How to manage virtual staff? The owners of the companies have chosen IT technologies and are not mistaken. Programs for monitoring virtual employees solve the main tasks of the business. However, there is still an ambiguous opinion about organized monitoring. We will weigh all the pros and cons in this article.
Why is Monitoring Software Gaining Popularity?
According to statistics, programs for monitoring working time are used in 8 companies out of 10. This approach is due to tough capitalist conditions: the employer does not want to pay for ineffective hours, and employees clearly understand that time is money. There are several reasons for the popularity of monitoring software, and the main ones are listed below.
Team Management Efficiency
The efficiency of team management is increased. The manager is always aware of what his subordinates are doing at every minute. This is the most obvious reason. The virtual assistant software shows all employment during the working day: how much time a person worked directly on assigned tasks, how much they are distracted, what applications and programs he used in his work, and how much they correspond to professional tasks. And Workpuls is one of the best virtual employee monitoring software to improve team performance.
Employee Productivity
The productivity of each employee increases. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proves that the very knowledge that personnel activities are controlled already increases productivity by at least 7%.
The Objectivity of Information About The Work
IT solutions are devoid of the human factor. The use of software solutions for monitoring removes the issue of unfair treatment, allows the manager to see the real picture without embellishment, and gives the staff a guarantee of impartiality.
All this together has a positive effect on the economy of the enterprise, making it possible to pay for real merits and not just the hours put on the report card.
How to Optimize Virtual Employee Workflow?
The issue of optimizing work processes is in any company, regardless of whether employees work in the area of visibility of the management or work remotely. However, the situation is somewhat more acute for a distributed team since it is psychologically more difficult to organize the correct attitude to work when employees work virtually. So, what can and should be used to optimize virtual employee workflows?
Constant Communication With Subordinates
Working from home is not an excuse to give up meetings. On the contrary, it is better to organize them in video communication, so the employees will have more incentive to keep themselves in good shape.
Automatic Time Tracking
Automatic time tracking for virtual workers is one of the most effective ways to monitor progress and deviations from schedules. The main advantage is automation – when an employee is already forced to set a work schedule on his own, take responsibility for the timely completion of tasks, load him with additional detailed reports on the number of hours spent is not the best solution. Employee monitoring software takes on most of the complex issues of organizing virtual work.
Benefits of Virtual Employee Software
The virtual employee software stimulates discipline in a team – the program automatically turns on marking the beginning of the working day and turns off when the work on the computer is finished.
Shows the time of activity at the computer. If there is no response from input devices within 5 minutes, the program fixes the idle time.
Notes distractions while working at the computer. Software can’t be fooled by simulating activity. The system can be configured to separate the resources used – sites and applications – into productive and unproductive. Real working time will be considered the use of sites exclusively on the topic of work.
It can record every minute of employment during the working day – how much time the employee worked directly, what tasks he performed, at what moment he was distracted, and for what. Moreover, the program automatically collects all data about the employee’s actions. This allows you to keep track of activity on the computer and outside it, and as a result, get a detailed analysis, based on the results of which it is easy to:
- Understand how productive a particular employee is;
- See where and how the loss of working time occurs;
- To note the discipline and dedication of the staff;
- Compare the competencies and speed of work of employees with the same range of tasks.
The program is devoid of “spy” functionality which maintains a calm psychological atmosphere in the team.
In addition, the ability to configure employee access to their statistics is another worthy way to motivate staff.
Conclusion
Considering all the functionality of virtual employee software, monitoring of working hours and productivity becomes effective, but at the same time, a benevolent way of increasing the efficiency of a team’s work.