Top 3 Employee Monitoring Apps: Track Time & More

The pandemic has made work-from-home set-ups the new normal for many companies and businesses, and although this has brought about several positive changes, it has undoubtedly brought about new challenges as well.

One such challenge is not being able to monitor your employees as you normally would in a face-to-face set-up. For this reason, employee monitoring apps are an essential part of the remote workplace today.

There are many employee monitoring apps available that your company can benefit from, each offering different features. Keep reading to find out what employee monitoring apps are, how they work, why they’re important, and our top three picks for the best apps on the market.

What Are Employee Monitoring Apps?

Employee monitoring apps are software that you install on employee devices to track employee activity, productivity, and performance. They’re also known as employee tracking apps or employee surveillance apps, as they not only monitor your employees but also record their activity for later review.

Employee monitoring apps come in all types and forms. They vary greatly by what each app is capable of and the type of employee data you can track, so your business may be suited to some apps more than others depending on your specific functionality needs.

Some employee tracking apps will allow you to monitor your employees’ keystrokes on their work devices, while others take screenshots of employee devices at specific intervals throughout the day.

For businesses that require employees to stay within a designated area or move around frequently, some apps even have GPS locator capabilities. With these apps, if an employee leaves their designated work area at any time — whether it’s simply for a lunch break or at an inappropriate time — you will be alerted.

Because of the wide variety of features that different employee tracking apps offer, it’s always best to consider your company’s specific needs before investing in one app and implementing it in the workplace.

How Do Employee Monitoring Apps Work?

Employee monitoring apps all work in a similar way, but their installation and configuration may differ. Some employee monitoring apps can be installed on employee devices via email links or QR codes. These are highly convenient because they begin the setup process automatically as soon as an employee opens the link.

Other apps require individual installation files for each device you wish to track, and this is generally preferred if your employees use different types of devices at work. Both methods are relatively simple–so whichever app you choose, you won’t need to spend too much time on setup.

In addition to configuring employee tracking tools through manual installation processes, some employee surveillance apps also allow you to set parameters so that only specific data gets recorded from certain time periods throughout the day. For example, you can change the settings so that all work-related activities and movements are noted between the hours of 9 to 5.

Why Are Employee Monitoring Apps Important?

In the traditional workplace setup, supervisors can simply walk around the office to monitor what their employees are doing. For remote employees, however, it’s challenging–even impossible–to keep tabs on their work habits without an app.

The current work-from-home trend makes employee monitoring apps an essential part of any remote business. Employee monitoring tools are important for analyzing overall performance across the company workforce, from how long employees spend on breaks to how efficient they are in getting jobs done.

Although employee monitoring apps can’t tell you the inner thoughts of your employees, they still provide valuable insight into their productivity levels. Managers can then base employee evaluations on actual data rather than assumptions made from limited interactions over remote communication.

Our Top 3 Best Employee Monitoring Apps

Now that we’ve covered the employee monitoring basics, let’s take a look at our top three employee tracking apps! We’ve listed down the pros and cons of each of these to help you determine which employee monitoring app is best for your company’s needs.

Teramind

Teramind offers a wide variety of employee monitoring features, such as deep alerting, automation, embedded reporting, and analytics. This software also has an incredibly user-friendly interface despite its powerful functions. The volume-based user pricing makes it flexible to the needs of your workplace.

Pros

• Responsive user-interface
• Diverse employee monitoring features
• Available for both remote and on-site work
• Strong security measures that protect privacy
• Tracks employee keystrokes

Cons

• May be quite complicated
• Some monitoring features have similar functions to others

ActivTrak

ActivTrak is the perfect employee monitoring software for tracking your workplace, as managing and improving productivity is its primary focus. It comes with all the standard employee monitoring apps while still being budget-friendly.

In addition, ActivTrak is built to cater to remote workers, so businesses that have adopted the work-from-home or hybrid workplace model will greatly benefit from the app.

Pros

• Initial integration is quick and easy
• Determines apps and websites used on devices
• Tracks on a project-basis
• Provides reports with actionable data
• Focused on employee productivity
• Automated alerts
• User privacy features

Cons

• Cannot be customized much
• Parameters need to be defined for user or group productivity metrics

CleverControl

CleverControl allows administrators to see, control, and record employee screens, so it’s a great choice for companies that provide work laptops or devices to their employees. With the many features this software has to offer, it gives its users a clear picture of every employee’s performance.

Pros

• Cloud-based
• Installation is quick and easy
• Shows running applications and web searches
• Monitors printers and USB drives
• Webcam, microphone, and screen access

Cons

• Security features aren’t as strong as other employee monitoring apps

Final Thoughts

When it comes to employee monitoring apps, high ratings and positive reviews aren’t enough to go by when choosing which is best for your business. Ensure that you take into consideration your company’s specific needs–do you have remote workers? Do you want to monitor keystrokes? Will you require GPS tracking?

The answers to these questions will determine which features you need from your employee tracking app. Though we can’t say which will be the perfect app for your company’s needs, our top picks for employee monitoring apps are high-quality and cover most bases. They are an excellent place to start looking.

Searching for a time tracking software to couple with your employee monitoring app? With a user-friendly interface and anti-fraud system, Day.io is the perfect time tracking tool to add to your management arsenal. Check out our website today!