Finding software can be overwhelming. Software Advice has helped many businesses pick the right employee monitoring software to track employee activities with ease.
Showing 1-20 of 41 products
Cerebral
Cerebral
Cerebral is an AI-driven threat detection solution that combines behavior analytics and user activity monitoring. This solution allows businesses to monitor and analyze devices from a single platform and can be deployed on the cloud... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
Teramind
Teramind
Teramind offers employee monitoring, insider threat detection, and data loss prevention (DLP) solutions. Teramind UAM monitors user activities on applications, websites, file systems, network, email, social media and more. Behavioral... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
ActivTrak
ActivTrak
ActivTrak is a cloud-based employee monitoring platform that helps small to large businesses monitor employees' online activities to ensure productivity and compliance within the organization. With ActivTrak, employers and managers... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Workpuls
Workpuls
Trusted by over 1000 global brands, Workpuls enables organizations to analyze and optimize employee performance, productivity, and efficiency via deep behavioral data insights and enterprise-level workforce analytics. With Workpuls,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Time Doctor
Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a cloud-based time tracking and management solution used by businesses for monitoring workforce productivity. It offers tools for time tracking, web activity monitoring, payroll management and reporting. Time Doctor... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Work Examiner
Work Examiner
Work Examiner is an employee monitoring software built for businesses of any size to track employee productivity. It can be deployed on the cloud or on-premise. Work Examiner is suited for businesses looking to monitor in-house as... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
Kickidler
Kickidler
Kickidler is an employee monitoring and user activity tracking solution for businesses of all sizes. This solution allows managers to monitor employee devices, increase data security measures, and track productivity. This platform... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: On premise
Business Size:
timetoreply
timetoreply
timetoreply is a remote work solution that helps businesses of all sizes manage employee email response productivity. It allows users to monitor incoming and outgoing emails across all individual or group email accounts. timetoreply... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
SoftActivity Monitor
SoftActivity Monitor
SoftActivity Monitor is a cloud-based employee monitoring solution that helps businesses track staff activities to protect enterprise systems from internal threats. Key features include internet usage monitoring, screen activity recording,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
Monitask
Monitask
Monitask is a cloud-based employee monitoring solution for businesses, freelancers, and contractors. With this solution, business owners and/or managers can access and track employee screenshots, mouse/keyboard activity, online timesheets,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: On premise
Business Size:
BrowseControl
BrowseControl
BrowseControl is an internet control software that is used for restricting internet access and helps enforce web policies across a chosen network on a user or computer basis. It caters to all industries and is very efficient at managing... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
SofTrack
SofTrack
SofTrack offers on-premise asset management and software metering solutions for businesses in many industries. With SofTrack, users can access workstation reports that include detailed browsing activity, logon/logoff times, idle times,... Read more
Platforms: MacWin
Deployments: On premise
Business Size:
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
FunctionFox is a cloud-based time tracking and project management application, offering timesheets and estimates, as well as scheduling, task assignment, and reporting. FunctionFox’s capabilities are suited for the billing and... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
FocusRO
FocusRO
FocusRO is an employee monitoring solution designed to help businesses track employees’ productivity and workspace distractions to ensure the appropriate use of corporate resources. Managers can utilize machine learning technology... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
DeskTime
DeskTime
Desktime is a time tracking solution that helps businesses of various sizes maximize team productivity and project management. The Desktime dashboard allows managers to monitor daily activities as well as sick leave, scheduled vacation,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Toggl
Toggl
Toggl is a cloud-based project management solution that specializes in time tracking. With Toggl, users can track time in real-time. Users switch Toggl on and a timer begins to run. This timer tracks billable hours. Time can be tagged... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Meritrick
Meritrick
Meritrick is an employee time tracking solution for businesses of all sizes. With Meritrick, leaders and managers can monitor employees and ensure work tasks are being prioritized appropriately. This solution is suited for businesses... Read more
Platforms: MacWin
Deployments: CloudOn premise
Business Size:
TRUCE
TRUCE
Truce is a cloud-based risk and compliance management solution, which helps small to large businesses maintain employee safety and manage mobile device usage at the workplace. Key features include workgroup formation, behavioral analysis,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Whether businesses are starting up a new team or looking for a better way to manage employees, Hubstaff has everything required to run teams confidently. With the innovative and robust time tracking and task management solution, enterprises... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
WebWork Time Tracker is a time tracking solution for freelancers and remote teams of different types and sizes. It is available as a cloud-based and on-premise solution and offers mobile applications for Android and iOS. Features include... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
Business Size:
Popular Comparisons
There are several reasons why an organization should think about monitoring the online activities of its employees. Most important of those is the need to shield business data against vulnerabilities due to negligent data handling practices.
