10 Best Remote Employee Monitoring Software Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 20 tools reviewed.
With so many different remote employee monitoring software available, figuring out which is the right fit for you is tough. You know you want a tool to monitor the productivity and performance of your hybrid team to increase accountability and measure workloads, but you need to figure out which option is best. In this article, I'll help you make your choice easy by sharing my insights on the best remote employee monitoring software to assess productivity and optimize time management for your team.
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Best Remote Employee Monitoring Software Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top remote employee monitoring software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget.
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Insightful | From $8/employee/month | Website |
| Veriato | From $25/user/month | Website |
| DeskTime | From $7/user/month | Website |
| ActivTrak | From $10/user/month | Website |
| Time Doctor | From $7/user/month | Website |
| Hubstaff | From $7/user/month | Website |
| Teramind | From $15/user/month | Website |
| EmailAnalytics | From $15/user/month | Website |
| Monitask | From $5.99/user/month | Website |
| InterGuard | From $25/user/month (5 user minimum) | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareHow to Choose Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Remote employee monitoring software can help you keep tabs on your employee's computer-based activities, ensuring they're staying productive and on task. To help you figure out which remote employee monitoring software best fits your needs, you need to pinpoint your key users and document their specific challenges first.
As you work through your own unique software selection process, keep the following points in mind:
- What problem are you trying to solve - Start by identifying the challenges you're trying to overcome. This will help you clarify the features and functionalities the remote employee monitoring software needs to provide.
- Who will need to use it - To evaluate cost and requirements, consider who will use the software and how many licenses you'll need. For remote employee monitoring software, you'll probably want to restrict access to your managers, plus special access for your HR administrators and IT support staff. Once that's clear, it's also useful to rank the needs of your different users to identify the key priorities for your power users, managers, and employees, to ensure they're all met.
- What other tools it needs to work with - Clarify what tools you're replacing, what tools are staying, and the tools you'll need to integrate with, such as time-tracking systems or work operating systems like Microsoft Office 365 or Google Workspace.
- What outcomes are important - Review the capabilities you want to gain or improve, and how you will measure success. For example, you may want to improve productivity and time-management for specific teams or gain more insight into how long certain tasks take. You could compare employee monitoring systems until you’re blue in the face but if you aren’t thinking about the outcomes you want to achieve, you could waste a lot of valuable time.
- How it would work within your organization - Consider the software selection alongside your existing workflows and systems. Evaluate what's working well, and any problem areas that need to be addressed.
Remember every business is different — don’t assume that a remote employee monitoring system will work for your organization just because it's popular.
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Deel
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8 -
Paycor
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.1 -
Paychex Flex
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.2
Best Remote Employee Monitoring Software Reviews
Here’s a brief description of each remote employee monitoring software that showcases each system’s best use case, their noteworthy features, and some pros & cons. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a snapshot of their user interface too.
Insightful helps you manage team members wherever they are, delivering actionable data insights into productivity and employee time management.
Why I picked Insightful: This tool offers comprehensive employee monitoring and computer activity tracking, showing you how employees and freelancers use time, apps, and websites. Periodic or rules-based screenshots provide proof that employees are doing their work as expected during the day. Employees work is automatically tracked based on activity.
You can add projects and tasks, assign employees, and ensure that work is being done. Precise project budgeting keeps your finances on track and eliminates guesswork. Project insight reports help you stay on top of progress and ensure that every second is counted.
Insightful Standout Features and Integrations
Features include employee monitoring, activity tracking, remote work management, automatic time tracking, automatic screenshots, verified attendance, proof of work, employee engagement, and project budgeting.
Integrations are possible through the Insightful developer portal and Insightful API.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy to mark unproductive apps
- Light on system resources
- Works quietly in the background
Cons:
- More integration options needed
- Limited number of screenshots
Veriato is a workforce behavior analytics company that gives you the tools you need to manage remote or hybrid employee productivity.
Why I picked Veriato: Veriato helps you manage remote teams effectively, highlighting unproductive employees and optimizing efficiency across the team. The software is ideal for dealing with complex corporate and regulatory compliance requirements in industries such as healthcare, legal, and financial services.
