Employee Screenshot Monitoring Software and Its Benefits
By: Danielle Gradwell
Tags: Employee Monitoring Tool, Employee Engagement

Employee screenshot monitoring software is a program that lets executives capture screenshots of any employee’s computer without them even realizing it. As you can gather from the definition, this kind of tracking software can be an indispensable tool for any business. The process is completely automated and can help to better estimate employees’ performance and understand how to more effectively improve productivity. It can also prove useful for establishing employee accountability for protecting sensitive documents and ensuring proof of work.

Types of Employee Screenshot Monitoring Software

Depending on the implementation, screenshot monitoring software can be of two types: Manual and Automatic. The manual implementation requires the manager to activate this feature manually by selecting the time and the employee whose computer they want the screenshot of. On the other hand, with automatic implementation, the software takes screenshots at random intervals for a selected group of employees or for all of them.

The manual method is seen as more targeted, but it is more likely to be considered unfair by employees, whereas the automatic system is considered fairer because it is indiscriminate, and no specific employee is isolated and targeted. The best employee monitoring software — like CloudDesk — always comes with the automatic option for fair performance.

Is It Legal to Use Screenshot Monitoring Software?

Despite the widespread adoption of this system, there have been some concerns among the workforce as to whether granting managers access to all of their computer activities is even legal. And if yes, then to what extent? To answer — since there is no specific law or regulation for it — monitoring employees is perfectly legal in the great majority of cases. In some countries, you might need to collect the consent of the employee before initiating tracking, skip tracking personal emails or keystrokes, etc. depending on their state, local, or federal laws.

Benefits of Employee Screenshot Monitoring Software

Less Wasted Time

Being aware of the screenshot monitoring software, employees become more conscious about their work time, so their productivity and focus are naturally higher.

Clearer Picture of The Workflow

Sometimes simple tracking is not enough or there is no way of collecting information for managing remote employees, so screenshots can give a better understanding of employee workflow.

User Protection

Screenshot monitoring software is proof of employees’ productive and dedicated work. Employers will have no excuse to ever doubt a team member, and no corporate politics should ever impact a great team member’s performance review.

Easier Remote Supervision

Screenshots provide visual information about remote employees’ workflow and their productivity and allow them to make timely adjustments.

Improve Employee Training

Screen capture is an excellent tool for effective employee training. It provides you with a complete picture and insight into the employee’s performance, which can be used for training and performance review.

*Originally posted on m2sys blog, author — Shoan Shahnewaz