Workforce Management Monitoring: Focusing on Data and Respecting Privacy to Deliver Better Results
Focusing on Data and Respecting Privacy to Deliver Better Results
As 2020 taught us, making New Year predictions for the workplace should be based on trends, but focused on flexible answers. One trend we’ve been seeing pop up, thanks in part to the increase in remote working and Covid restrictions, is an increase in employee monitoring.
On one hand, employers need to ensure employees are doing their jobs up to certain standards — on the other, employees deserve their privacy, despite the still relatively new merger of personal and work lives.
Using technology to focus on data is the key to striking that balance when it comes to workforce management, and it can be used to help both employees and your business.
1) Compliance
One of the main reasons employers are leaning toward using employee monitoring more, and in new ways, is because of the heavier toll not being compliant is taking.
With Covid came more regulations to manage, more remote work, and more moving parts in general; the number of rules and regulations that need to be tracked has risen dramatically. Not tracking and enforcing compliance, or not having the ability to do so remotely, can quickly lead to a large number of violations.
Look for technology that:
- Can be customized to meet your business’ unique concerns
- Automatically tracks and helps enforce rules, regulations, and compliance
- Is easy to use for both employees and management
- Allows employees to offer feedback
2) Contact Tracing
Having real-time geolocation tracking of when employees clock in and out of the workplace is vital for effective contact tracing. This goes beyond your employees and your business itself, as it impacts any customers, patients, partners, etc., who are also onsite if a case of exposure or contamination happens.
The main issue with respecting privacy here is that employees should be informed that workforce management software will be used in this way and that it is geared toward safety and safety compliance. Again, focus on the data aspect of the technology.
It can be used to:
- Easily and accurately notify anyone who may have been exposed
- Provide clear instructions on what to do
- Utilize system data to check schedules and generate information on who else was onsite
- As well as provide an easy way for employees to contribute information
- Help with rescheduling, employee care, and keeping your business going while remaining compliant and safe
3) Attendance Tracking and Employee Engagement
As mentioned in the previous section, some workforce management software offers real-time geolocation tracking for clocking in and out, as well as things like facial recognition. Having the ability to monitor these things remotely will definitely become more and more important.
However, how can employers effectively track what their employees are doing once they’re at work, while still respecting an employee’s privacy? Look into remote work-friendly technology that offers:
- The ability for management to send notes regarding that day’s work and includes task management
- Provides company-wide public or private document sharing, storage, and tracking
- Automatically report timesheet anomalies
- Easy rescheduling and record-keeping for employees that need personal health days
- Channels for feedback, interaction, video conferencing, etc.
See who’s engaged and completing tasks, versus who isn’t, and is possibly struggling, without digging too far into an employee’s personal life.
4) Analytics
The ultimate way to drive better business decisions and monitor what’s really going on, while respecting your employees’ privacy, is a workforce management solution that is getting more complete data — and then generating reports automatically.
By looking at the accumulation of data in one central place, seeing what it correlates to, having analytics and reports, your organization is able to:
- Confront problems within your business with facts; get feedback, and make changes, without resorting to extreme methods of employee monitoring
- Get a big picture view of your business rather than a micro view
- With heavy employee monitoring, employers may get hung up with exactly how an employee is spending their time, rather than seeing their compliance and overall productivity is higher
- Make the right changes faster, and quickly react when needed
- Adapt; creating more effective methods of management and operations
If your organization is looking to improve your business through workforce management technology and solutions, we’re here to help.
Check out our other thought leadership on Covid and Crisis, as well as what TeamzWize can do for your business:
· Workforce Management and Covid-19: 4 Ways to Focus Your Organization and Move Forward