As remote work and flexible hours become more common, companies are challenged with ensuring productivity and protecting data. At the same time, finding ways to improve the employee experience and enhance employee engagement are top concerns for competitive organizations, and they need data to make informed decisions.
Implementing employee monitoring policies is one way to address these concerns. However, you must design these policies with ethics and transparency in mind — both to respect employee privacy and keep employee morale high, and to get the data you need while ensuring compliance and productivity. In this post, we’ll discuss the key elements of an ethical monitoring policy, how to implement it and strategies for overcoming potential challenges.
What is an employee monitoring policy?
An employee monitoring policy is an official set of guidelines and rules a company uses to define how they’ll monitor employees’ work activities and behaviors. Employers use these policies to ensure employee activities on company-owned devices are appropriate and professional. Workplace monitoring policies help reduce theft, improper resource allocation and other security risks. Monitoring employees also provides insights into employee productivity trends.
Companies may monitor digital assets and tools employees access to do their work such as company computers, email systems, application and website usage. For companies with remote or hybrid workforces, they may also choose to monitor employees’ geographic locations to see how performance varies based on where they work.
Why should a company’s employee monitoring policy prioritize ethics?
Beyond the obvious — companies should always try to act in legal and ethical ways — there are many reasons to prioritize ethics in your employee monitoring policy. Key factors include:
- Legal requirements: Employee monitoring is legal in the United States, but your methods must follow federal and state laws. Employees who find out they’ve been improperly monitored have the right to sue and the organization may face heavy fines. On top of that, landing in the news for illegal employee monitoring does serious damage to a company’s public reputation.
- Providing clarity: Employees and employers both benefit from clarity when it comes to how, when and why employee monitoring happens. A clearly written monitoring policy ensures employees understand what data is collected, how it’s used and what happens if they violate the policy. It also empowers employers to be consistent about applying the policy.
- Fostering trust: When an employee monitoring policy is transparent and ethical, it builds trust between employees and employers. A well-written policy that explains how monitoring protects and benefits both the employee and the employer is much more likely to gain employee backing.
- Protecting employee privacy: Balancing employee privacy rights and company needs is an important aspect of an employee monitoring policy. It’s important to safeguard both employee information and sensitive company data.
Legal considerations of an employee monitoring company policy
In the United States, state and federal laws govern how employers can monitor employees. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was passed in 1986 and, along with other common laws, generally protects employees from invasion of privacy. However, the law provides a few exceptions, particularly the “Business Purpose Exception” which allows employers to use monitoring methods for legitimate business reasons.
For example, the Stored Communications Act allows employers to monitor employee emails as long as the emails are intended for use during the normal course of business. Employers can also engage in monitoring if they gain employee consent, which may be inferred from using company-owned devices. In addition, workplaces can use video surveillance in certain work areas for business purposes, such as to monitor against theft. However, you must announce this surveillance to employees and visitors (usually through a highly visible sign) and the cameras must be visible. Likewise, organizations are legally allowed to monitor incoming and outgoing calls but may need to disclose when calls are being recorded, depending on state laws.
It’s important to understand the employee monitoring laws in your city or state and incorporate them into your employee monitoring policy. We recommend seeking legal counsel to ensure your policy meets federal and state laws. This protects your company, management and employees from improper monitoring techniques or privacy violations.
How to create an ethical employee monitoring policy
Every organization is unique, and your employee monitoring policy should match your specific needs. However, following several key steps will help ensure your policy is ethical — no matter what form it takes.
1. Clarify why the company has decided to start monitoring employees
Studies show 59% of employees feel anxiety that they'll be monitored at work. It’s important to reassure employees that monitoring has nothing to do with management not trusting employees to be productive. If mistrust is the reason your company wants to monitor employees, there are other aspects of your workplace you should examine. An ethical monitoring policy should include reasons that protect or help both employee and employer.
Your policy should outline how employee monitoring will protect company and employee data from spyware, malware or other hacking attempts by limiting access to certain websites. Emphasize the positive aspects of employee monitoring and how it will improve the employee experience. For example, some benefits of employee monitoring include enhanced training opportunities and more balanced workloads. Employee monitoring also gives managers a better understanding of how and when employees are most productive, which employees are over- or underworked and which tools are most or least useful.
Managers, leadership and employees should all be part of outlining the goals of employee monitoring. Explaining to employees why monitoring is important and giving them buy-in during the process builds trust and relieves anxiety. When you inform employees that monitoring is about making the workplace better for everyone, they’ll be much more likely to respect and follow your policy.
2. Explain how employees will be monitored
Employees should understand how they’re monitored and what specific data you collect, such as:
- Web and application activity
- Email visibility
- Location insights
- Time tracking
- Keylogging
- Video surveillance
- Call logging
While employers can choose to collect vast amounts of data over seemingly every employee action, collecting more than you need causes distrust. It’s better to figure out what’s essential, so monitoring is focused on insights and not oversight. When you finalize your list, share that information with employees so they clearly understand your policy.
For example, your monitoring policy should inform employees if they’re allowed to use company devices for certain personal activities, such as accessing a personal social media account or checking personal email. They should also know if your monitoring policy includes only work-related activity, or if all activity on a work-provided device will be monitored. If employees are using personal devices for work, that may warrant additional details in your policy.
3. Detail how monitoring data will be used
Your policy should outline how you intend to use the data you collect. For example, app and website usage data shows employers which tools correlate with productivity and which sites or apps keep employees from working effectively. Monitoring how long it takes employees to complete projects makes it easier to predict how long future projects will take. Keeping an eye on website access provides an audit trail for compliance and regulatory purposes and prevents security breaches.
Explaining these and other use cases helps you get employee buy-in for monitoring, since you show how it will help with planning and improving the employee experience.
4. Indicate who has access to employee monitoring data
It’s important to clarify who can access employee monitoring data. Managers, leaders and human resources professionals often use it to inform decisions on training and development, scheduling or compliance enforcement. However, some solutions also allow employees to access their own data so they can build healthier work habits and progress toward goals.
Make sure your policy clearly outlines who will be able to access the data and how much detail they’ll have.
5. Describe who the policy applies to
Employee monitoring won’t always make sense for every member of your team. Your organization may choose to monitor activity for remote workers in different ways than on-site employees for security reasons. Similarly, GPS monitoring may only make sense for workers using company vehicles or devices in the field.
It’s important to clearly communicate in your policy which monitoring activities apply to which employee groups. If anyone is exempt from your monitoring policy, it’s important to include that information as well. If your policy isn’t clear about why some employees are monitored and others aren’t, you risk giving the impression management is biased or playing favorites.
6. Include an FAQ section
Employees will have questions about monitoring, and it’s important to address them in your policy. Create a frequently asked questions section and add to it as employees bring up new issues. A robust FAQ will reiterate your policy’s purpose, provide examples and increase clarity for employees and management.
Monitor employees while retaining privacy with ActivTrak
A truly ethical employee monitoring policy focuses on building trust while providing actionable insights rather than surveillance. ActivTrak’s employee monitoring software gives you the data you need to improve productivity and ensure compliance without violating employee privacy. Use it to give employees insight into their work habits, spot trends in productivity, improve policies or procedures,eliminate wasteful tools and more. Contact our sales team to get started today!
