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Should you monitor your employees online?

Apogee Compliance Group • Apr 09, 2019

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Should you monitor your employees online?

To monitor your employees, or not to monitor them, that is the topic of this blog post. If you’ve ever considered checking in on your staff’s online activities, you may have hesitated about whether or not it’s the right decision. We’ve listed the pros and cons of monitoring your employees, and some tips to make it a success if you go through with it.

The case for monitoring

There are a number of reasons why monitoring your employees’ activities on company devices is a good idea. Doing so can help you:

  • Protect your organization from data theft or harm – because careless or disgruntled employees may leak or steal your data.
  • Ensure you have a harassment-free workplace – because cyberharassment (sexual or otherwise) happens among employees.
  • Ensure staff are complying with policies – such as not downloading illegal programs or spending time on websites with illegal or hostile content.
  • Provide evidence in case of a lawsuit – heaven forbid this happens, but if an employee participates in illegal activities using your business’s computers, monitoring can provide evidence of who was involved.

The sad fact of the matter is that many business owners who begin monitoring their employees often end up discovering that their staff members aren’t focused solely on the company’s success.

Arguments against employee monitoring

Of course, there are some potential downsides to monitoring that you should be aware of as well. These include:

  • Productivity loss – monitoring can put a damper on employee morale and you may see the distrust lead to productivity losses.
  • Lost privacy and lawsuits – you’ll likely learn personal details of your employees that you would’ve never known about had you not monitored them. You may discover their political or religious views, sexual orientation, or medical problems. This could potentially open up your business to privacy or discrimination issues if you or your management team acts negatively based on any of this information.

Monitoring guidelines to follow

If you decide to monitor your employees, here are a few tips you should follow.

1. Create written policies
When you decide to monitor your employees, ask yourself: Am I doing this for security purposes? Is it to ensure your employees aren’t wasting time on social media? If your monitoring policies are too strict, you could create an atmosphere of distrust.

Set guidelines for acceptable use of email, social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and downloading software and apps. Also, make sure to include how monitoring will be carried out and how data will be secured or destroyed.

2. Tell your employees
It’s important to inform your employees about the scope of your monitoring policies. If they find out you’re doing it without their knowledge, you could face legal issues. By being transparent and open, you may actually see a boost in productivity by deterring employees from wasting time on the web.

When you tell your employees, explain why you’re doing it and the risks your business faces from misuse of digital assets. Reassure them you’re not doing it to spy on their personal life, but to create a compliant and law-abiding workplace. Because their activities will now be less private, encourage your staff to keep their personal communication to their smartphones. Also, provide a copy of your written policy to employees to read and sign.

3. Get the right technology tools
You don’t need to know every little employee activity, so look for apps and software that alert you of the most relevant problems so you can focus on more important tasks.

If implemented correctly, employee monitoring makes your business more secure and productive. For more information about security and other IT support tools, get in touch with us today.

By Apogee Compliance Group 01 Jul, 2020
The question of monitoring your employees’ computers is a tricky one. Some say such a practice is unethical. But it can also be a way to prevent data breaches. Find out the pros and cons of monitoring your employees’ online behavior by reading this blog. And should you decide your business needs employee monitoring, we […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 26 Jun, 2020
Advances in IT have transformed paper medical records into digital files that can easily be accessed and stored. Sadly, this development has also resulted in sensitive healthcare data, or personal health information (PHI), becoming a bigger target for hackers. Because of this, healthcare providers must remain vigilant against all forms of cyberattacks. From financial information […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 24 Jun, 2020
Cutting costs is great for business, but only if doing so does not result in lower-quality products or services. You can achieve this kind of compromise in your IT system, too. Instead of investing in expensive computer hardware, you can opt for affordable but powerful thin and zero clients. What are thin and zero clients? […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 17 Jun, 2020
Most people don’t question the padlock icon that sometimes appears in their web browser’s address bar. If you’re one of those who didn’t know, it’s a security feature that authenticates websites and protects the information users submit to them. Another indicator you’re in a secure site is the HTTP before the site’s URL. But why […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 15 Jun, 2020
IT services are more critical than ever before, proving their value in the face of a health crisis and the abrupt shift to remote working. Here are some ways managed IT services providers (MSPs) are helping small companies leverage technology to support their remote teams and go about business as usual. Providing infrastructure and service […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 10 Jun, 2020
If you have an Android device, be careful! An exceptionally dangerous Android malware known as DEFENSOR ID is currently making the rounds in the Google Play Store. The malware exploits the Accessibility Services in an Android device to evade detection by traditional security measures. This threat can put your data and business in jeopardy, so […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 03 Jun, 2020
Residential Wi-Fi connections are slower and less reliable than enterprise-grade ones. But now that more people have shifted to remote work, having a fast and stable wireless connection at home is more important than ever. What can you do to ensure you don’t suffer dropped Wi-Fi signals while you’re in a videoconference or finishing up […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 27 May, 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many business owners are cutting costs and jeopardizing their organization’s efficiency as a result. If you want to avoid this outcome, you should invest in cloud technology. The cloud will not just help you save money, but it will also help your business run more efficiently. Ensuring continuity and efficiency with […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 25 May, 2020
Many small- to medium-sized business (SMB) owners never expect a major crisis to hit their company and are often caught flat-footed when it does. Such events can cause downtime, which can lead to lost revenue and reduced profits. In addition, SMBs that fail to recover quickly from disruption face the risk of losing their customers […]
By Apogee Compliance Group 20 May, 2020
When it comes to cybersecurity, you probably think of protecting computers, apps, or online databases first and printers last. Precisely because they’re overlooked in, printers can be exploited by hackers and used as a gateway to infiltrate your systems. Secure your networks against intruders by following these steps. What makes business printers vulnerable to cyberattacks? […]
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