Veriato makes it easier to run audits and stay compliant, with real-time alerts, customizable reporting, and dashboards. You can track how many minutes an employee’s computer was active or idle during the day, monitor chats, and take automatic screenshots. It’s also easy to set flexible start and finish times and decide when tracking starts or ends.
Veriato Standout Features and Integrations
Monitoring features include email & chat monitoring, web & app tracking, automatic screenshots, idle & active time-tracking, network activity, file & document tracking, fully-customizable settings, reports, an employee monitoring system, and real-time alerts.
Integrations with Veriato are available through Zapier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Comprehensive overview of activity
- Can be customized extensively
- Descriptive reporting
Cons:
- Takes time to set up
- Needs better screenshot archives
Desktime helps small business owners manage remote employees by monitoring their performance with time-tracking software and providing detailed productivity reports.
Why I picked DeskTime: This app tracks employee activity automatically and calculates productivity. The URL and app tracking features show you exactly what websites, programs, and apps your employees use. These can be categorized as being productive or unproductive.
You can also see exactly which documents employees are working on. The integrated web time tracker measures time, projects, and tasks. A broken timer allows employees to take time off when permitted. A booking facility also allows people to book meeting rooms and other shared resources.
DeskTime Standout Features and Integrations
Features include automatic time-tracking, offline time tracking, private time options, document title tracking, a Pomodoro timer, custom reports, cost calculations, a mobile app, and shift scheduling.
Integrations include Asana, Basecamp, Google Calendar, GitLab, Jira, Outlook Calendar, and Trello.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy to assess productivity
- Simple onboarding process
- Can be accessed from mobile devices
Cons:
- Gap management could be improved
- Integrations need improvement
ActivTrak is an employee tracking tool that facilitates flexible schedules, ensures compliance, and promotes a healthy work balance for better long-term productivity.
Why I picked ActivTrak: Using ActivTrak, you gain visibility into digital work so you can balance productivity, flexibility, and employee well-being. The software analyzes daily work activity data, giving you insights into time and technology usage, resource gaps, and productivity trends.
You can measure daily work activity across hybrid and remote employees, and determine active or passive online status and current work focus. You can also categorize apps and websites by team, role, or job function to analyze usage. ActivTrak compares the habits of remote and in-office employees to understand productivity and process bottlenecks.
ActivTrak Standout Features and Integrations
Features include dashboards, productivity reports, location insights, impact analysis, application and website usage, workload management, productivity coaching, team summaries, and website blocking.
Integrations include Asana, Google Calendar, Jira, Lattice, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Workday, and Zoom.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Invisible to the user
- Compatible with anti-virus software
- Useful alarm feature
Cons:
- No keystroke logging
- Historical records are clunky
Best for employee monitoring software with extensive integrations
TimeDoctor gives you direct visibility into your team’s workflow and productivity, showing you the websites and apps used by each employee throughout the day.
Why I picked TimeDoctor: This app gives you actionable insights and information on employee performance trends designed to help you boost productivity. You can take screencasts of your employee’s screens at specified intervals and see which websites and apps they use the most.
Time Doctor also helps you generate accurate payroll information and process invoices. Thanks to integrations with a wide range of popular business applications, you can adapt TimeDoctor to suit your organization’s needs. Overall, you get a clear picture of how employees are performing, allowing you to optimize team productivity and efficiency.
TimeDoctor Standout Features and Integrations
Features include time-tracking, employee monitoring, online timesheets, payroll, project budgeting, distraction alerts, chat monitoring, offline time tracking, and email notifications.
Integrations include Asana, ClickUp, Evernote, HelpScout, Jira, Payoneer, PayPal, Pipedrive, Salesforce, and Trello.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Accurate time-tracking
- Improves billing
- Reduces wasted time
Cons:
- Redundant notifications
- Occasional tracking glitches
Hubstaff offers a unique blend of time-tracking and employee-monitoring software so you can see how your team works in real-time.
Why I picked Hubstaff: You can use Hubstaff’s remote employee monitoring software to track your workforce’s time and generate accurate timesheets. You can also create automatic reminders to ensure that people don’t forget to track their time.
Website and app usage are directly measured by the software, giving you insights into potential distractions. You can also arrange automatic screenshots to keep track of user activity.
