The internet is a productivity tool at the workplace, yet a source of distraction to many workers. Most employees, instead of working, spend hours socializing and browsing on the internet. Studies show that employees lose up to 10 hours on the internet each week on activities not related to work.
Some of these activities include but are not limited to online shopping and banking, social media, games, gambling and movie sites. This abuse of internet privileges has prompted employers to find ways of monitoring activities on the internet.
One such way is to incorporate an internet monitoring software tool that targets ending employee distraction.
What does internet monitoring software do?
The software records the following;
- Time spent on the internet and for how long they used it
- The employee’s username
- Whether the internet was used for work or personal needs
- The specific computers where internet activities were carried out
- Websites that have been visited
The monitoring software provides insight by pinpointing the productive and unproductive hours used on the internet and the employer can use this insight to block some websites. The information on internet usage is available to the employer regardless of whether the employees work in-office, remotely, or from home.
Benefits of an internet monitoring software
An internet monitoring tool is useful in various ways as follows:
An accurate measure of internet usage
The employer can clearly see the amount of internet users and the specific ways it was used even when employees are trying to withhold that information.
Blocking irrelevant websites and apps
These tools can help to restrict workers from visiting sites unrelated to work during office hours.
Prevent insider threats
The employer can see anyone opening sensitive business data and immediately take measures to protect their sensitive data from being shared with risky parties.
Boost productivity
The productivity rate goes up because employees know they are being monitored and can therefore concentrate more on their work. Besides, an internet usage tracker can help save the company thousands of dollars that would otherwise be lost through paying unproductive employees.
What to know before installing an internet monitoring software
As with any new change at the workplace, installing an internet monitor may raise a few concerns among the staff. This is why it’s important to note a few key things to make the transition successful.
Your employees might feel that you don’t trust them enough
This might build up resentment or demoralize them to an extent that lowers their productivity. Though you might have the best intentions for them and the business, be prepared for such a response.
Put everything in writing
The idea is to ensure that everyone is aware of how they are meant to use the internet. Let everyone sign it so that no one will claim they did not know about any rules on internet usage.
Restrain yourself from monitoring employees during breaks
Let them use those short breaks to use the internet for their personal use as long as they use it responsibly.
Qualities of a good internet monitoring software
Report generation
A good internet monitoring tool should give you a web and app usage report that narrows down an employee’s productive work activity, which apps and websites they visited, and for how long they stayed there.
Also, it should give you a poor usage report by generating a list of all the unproductive sites and how long they stayed there.
Alerts
When someone strays and visits an unproductive site, the monitoring software should alert them that they should get back to work. The alert does not restrict them, it only alerts them but the choice is entirely up to them.
Easy to customize
The software should be customizable so that team members who work in the social media department will not get pop ups asking them to get back to work every time they log in to social media.
Integration with other company systems
Your internet monitor should be easy to integrate with other tools at your workplace such as communication, management, and invoicing software.
Conclusion
There are lots of good internet monitoring software in the market. When selecting one, use this guide to narrow down your search. If you want to boost your employees’ performance by helping them avoid distractions on the internet, this is one way you can do it for them.
Worth noting though is that you need to be humane enough and allow your staff some personal time on the internet during their breaks because they too have genuine personal tasks to carry out online.