Should You Monitor Your Employees' Web Use?

Achieving the Right Balance

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to implement software that will monitor your employees' every keystroke, every e-mail and message sent, every document opened and edited and every website visited.

Then tell your staff what you are doing and why.

This is a situation businesses face today. Employee-monitoring devices known as spyware have become more attractive, affordable and easy to use. Companies see their value in helping to increase security, improve productivity and reduce employee misbehaviour, competitive information leaks and liability risks. Many employees, however, believe monitoring software infringes their privacy. If the implementation is communicated poorly or the company goes too far in its zealousness, morale could be damaged and good people may quit.

Internet Use at Work Growing

The reality is that an increasing number of companies are making this investment. Mostly, it's because of increased business use of the internet. As more companies provide high-speed internet access they seek to stop employees accessing pornography or games or carrying out excessive personal business.

In 2001, the number of employees worldwide who had their internet or e-mail use at work monitored was estimated at 27 million. Though still largely the domain of corporations, an increasing number of small businesses are also monitoring.

Monitoring products vary from the piecemeal to the comprehensive. Websense, for example, is a frequently used product to monitor employee internet use; it can filter out websites as appropriate. Likewise, MIMEsweeper, is a popular e-mail monitoring product and WinWhatWhere from TrueActive Software monitors every e-mail, message and document sent and received and every keystroke typed on the PC on which it is installed. The latest version even snaps pictures from a WebCam, saves screenshots and reads keystrokes in multiple languages. Company founder and CTO Richard Eaton says about 80% of its sales have been to businesses and the remainder to government agencies, parents monitoring kids' PC use and people suspicious of their partners.

Achieving the Right Balance

It is in the best interests of companies to consider using surveillance software, analysts say. But they must tell staff what they are monitoring and why, says Michael Gartenberg, research director at Jupiter Media Metrix.

"Employees need to understand that it is the employer's right to protect its business communications vehicles from abuse, including situations that could prove to be liable or embarrassing to the company," Gartenberg says. "Employers need to understand that expectations need to be set and met and that an appropriate balance needs to be achieved."

Before buying any monitoring software, answer these questions, says Ann Meany, a human resources consultant for Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Are you solving a problem or concern or are you just paranoid? "Doing it just because you are paranoid is not the right reason, in my opinion," Meany says. There are better reasons, such as the security and safety of your employees, problems and concerns about sexual harassment of employees and genuine concerns about employee fraud, espionage and misbehaviour.
Is it a cultural fit? An organisation that thrives on independence, such as a research-and-development company, may create more problems than it is solving with significant monitoring.

If you are satisfied with your answers here, follow these five tips:

Disclose your plans in advance and accept employee feedback. TrueActive's Eaton suggests showing staff the monitoring software and the reports it prepares. But, warns Meany: How you introduce the subject to your employees is critical. Unless you can make a case for the benefits, in terms of increased productivity and safety and reduced concerns about internal fraud and other liability risks expect a backlash. And if you don't give notice, you could be forced to explain why in a lawsuit.
Have clear guidelines on unacceptable behaviour. Spelling out every potential scenario is not possible or expected. But if you plan to filter certain websites, such as pornography, gambling or job posting sites, you would be smart to let staff know. Going too far in what you block could be costly, Meany says. Your employees will be better served and more responsive if you set their expectations on what is inappropriate. The same is true of personal e-mails and messages. Many employees don't realise their unencrypted messages can be monitored. Tell them; if necessary, show them.

A word to employees: Never send an e-mail or message at work you wouldn't be afraid to read the next day on the front page of a newspaper, Gartenberg warns. Likewise, don't visit websites at work with URLs you'd mind seeing posted - next to your name - in a public forum.

Be respectful of employee needs and time. If employees work a lot of hours in the office and significant overtime, expect them to be doing some personal business on company time. A certain amount of employee "undertime" which is stealing time during the work day for appropriate personal needs to compensate for heavier workloads and more stress should be allowed if the employee is discreet and otherwise efficient.
Strike a reasonable balance between security and privacy. Keep in mind overzealousness in monitoring, such as stockpiling of employee records, could backfire the records could be used as evidence against your company in future litigation.
Hire people you can trust. Trustworthy employees are easier to monitor and need less monitoring than those you can't trust.

Read original here brett-tech.com

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