The software tracks keyboard and mouse activity, but never obtains sensitive data. Instead, it measures the frequency of activity.
Hubstaff Standout Features and Integrations
Features include time-tracking, online timesheets, time reports, timesheet approvals, screenshots, employee monitoring, and productivity tracking.
Integrations include ActiveCollab, Asana, Breeze, ClickUp, GitHub, GitLab, Insightly, Jira, Liquid Planner, and Mavenlink.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent idle time management
- Very customizable
- Lots of integrations
Cons:
- Manual start for time-tracking
- Reporting can be confusing
Teramind offers remote work monitoring software that aims to increase both employee productivity and data security.
Why I picked Teramind: This software application visually records every action that remote users make, including contractors and third parties. You can track all activities, including those taken in custom apps, and configure rules and policies to collect data on any user action.
You can track all user activity while complying with any applicable employee privacy requirements. The software can monitor work done on local machines, remote domains, servers, or terminal servers. You can request a breakdown of work-related versus non-work related tasks, and get minute-to-minute trends graphs showing how much time is spent on specific projects.
Teramind Standout Features and Integrations
Features include smart rules, automated alerts, live view, historical playback, website monitoring, application monitoring, email monitoring, instant message monitoring, time-tracking tools, and social media monitoring.
Integrations include ArcSight ESM, IBM Security Jira, QRadar, Redmine, Splunk Enterprise, and Zendesk.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Robust feature set
- Excellent tracking features
- Great user behavior analytics
Cons:
- Minimum of 5 seats
- False positives with anti-virus software
EmailAnalytics gives you visibility into daily email activity and unlocks insights into how your team members respond to email inquiries.
Why I picked EmailAnalytics: This tool shows your sales team’s email activity in an email analytics dashboard, so you can see how many emails are sent and received each day. You get insights into how many people your team corresponds with and the number of spam complaints received. You can also drill down into any metric to get further information.
It’s easy to see who sends the most emails, which clients team members respond to, and the average response time for each recipient. You can also check how many unread emails are in each person’s inbox or how many are labeled ‘important.’ The system also analyzes emails by time of day, so you can see when people are most active.
EmailAnalytics Standout Features and Integrations
Features include emails sent & received, email traffic by day of the week, top senders & recipients, traffic by hour of the day, email response time, and team management.
Integrations include Gmail, HubSpot, and Outlook.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- No software to install
- Gives complete team reports
- Comprehensive email insights
Cons:
- Only tracks email
- Designed for sales teams only
Monitask offers employee monitoring for remote workplaces, including everything from automatic time-tracking to proof-of-work screenshots.
Why I picked Monitask: This app keeps a record of when home-based employees start work and when they finish. In addition, it monitors the work hours of remote employees and ensures they work their full shifts. The employee productivity tracking ensures that team members stay focused and avoid distractions.
Their employee monitoring solution also helps in ensuring the safety of sensitive data, especially when it is to be accessed outside the safe website. The system monitors if such sensitive data is being sent by email, uploaded to the cloud, or copied to an external USB device. Admins are alerted accordingly.
Monitask Standout Features and Integrations
Features include screenshot monitoring, a live dashboard, automatic time-tracking, productivity monitoring, app tracking, project management, and idle time removal.
Integrations include ActiveCollab, Active Directory, Acuity Scheduling, Basecamp, Box Time, ClickFunnels, ClickUp, Convertri, DeskTime, and Easy Projects.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Offline time tracking
- Keeps everyone productive
Cons:
- Huge number of integrations
- Limited history logs
Interguard helps you monitor remote and work-from-home employees, keeping your business safe and productive wherever your team members are located.
Why I picked InterGuard: This software application will alert you if employees break rules, such as by exporting your customer list from your CRM. You can also go beyond monitoring and set up policies to block sensitive data from being sent by email, uploaded to the cloud, or copied to an external storage device. If employees are suspected of committing fraud or theft, you can lock down their computers remotely.
The software also monitors employee productivity to ensure you get the best value on your investment. It helps you eliminate distractions and keep projects on track. You can also track the time spent on a project and identify potential delays that slow work down.
