10 Best employee monitoring software for your distributed workforce
List of employee monitoring software
As remote work becomes the norm for many businesses, monitoring employee productivity and performance has become increasingly important.
Employee monitoring software provides organizations with the tools to track tasks, measure output, and maintain a secure working environment—all while respecting employees’ privacy.
These tools can help create a more accountable workforce. As it offers real-time insights into daily activities, businesses can identify areas of improvement and offer support where needed.
Whether you’re managing a fully remote team or a hybrid workforce, finding the right monitoring software is essential. In this blog, we’ll explore the top ten employee monitoring software options that can help growing organizations effectively manage and support their remote teams.
Challenges of managing geographically dispersed teams
Working with geographically dispersed teams can be a rewarding but challenging task. With employees spread across various locations, businesses must overcome hurdles that can impact productivity, communication, and overall team cohesion, like the ones mentioned below.
These obstacles require thoughtful strategies and solutions to ensure smooth operations and strong team dynamics.
Communication barriers
One of the biggest challenges is maintaining effective communication. Team members located in different regions may experience delays or misunderstandings due to time zone differences.
Virtual meetings can be difficult to schedule, and informal communication often gets lost, which may affect collaboration.
Lack of team cohesion
Building a strong team dynamic is tough when employees don’t work together in person. Team bonding activities and conversations, as well as spontaneous brainstorming sessions are often absent, leading to feelings of isolation among remote workers.
Tracking productivity
Monitoring productivity can be tricky when team members are scattered across various locations. Without direct supervision, managers may struggle to evaluate performance and keep employees on track.
It requires more effort to establish trust and accountability without face-to-face interactions.
Cultural differences
Cultural diversity in a dispersed team can lead to misunderstandings or differing work styles.
Managers need to be attuned to these differences and foster an environment that promotes inclusivity and respect for various perspectives.
10 Best employee monitoring software for productive teams
Now let’s dive into the top ten employee monitoring software businesses can integrate into their daily work to successfully manage their remote teams:
1. BambooHR
BambooHR is an all-in-one HR management solution, designed for small and midsize businesses that focus on employee performance and development.
Unlike traditional monitoring tools, BambooHR offers a cloud-based HRIS that integrates:
- Payroll
- Recruiting
- Onboarding
- Time-off tracking
It allows businesses to assess long-term employee performance through goal-setting, peer feedback surveys, and self-assessments. It provides detailed performance reports and insights, empowering managers to guide and support employees effectively.
BambooHR helps streamline HR functions, making it an excellent choice for businesses that want a comprehensive tool for managing their workforce.
2. ActivTrak
ActivTrak is a powerful employee monitoring software that focuses on workforce analytics.
This cloud-based platform tracks productivity, application usage, and web activity to provide valuable insights for managers and employees alike.
ActivTrak’s personal insights feature allows employees to manage their work balance, while the platform’s intuitive reporting system presents data through easily digestible charts and graphs.
Key features include:
- Activity tracking
- App monitoring
- Website monitoring, and
- Progress tracking against KPIs.
It also offers both team-level and individual performance data, helping teams optimize resources, improve productivity, and promote a healthy work environment.
3. Teramind
Teramind stands out as an advanced employee monitoring solution designed to prioritize security. This is ideal for businesses with heightened data protection needs.
It combines comprehensive employee tracking with robust security measures like data loss prevention (DLP).
This employee monitoring software checks applications, websites, social media, and even activities like printing and messaging. Its security features include:
- Anomaly detection
- Risk scoring
- Document fingerprinting
These functions make Teramind an ideal choice for companies that need to safeguard sensitive information. The platform also offers video recordings of user activities and keystroke logging, providing an in-depth look at employee behavior and potential security threats.
4. SentryPC
SentryPC offers an affordable yet feature-packed employee monitoring solution, perfect for small businesses on a budget.
This cloud-based platform provides all the essential monitoring tools—like activity tracking, screenshots, and data protection—at a low cost.
SentryPC’s intuitive interface makes it easy to monitor employee behavior, and its central dashboard simplifies data access. The software also includes features to prevent data loss or theft, ensuring business owners can protect sensitive information.
5. Veriato
Veriato is a robust employee monitoring software tailored for large organizations.
