What the Future Holds for Employee Monitoring Software Industry (2020)

The employee monitoring software industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. In part that is due to an increased awareness of insider threats and data breaches, and in part it is because companies have started to realize that it is valuable tool to improve productivity.

Alongside the industry’s growth, employee monitoring software has been evolving as well. But what does the future hold for it, and what areas are likely to improve in 2020 and beyond?

Taking it to the Cloud

One new development that should not be surprising is the increase in cloud-based employee monitoring software. By taking the server part of the software to the cloud, it will be easier to access from anywhere in the world, and can help monitor multiple branches in a single location.

In WorkExaminer’s case this shift takes the form of a dedicated cloud version that is purpose-built. It will provide you with comprehensive reports and let you view user activity from its interface.

Automated Employee Management

As things stand most employee monitoring software still require a manager to analyze the data and take action based on it. But what if that was no longer the case in the future?

Already there are many plans in place to automate employee management via the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The degree of automation will be left up to the company, but it should help simplify things significantly.

For now WorkExaminer does not have that, but its features already allow for in-depth track of active and idle time, user activities, and much more. In the future it may be able to use all that data to notify users who are crossing the line, or being unproductive.

Greater Employee Involvement

Arguably one of the more interesting trends of late in the industry is an increase in employee involvement. It stems from more companies realizing the benefits of monitoring data to productivity, and realizing that giving their employees access to that data can actually help them.

In WorkExaminer there’s a considerable amount of data collected all the time about user activity that can accurately paint a picture of productive vs. unproductive work hours. Letting employees see reports about how they spend their time could help them make improvements. It may even be possible to show how they compare against other employees.

It should be noted that this would help not only on-site staff, but also make remote talent managing a bit easier.

More Comprehensive Lists of Unproductive Apps and Websites

Already many companies use employee monitoring software to restrict access to unproductive apps or websites. But the problem is that more and more of them surface each and every day.

It should come as no surprise that WorkExaminer has been taking steps to solve that. Aside from its normal employee online activity monitoring, it is set to add numerous pre-configured lists of websites and apps that are potential time-wasters. By adding them to its filter, it should make it easier to minimize the distractions faced by employees.

Final Words

All in all it is safe to say that in the future employee monitoring is likely to get easier, more convenient, and more effective at the same time. Its adoption will undoubtedly continue to grow too, as a tool to protect sensitive data as well as improve productivity.

In fact it may even reach a point where employee monitoring software can be fully automated, and require minimal manual control. That would help dispel some of the privacy issues that surround it too.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.