InterGuard Standout Features and Integrations
Features include email monitoring, website blocking, chat monitoring, file tracking, screenshot taking, cell phone monitoring, keystroke logging, insider threat detection, and active time tracking.
Integrations are available through Zapier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Keyword capture
- Runs in the background
Cons:
- Reports are not intuitive
- Dated interface
Other Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best remote employee monitoring software list:
- Controlio
Best for ensuring remote employee complianc
- iMonitor EAM
Best for employee monitoring with automatic backup
- Timely
Best remote employee monitoring software for background time tracking
- RescueTime
Best remote employee monitoring software for winning back unproductive time
- Kickidler
Best remote employee monitoring software for visual monitoring tools
- Ekran System
Best remote employee monitoring software for auditing employee activity
- CleverControl
Best remote employee monitoring software for tracking messenger communications
- ControlUp
Best remote employee monitoring software for digital work experience management
- ActiveOps WorkiQ
Best remote employee monitoring software for remote workforce intelligence
- WE Controlio
Best remote employee monitoring software for productivity analytics
Related HR Software Reviews
If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these other related tools that we've tested and evaluated:
- HR Software
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- Recruiting Software
- Employer of Record Services
- Applicant Tracking Systems
- Workforce Management Software
Selection Criteria for Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Selecting the right remote employee monitoring software requires a deep dive into the specific functionalities that align with your unique needs. My approach to choosing the best tools for this list is grounded in extensive research into these systems and how they can address common pain points related to tracking and assessing the productivity of remote workforces.
Here's a summary of the selection criteria I used to create this list:
Core Remote Employee Monitoring Software Functionalities (25% of total score): Some employee monitoring systems track employee time by monitoring employee work, while others are focused on measuring employee performance. To be considered for inclusion in this list, each solution had to support the following use cases first:
- Time tracking to understand work habits and verify hours worked
- Monitoring websites and applications for productivity versus time theft
- Capturing screenshots for task engagement verification
- Tools to manage tasks to ensure team alignment and deadline adherence
- The ability to generate real-time reports for quick decision-making as well as more in-depth analyses
Additional Standout Features (25% of total score): To help me uncover the best remote employee monitoring software, I also took note of any unique features, including:
- Innovations in privacy controls that balance monitoring with respect for employee privacy
- Advanced analytics for deeper insights into productivity trends
- Customizable alert systems for proactive management, including insider threat detection
- Enhanced data security measures to protect sensitive information from breaches or improper use
- Integration capabilities with other business tools for a seamless workflow
Usability (10% of total score): To evaluate the usability of each monitoring system, I considered the following:
- An intuitive user interface and user-friendly design that simplifies navigation and complex information
- Clear and concise dashboard layouts for at-a-glance insights
- Role-based access control that's straightforward to configure
- Systems that offer cross-device compatibility, including versions for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS devices
Customer Onboarding (10% of total score): To get a sense of each software provider's customer onboarding process, I considered the following factors:
- Quick setup processes and clear guidance for first-time users
- The availability of training materials such as videos or interactive tutorials
- Support systems like chatbots and webinars to guide new users through the initial learning curve
- Support for implementing the new software discreetly from an IT perspective
Customer Support (10% of total score): To evaluate the level of customer support each vendor offered, I considered the following:
- The availability of multiple support channels, including email, phone, and chat
- The existence of a self-service knowledge base, FAQ repository, or other self-help resources to speed up troubleshooting
- The overall quality, responsiveness, and helpfulness of the support team during customer onboarding and post-purchase, as inferred from customer reviews
Value for Price (10% of final score): To gauge the value of each software, I considered the following factors:
- The availability of free trials or demos to test the software before purchasing
- Transparent pricing models that clearly explain which payroll features are included at each level, with no additional hidden costs for training or set-up
- Tiered pricing plans that cater to different business sizes, from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) up to enterprise-level organizations
Customer Reviews (10% of final score): Evaluating customer reviews is the final element of my selection process, which helps me understand how well a product performs in the hands of real users. Here are the factors I considered:
- Whether a product has consistently high ratings across multiple review platforms, indicating a broad level of user satisfaction
- Specific praises, criticisms, or trends in customer feedback that indicate the software's strengths or areas for improvement
- Whether customer feedback specifically mentions issues with ease of use, customer support responsiveness, or lacking features
By using this assessment framework, I was able to identify the remote employee monitoring software that goes beyond basic requirements to offer additional value through unique features, intuitive usability, smooth onboarding, effective support, and overall value for price.