Using artificial intelligence, it tracks a wide range of employee activities, including website visits, application usage, and keystrokes.
Veriato excels in risk scoring and anomaly detection, helping enterprises identify high-risk behaviors quickly. Its detailed monitoring capabilities also include email tracking, instant messages, and file transfers, providing comprehensive visibility into employee actions.
Designed to manage thousands of endpoints, Veriato offers powerful tools to monitor and secure organizational data, ensuring compliance and reducing the risk of insider threats.
This makes Veriato the ideal choice for large-scale enterprises needing high-level monitoring.
6. InterGuard
InterGuard is an employee monitoring software that offers a wide selection of features and add-on modules for businesses of all sizes. Its refreshed user interface enhances usability, while the convenient search function simplifies data access.
InterGuard turns data into actionable insights through its endpoint lockdown capabilities and automation for reports and notifications.
This software is especially beneficial for larger businesses and those managing remote workforces. It provides proactive alerts to help monitor employee productivity and ensure smooth operations across distributed teams.
7. VeriClock
VeriClock is a versatile and affordable employee monitoring tool designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It offers flexible clock-in options via mobile, SMS, or phone, making it ideal for managing remote workers.
In addition to basic time tracking, VeriClock includes useful geolocation features to track employee whereabouts.
Though its user interface may not be the most polished, it delivers dependable functionality to ensure accurate tracking and easy management of employee work hours.
8. Insightful
Insightful is another budget friendly employee monitoring solution designed for SMBs. It provides a modern user interface and a blend of productivity and time-tracking tools, perfect for businesses managing remote teams.
Insightful is also focused on boosting remote worker and group productivity with its cloud-based platform, making it easy to install and implement for businesses of any size.
Features like employee desk applications, basic reporting, and Kanban boards help keep projects organized.
9. DeskTime
DeskTime Pro is a time tracking and employee monitoring solution that is built for SMBs. It offers automatic time tracking, calendar integration, invoicing, and task management.
The software also tracks app, URL, and document usage, allowing managers to monitor productivity effectively.
DeskTime Pro’s “private time” feature gives employees personal time without interference, while the intuitive interface and simple setup make it a hassle-free solution for firms looking to improve efficiency while managing remote teams.
10. StaffCop Enterprise
StaffCop Enterprise is a comprehensive employee monitoring tool designed for businesses requiring robust surveillance and data analysis.
This on-premises solution offers in-depth features like audio and video recording, remote desktop control, and webcam capture.
Its OCR functionality for screenshots and documents ensures no detail is missed, while robust reporting and data visualization tools provide clear insights.
Highly configurable, StaffCop Enterprise is perfect for organizations that need advanced monitoring capabilities to manage their workforce effectively and ensure security.
Investing in employee monitoring software means companies can create a more structured and efficient remote work environment that supports both productivity and security.
How employee monitoring software aids in successful remote work
As remote work continues to gain popularity, businesses are increasingly relying on technology to manage their distributed teams. According to a report by Gallup, 45% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked remotely at least part-time in 2023.
As remote work becomes the new norm, employee monitoring software plays a crucial role in helping companies maintain productivity and accountability.
Here’s why:
Boosting productivity
Employee monitoring software helps track employees’ work hours, task completion, and time spent on various projects. This data provides managers with valuable insights into individual productivity levels.
Firms can take proactive measures to improve output and prevent distractions as they are able to identify areas where employees excel or may need support.
Facilitating clear communication
With teams working across different locations, communication can often suffer. Monitoring software can help bridge this gap by offering built-in communication tools like:
- Messaging
- File sharing
- Task management features
These tools make it easier for employees to stay connected and collaborate effectively, even without face-to-face interaction.
Enhancing accountability
One of the challenges of remote work is maintaining accountability. Monitoring software allows managers to track progress on tasks, project deadlines, and employee performance in real time.
This visibility helps hold remote workers accountable without micromanaging, fostering trust between management and employees.
Promoting security
Employee monitoring software also aids in protecting sensitive company data. It tracks activities on work devices and leaders can quickly determine any unusual behavior or potential security threats.
These tools help make sure that remote employees are following company protocols and safeguarding important information.
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