There’s no denying 2020 flipped the way we work on its head. Almost overnight, millions of employees and employers traded in the office building for the home office in response to COVID-19.

As you may have experienced, this brought its fair share of challenges. Managers and employees alike were suddenly charged with maintaining, measuring and, analyzing productivity at work from miles apart.

In this new remote-work reality, many employers turned to office computer monitoring software as a way to bridge distance and maintain visibility of their teams. From tracking time and attendance, to staying on top of the projects and measuring productivity, monitoring software like Insightful became the savior of many a manager.

But now you’re heading back into the office, what role does employee monitoring software have to play? 

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Should you just go back to the “old way of doing things”? 

Can you just rely on an “over the shoulder” management style once employees are within eyeshot?

Sure, you could. 

But if continuing to optimize and maximize productivity and performance is a key focus, monitoring systems will have an important role to play once your team is back in the office. Here’s why…

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Productivity Should Be Measured Regardless of Your Employees’ Location

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It’s simple: the more productive your employees are, the better your business will do. So, measuring, analyzing and improving their productivity should be a mainstay of your managerial tactics regardless of where employees are located.

In the office, you may be able to see if people are chatting or taking breaks more than usual; however, it’s extremely difficult to see what they’re doing on their computers. Browsing social media and doing work on a computer have a distinctly similar appearance.

Just as it does when your team is working remotely, office monitoring software gives you insights into how your employees are using their time. Including time spent browsing websites, using various apps, in meetings, on client calls, and so on.

This level of understanding of your office-based employees’ behavior keeps their productivity and efficiency at an all-time high. And, best of all, requires no micromanaging or constant physical check-ins.

Get More Accurate Clock-in Data as Your Employees Return to the Office

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Many companies use physical time clock devices, which are usually placed at the office or building entrance. Employees swipe their key card or FOB once they’re in the building and again once their shift is over – and this time period is commonly used to calculate time worked.

But this time measuring system can be deceptive. For instance, it’s easy to clock in at 8:56am, and not start working until 9:30am. This time interval is often spent making coffee or talking to colleagues – yet it ends up on your balance sheet.

Office desktop monitoring software gives you two tools for more accurate clock-ins. First, it captures the time employees come to work and swipe their keycard or FOB to enter the building. And second, the time they actually start working based on when they log into, and begin using, their computer. This dual-layer clock-in approach helps minimize time theft, potentially saving you thousands of dollars and lost productivity.

This clock-in functionality is especially useful if you have hourly workers. Knowing exactly how many hours they’ve worked will help you pay them sufficiently, while making sure they’re also getting paid for overtime work

Minimize Distractions for Your Office-Based Team

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Distractions are everywhere in the typical office. People talk loudly on the phone, employees chat (especially after months apart from each other), and maybe even the office dog stops by throughout the day. 

Building a close-knit team is definitely important. It can boost office morale and help people feel better about their jobs. However, consistent distractions in the office are the main cause of low productivity. 

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An office computer monitoring software helps you tackle them by identifying how often they happen, why and which employees are most affected.

COVID-19 Restrictions Are Likely to Be Around a While

As the COVID-19 restrictions continue to change, you, like many employers, may still be limited in the number of employees you’re permitted to have in the office at one time. This can create a dual workforce that’s split between home and in office. Some employees may even switch between the two: morning in the office, afternoon from home.

Having employees in and out of the office makes managerial consistency a challenge. Simply, there can’t be two sets of standards because of location. Office PC monitoring software helps create this consistency, allowing you to manage activity, productivity and performance in a uniform way – regardless of where your employees are located.

Insightful Employee Monitoring Software is for Remote and Office-Based Teams

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Insightful is purpose-built for both remote and office desktop monitoring software. Insightful’s features are suitable for teams of all shapes and sizes, so it doesn’t matter if you’re working remotely, from an office, or if you have a mixed setup. Simply, Insightful is incredibly flexible to meet your exact needs.

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With the features that allow you to control what is monitored – and how – Insightful gives you the flexibility to have different tracking options for different teams or individuals. 

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For instance, those who work from the office can have their time tracked automatically. While you can allow remote workers to control the tracking agent to ensure you’re only tracking time on the job, and not personal activity.

Being Back in the Office Is A Chance to Discover New Levels of Productivity

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Just by its physical nature, in-office work can make managing employees more effective. By adding an effective employee monitoring tool to your office-based team can, then, multiply the productivity gains you can achieve. 

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As your team returns to the office, continuing to use employee monitoring software will allow you to keep enjoying the visibility, productivity, and performance insights just like it did when your team was working from home.

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Plus, by making employee monitoring software a permanent part of your toolkit, you’ll stay ahead of the curve of the future of work.
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