Trends in Remote Employee Monitoring Software for 2024
As organizations continue to adapt to remote and hybrid work models, the technology underpinning remote employee monitoring software has advanced to meet these needs. Here are several key trends that are shaping the future of remote employee monitoring software:
Evolving and In-Demand Features
- Enhanced Privacy Controls: There's a clear trend towards more sophisticated privacy controls, balancing the need for monitoring with respecting employee privacy. Tools are introducing features that allow employees to pause monitoring or work in a privacy mode during breaks, addressing privacy concerns and regulatory compliance.
- Comprehensive Time Tracking: Time tracking remains a core feature, with enhancements that allow for more granular tracking of tasks and projects. This feature is crucial for billing, payroll, and assessing productivity at the individual and team levels.
- User Activity Monitoring: Monitoring the active use of applications and websites is highly demanded to ensure that work hours are focused on productive tasks. This feature has evolved to provide more nuanced data, distinguishing between productive and non-productive activity.
Unique and Unusual Features
- Emotion Recognition Technology: One of the most novel developing features is the use of AI-driven emotion recognition technology to gauge employee morale and engagement through their interactions with the software. While innovative, this trend raises questions about privacy and the accuracy of such measures.
- Predictive Analytics: Leveraging AI to predict potential productivity dips and employee burnout before they happen is another cutting-edge feature. This proactive approach aims to help managers intervene early, promoting a healthier work-life balance and preventing burnout.
Features Declining in Importance
- Screenshot Capture: While still used, the demand for continuous screenshot capture is declining. Companies are seeking less intrusive methods to ensure productivity, reflecting a growing emphasis on trust and autonomy in the remote workplace.
- Keystroke Logging: Once a common feature, keystroke logging is becoming less popular and even removed in some software updates. This shift is due to privacy concerns and the recognition that high keystroke counts do not necessarily correlate with high productivity.
These trends reflect a broader shift towards creating a more balanced, respectful, and efficient remote work environment. As these tools continue to evolve, they are becoming more sophisticated in how they track and analyze productivity, emphasizing employee well-being and privacy alongside organizational needs.
HR professionals seeking to implement or update their remote monitoring tools should consider these trends to ensure they choose software that aligns with modern work practices and ethics.
What is Remote Employee Monitoring Software?
Employee monitoring software is a type of tool that enables employers to track and monitor their employees' activities and behavior while working, usually in a remote or virtual environment. You can use it to gain visibility on how your staff spend their work hours, what tasks they're working on, and how effectively they're using their time. It includes the ability to monitor activity levels via mouse movements and keyboard strokes, track time per task, record which websites or apps are used, and take periodic screenshots or view live feeds of employee screens.
The resulting data can help increase team productivity by making employees more accountable for their time and promoting better time management practices. It can also help managers make better data-driven decisions about employee performance and workload distribution, and prevent security breaches by monitoring compliance and how sensitive company data is handled.
Looking for a more thorough explanation? Read our deep dive into how employee monitoring software works.
Features of Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Remote employee monitoring software helps managers track and assess the performance of their teams. Identifying the right features in such software can significantly enhance your ability to manage your team efficiently. Here are the most important features to look for:
- Time Tracking: This feature allows you to see how much time employees spend on tasks, which is essential for understanding individual work habits and identifying areas where efficiency can be improved. Employees can either log their work hours using timesheets to clock in and out or rely on the software's automatic time tracking based on user activity.
- User Activity Monitoring: This feature assesses computer activity such as keyboard and mouse usage levels (called keystroke logging) to gauge productivity. High activity levels often correlate with high productivity, making this feature valuable for evaluating employee engagement with their tasks.
- Screenshot Capture & Screen Recording: By periodically taking screenshots of an employee's screen, this feature offers a glimpse into their work process and computer activity. It helps in verifying task engagement and ensuring that work hours are used productively.
