Aug 24, 2023

August 24, 2023 During the pandemic, many employees have gone remote, and companies have become worried that they cannot see them in person. Since then, the popularity of keyloggers has been growing – special software that allows you to track the activity of personnel at the computer. In the material – about what these programs are and why they should be used with caution. What are keyloggers and how they help keep track of employees Daria Sidorova How it works? Keyloggers are software that monitors and collects data about how employees use computers. This is one of the few tools that companies can use to better control how employees spend their working hours. Among the new features of such software is the ability to take screenshots at random times. Interguard is one of the companies providing such tools. In its program, you can view logs with data on the use of computers, including screenshots of the desktop. It also alerts administrators if the computer activity of certain employees differs from their usual. Why might this be a problem? First of all, data is often wrong and digital tools don’t always work correctly. In addition, it indicates a bad corporate culture, where there is a lack of trust. “I think this is a bad idea that inexperienced managers might use and they probably regret it,” says Josh Bersin, analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, a research and consulting company focused on corporate training, human resources management and HR. Experts call it an invasive tactic that does not take into account the results and quality of the work performed. “This means there is a complete lack of trust between employee and employer,” said Darrell West, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technological Innovation. Read on the topic: 3 out of 5 employees are active online even when not working – study The big question, Bersin said, is how companies use the information gathered by surveillance platforms. He adds that people should be judged on the basis of their work and contribution to the common cause, and not on the activity at the computer. Some employees have even found ways to trick the systems, such as using a mouse movement simulator. Do employees know they are being watched at work? As Josh Bersin says, employers generally have access to employees’ emails. In addition, they can view their calendars, send times and number of emails, and other information. And the staff may know about it. But if a company is using keyloggers and other programs on its network or computers, West says it doesn’t have to tell employees. “It would be one thing if people knew that companies were monitoring keystrokes, and then they would act accordingly. But most of the time, employees don’t even know their employers are doing it,” says West. Every company that uses keyloggers should be responsible for the information it receives, according to Awareness Technologies, which owns Interguard and Veriato, which provide these tools. “Monitoring software often reveals anomalies in staff behavior that may indicate underproductivity, but the company should definitely speak to the employee before taking further action,” Awareness Technologies said in an email. If a person’s activity has dropped, HR managers should schedule a meeting with the person and conduct further investigation before taking any action, according to Awareness Technologies. *The article has been translated based on the content of RB.RU by rb.ru . If there is any problem regarding the content, copyright, please leave a report below the article. We will try to process as quickly as possible to protect the rights of the author. Thank you very much! *We just want readers to access information more quickly and easily with other multilingual content, instead of information only available in a certain language. *We always respect the copyright of the content of the author and always include the original link of the source article.If the author disagrees, just leave the report below the article, the article will be edited or deleted at the request of the author. Thanks very much! Best regards! Report Content