Research shows that 99% of employees admit to following potentially risky practices such as sending work documents to their private emails or storing business account credentials. These actions weaken data protection policies and increase the likelihood of data breaches.
Additionally, an organization can look at employee monitoring for operational requirements such as tracking employee productivity and the time spent on tasks or projects.
But monitoring employee activities without relevant technology is virtually impossible. It can only be done effectively if you use employee monitoring software.
This buyers guide discusses the basics of this category of tools and informs on things to keep in mind when exploring the market for options.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What is employee monitoring software?
- Common features of employee monitoring software
- What type of buyer are you?
- Benefits of employee monitoring software
- Key considerations for buying employee monitoring software
What is employee monitoring software?
Employee monitoring software is a tool that helps businesses track employee activity on computers or mobile devices.
The tool offers surveillance functionalities such as keystroke logging (tracking keyboard activity), location tracking, monitoring internet usage, tracking email and social media activity, and wiretapping.
Common features of employee monitoring software
In this section, we’ll look at some common features of employee monitoring software. These features will help you understand the basic capabilities a solution must offer for effective employee monitoring.
| Activity monitoring | Track real-time activities of employees on multiple devices. This includes tracking their emails, keystrokes, web browsing, idle time, browsing history, etc. |
| Screen activity monitoring | Maintain video records and take screenshots of employees’ device screens for future reference. |
| Time tracking | Track the time employees spend on specific tasks, applications, and projects. |
| Productivity analysis | Turn data obtained on employee and team productivity into visual and interactive reports/graphs. |
| Screen recording | Record on-screen activity while sharing the screen. This helps audit activity and maintain screen recordings for future reference. |
| Alerts and notifications | Receive in-app and email notifications when employees indulge in prohibited tasks or access specific applications/web pages. |
What type of buyer are you?
There are two major types of buyers of employee monitoring software. They differ based on the requirements and primary concerns.
- Buyers looking for specialized tools: The need for surveillance varies with the business. While one business may wish to monitor outgoing emails, another could be interested in tracking productive hours. Buyers looking for specific surveillance requirements may opt for specialized tools such as email monitoring tools and data loss prevention tools.
- Buyers looking for all-in-one tools: Buyers that want comprehensive surveillance of employee activities could go for all-in-one monitoring tools. These tools help track a host of activities ranging from web browsing, outgoing emails, and keyboard logging.
Benefits of employee monitoring software
The following benefits enlist the business functions that are positively impacted by the tool:
- Gain greater oversight: The tool helps managers and decision-makers gain greater visibility into employee behavior, productivity, and areas of potential risk. This information can be useful in taking important decisions such as how to allocate tasks among employees and which vulnerable areas need additional data protection measures.
- Encourage appropriate behavior: The tool helps managers monitor if employees are accessing websites deemed inappropriate by the business, such as social media or eCommerce sites. Using the tool, managers can also monitor if employees are indulging in unethical behavior such as sharing sensitive business data externally or mishandling business account credentials.
- Improve productivity tracking: While managers may struggle to track when employees start on a task or how much time they actually spend on it, employees may struggle to pinpoint why certain tasks took more time to complete. In such scenarios, employee monitoring tools can help track actual productivity rates and the areas of productivity drain.
Key considerations for selecting employee monitoring software
As the last step to selecting a tool, keep a few additional factors in mind. These will help select a tool that is best suited to your business goals:
- Data privacy: Check with the legal team about the data privacy obligations and limitations of employee surveillance. Accordingly, you may need to comply with laws such as the GDPR and HIPAA. Ignoring the legal aspect of employee privacy or mishandling employee data could have adverse consequences for the business.
- Need analysis: Before shortlisting tools, conduct a need analysis to identify pain points that the intended software needs to resolve. This will help you determine the key features you should look for.
- Product demo: It helps to take product demos before making a purchase. Demos can provide deeper insights into the product’s interface and how its functionalities play out in the real world. They are also a great opportunity to test the tool and clarify queries with the vendor.
Note: The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.