- Website and Application Monitoring: This refers to tracking any websites or apps employees use during work hours to uncover potential distractions. This insight is crucial for addressing productivity leaks and enforcing company policies on internet use.
- Productivity Monitoring & Task Tracking: Productivity tracking usually factors into account things like active and idle time and other behavior analytics. Software that offers integrated task management makes it easier to track progress on specific initiatives, aligning team efforts and ensuring that deadlines are met.
- Reporting and Analytics: Most remote employee monitoring software provides detailed reports on employee productivity, workloads, work time, and other key metrics. This aids in identifying trends, bottlenecks, and areas requiring immediate attention.
- Security Features: Balancing monitoring with privacy is crucial. The software should have safeguards in place to keep sensitive information secure and maintain legality on employee privacy.
- Hybrid Functionality: The software should allow you to monitor both team members working from home as well as on-premise employees, ensuring the same level of scrutiny is applied fairly to all employees, regardless of location.
- Insider Threat Detection: If your company deals with a high level of sensitive information, the software can help you detect and assess insider threat risks. It does this by monitoring for large amounts of downloaded files, or files copied to external drives, such as a USB.
- Mobile App: Having the software installed on employee mobile devices can facilitate geofencing and tracking application usage. You can also set alerts to monitor for specific activities, such as accessing certain websites, to help promptly address productivity issues.
Selecting remote employee monitoring software with these key features will give you a comprehensive toolkit for assessing and enhancing your team's productivity. In addition to helping you identify areas for improvement, it can also help you optimize your workflows and uncover successes worth celebrating.
Benefits of Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Remote employee monitoring software can help organizations both enhance operational efficiency and deepen employee engagement in their tasks. By implementing the best remote employee monitoring software for your needs, you can expect to gain the following benefits:
- Improved Time Management & Productivity: Remote employee monitoring software provides insights into how employees spend their work hours, enabling managers to identify and address inefficiencies. This visibility can help managers reallocate resources and tasks more effectively, while also deepening employees' awareness of how they spend their time, boosting overall productivity.
- Increased Transparency: With real-time insights into work activities, remote employee monitoring software fosters an environment of transparency within remote teams. This openness builds trust between managers and employees, which is crucial for remote work dynamics.
- Enhanced Security: Monitoring software can also play a critical role in securing sensitive company data. By overseeing access to information and applications, organizations can mitigate the risk of data breaches and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
- Cost Efficiency: By identifying underperforming areas and optimizing resource allocation, the software contributes to cost savings. Reduced wasted time and improved operational efficiency directly impact the bottom line positively.
- Data-Driven Employee Development: Through tracking performance and productivity trends, the software provides valuable feedback for employee development. This feedback can be used to tailor training programs, set personalized goals, and support career growth within the organization.
As you can see, adopting remote employee monitoring software offers a strategic advantage in managing remote teams effectively. It can help you use workforce analytics to enhance operational efficiency and productivity, while also improving security and reducing overhead costs.
Costs & Pricing for Remote Employee Monitoring Software
Employee monitoring tools are designed to help organizations track and assess the productivity of their remote workforce, offering a range of features from time tracking to detailed productivity analytics. The pricing and plan options vary widely, catering to different sizes of businesses and their specific needs.
Understanding the common pricing structures and what each plan typically includes will help you make an informed decision that aligns with your organization's requirements and budget.
Plan Comparison Table for Remote Employee Monitoring Software
| Plan Type | Average Price | Common Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free* | $0 | Basic time tracking, limited screenshot capture, and activity level monitoring for a small number of users |
| Basic | $5-10 per user/month | Time tracking, screenshot capture, activity level monitoring, basic reporting, and a limited number of users |
| Standard | $10-20 per user/month | Website and application monitoring, project and task management, real-time reporting, user activity alerts, and integration capabilities |
| Premium | $20-30 per user/month | Advanced analytics, enhanced privacy controls, unlimited users, customizable reports, and priority customer support |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | All Premium features plus advanced security measures, full customization, personal account manager, and onboarding assistance |
*Based on my research, free plans generally aren't available. However many providers do offer a free trial.
