5 Blunders That Make Employee Monitoring Ineffective

Advancing technology has made our world a better place, or convenient at the least. But of course, there are drawbacks to everything and technology has created many loopholes that can compromise the security of a company. 

Many systems have gone digital, such as banking, shopping, job hunting, socializing, and even dating. This has obviously given rise to the use of digital devices, even in the workplace. Most companies have strict guidelines for use of cell phone devices, but if the nature of work requires employees to use their mobile at work, it becomes important to monitor their activities.

The trouble arises when monitoring policies are not properly communicated to the employees, which can make these policies ineffective. Implementation of new policies can be a tough challenge because it’s usually met with a rebellious attitude from the employees. Here are five common blunders that can make monitoring policies ineffective:

1.     Employees Are Not Involved

This is the number one blunder employers make. They don’t consider the opinion of their employees of any importance. In fact, most employers make their employees feel replaceable, which affects their performance. Needless to say, the final word should come from the employer, but the opinions of all employees should be taken into consideration. It’s all part of the implementation process.

Taking their opinions is still an optional choice, but informing them of the policy beforehand is a must. When you surprise your employees with a new policy, they feel their employers could merely introduce any new policy and they will have to comply no matter what. This could result in a low employee retention rate. Thus, involving employees in the implementation of monitoring policies is the first step towards make it effective.

2.     The Purpose and Benefits Are Not Communicated

The best way to introduce a monitoring policy to your employees is by explaining why it’s being implemented and how it benefits the organization and its employees as a whole. There are many ways an organization can roll out its new policies to all its stakeholders. They could hold a formal meeting, prepare a presentation, send a mass email or delegate the responsibility to the department heads.

All factors need to be taken into consideration, such as the size of the company, the cultural environment and the nature of the employees’ work. Employees who have been working with the organization for a long time, with a clean record, need to be handled in a careful manner. You don’t want to lose the loyalty of your senior employees by inappropriately introducing new policies.

3.     Rules and Regulations Are Not Set Clearly

The most important thing to keep in mind when implementing a new policy is making it as clear as possible. Employees get extremely anxious when they don’t understand what’s going on and how a new policy is going to affect them. By explaining everything in laymen terms, they feel more comfortable with the new implementation. All rules should be precise, clear, realistic and practical. When it comes to monitoring, specificity of rules is important because general guidelines contain many loopholes. Along with the policies, employees should also be aware of the consequences they have to face if the policy is followed through.

4.     Policy Violates the Law

Workplace monitoring policies can be a little tricky and thus, all employers are encouraged to thoroughly make sure the new policies are not violating the law. For instance, the law forbids the monitoring of personal devices of employees. Only company-owned devices can be monitored and the employer is required to take the employees’ consent before enforcing that policy.

5.     Policy Missing Official Status

A policy is taken seriously when it becomes part of their employment contract. For this reason, employers are encouraged to get their employees to read the entire legal document before getting it signed. This helps in avoiding complications and resistance down the road.

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