integration is as easy as possible. Whatever insights or analytics the software provides should be protected and private in order to ensure honest feedback from the users. Those users should also have access to their insights so they can use the information to enable their success.
If you keep the needs of your employees at the forefront of the decision-making when choosing monitoring software you will set yourself and your team up for success. Remember that a tool is only as good as the person wielding it, so check in with your team members, make a plan and take care of your own well-being too.