When deciding on the best plan for you, consider your immediate and future needs. I recommend requesting a free trial to test a product before you commit, but a paid plan will always offer more advanced features to effectively monitor and enhance your team's productivity. Always weigh the cost against the potential return on investment in terms of improved efficiency and productivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
People often ask me about the best way to manage remote teams and how to improve the employee experience. Here are answers to the most common questions:
What are the benefits of remote employee monitoring?
One of the benefits associated with tracking your remote workers is reassurance that your teams are being productive and staying focused on the right tasks. Using these types of tools can provide peace of mind to business owners who may be hesitant to move to a remote or hybrid workforce. These software solutions can also help avoid data loss by keeping records of what employees are doing on their devices.
If employees are aware that they’re being monitored, there’s a potential that it could boost productivity. However, it’s important to keep in mind that trust is usually a crucial factor in employee engagement and satisfaction levels. Using employee monitoring software can damage the trust employees feel at work, which could ultimately lead to a negative impact on productivity.
What are the risks of monitoring remote employees?
Tracking employee activity comes with certain risks. It’s important to be aware of employee privacy and legalities around monitoring their work. Not only that, but if the monitoring is hidden from employees and they find out, it risks damaging the employer-employee relationship and established trust. Ultimately, you want the benefits to outweigh the potential risks associated with keeping a close eye on remote employees.
How do these software ensure employee privacy?
Privacy is safeguarded through features like customizable transparency levels, where employees are informed about what’s being monitored and have access to their own data. These software solutions often focus on productivity metrics rather than invasive surveillance, emphasizing task completion over minute-by-minute tracking. Encryption and secure data handling practices ensure sensitive information is protected. It’s a delicate balance between monitoring for efficiency and respecting personal boundaries, requiring clear communication and policies to navigate effectively.
What impact do these tools have on employee morale?
The impact of remote employee monitoring tools on morale varies. Used thoughtfully, they can boost morale by recognizing achievements and providing clear performance metrics, fostering a culture of transparency and fairness. However, if implemented without clear communication or consideration for privacy, they can lead to feelings of mistrust and surveillance, negatively affecting morale.
It’s crucial for organizations to strike a balance, ensuring the tools are used to support employees’ growth and productivity rather than solely for oversight. Engaging employees in the implementation process and focusing on positive outcomes can help mitigate potential downsides.
How can you detect employee monitoring software?
Detecting employee monitoring software can be difficult as it is designed to be stealthy and invisible to the employee. However, some signs of monitoring software can include a decrease in system performance or unusual network activity, the presence of unknown or suspicious processes in the task manager, or the appearance of pop-up notifications or warnings on the employee’s computer.
Does your employer have to tell you if your computer is being monitored?
The answer to this question depends on the laws and regulations in your specific country or state. In general, employers may be legally required to inform their employees if they are being monitored, but the specific requirements can vary. You should consult with an employment lawyer or legal expert in your jurisdiction to determine your rights and obligations.
Are there ways to trick employee monitoring software?
It is not ethical or legal to try to trick employee monitoring software. However, some employees may try to bypass monitoring by using external devices, such as a separate computer or smartphone, or by using software tools designed to prevent monitoring or mask activity. This is not recommended, as it can result in disciplinary action or termination of employment.
How do these tools integrate with existing HR systems?
Remote employee monitoring tools are typically designed with integration capabilities to smoothly blend into existing HR systems. They commonly offer APIs and plug-and-play features that allow for seamless data transfer between systems, such as time tracking, performance management, and payroll services.
These integrations enable HR professionals to maintain a unified system for employee management, consolidating data for easier access, analysis, and reporting. The focus is on minimizing disruption to current workflows while enhancing the organization’s ability to manage remote teams effectively.
Build Stronger Teams
Using the recommendations in this article, you can build stronger remote teams that are both productive and efficient. If you’d like a few more options to consider, take a look at our list of the best employee monitoring software too.
We’ll bring you more articles on related topics soon, so be sure to sign up for our People Managing People newsletter. That way, we can keep you up-to-date with the latest news and insights regarding people management.
New technology is making it possible to build effective remote teams like never before. So be ready to take advantage of the opportunities to take your organization to the next level.