Employee monitoring software has grown in usage and popularity over the last few years. Specifically, employee location tracking has become a very accessible option for employers, who feel that there is a need for this system in their business. While it may seem a bit ‘big brother’ and bring to mind dystopian storylines, employee location tracking can provide tangible benefits to a company. And it certainly can be accepted by employees.
Employee’s opinion of employee location tracking
According to a survey by TSheets, 54 percent of participants who have been tracked at work have a positive opinion of this system. This was compared to 16 percent of participants who have never been tracked at work having a negative opinion of location tracking. It seems that once employees are given the chance to experience it, their trust in the system increases. But it is also very important to understand the ethics of using employee tracking and the best practice for this software. In the same survey, 46 percent of employees who have been tracked were worried about being monitored after hours.
First, let’s look at the advantages of using an employee tracking system.
The advantages of location tracking software for your business:
- Knowing whether your sales representatives are where they are supposed to be.
- Tracking the attendance of employees.
- Seeing data regarding the punctuality of the employee.
- Seeing the real distance traveled by staff.
- Creating future plans using the recorded distance and time function.
- Using the inbuilt GPS for navigation.
- Utilizing inbuilt SMS features.
- Accessing critical information such as location data, vehicle status, and the driver’s behavior.
- Receiving timely notifications in case of accidents and other delays.
- Replacing all paperwork with the data the system automatically tracks and stores.
How to use employee location tracking software properly
There are certain guidelines that need to be followed when using the tracking software in your business. These guidelines make sure that your company is both ethical in its use of this software, and also legal. Employees have a right to privacy, and as discussed earlier, many have concerns about personal privacy and security.
- Define your rationale for using employee tracking software. You should have some legitimate reasons for implementing this software. Why do you need it?
- Know the law. According to the European Commission’s protection of personal data law, citizens have a complete right to the protection of personal data. Privacy laws are also country-specific, so read about the laws in your area.
- “Under EU law, personal data can only be gathered legally under strict conditions, for a legitimate purpose. Furthermore, persons or organizations which collect and manage your personal information must protect it from misuse and must respect certain rights of the data owners which are guaranteed by EU law” (European Commission: Protection of personal data).
- Discuss employee tracking with your employees, and give them a chance to ask questions or raise concerns. And don’t make any changes without notifying them first – you could risk your company becoming an unfavorable headline.
- Pick the right tracking system. If you type “the best employee tracking system” into your search engine, you’ll be faced with dozens of companies who claim to have the best solution. Make sure you find someone who understands both the technical side of GPS employee location tracking, as well as the legal and ethical side.
If you are looking for expert solutions that can help you ethically and responsibly implement an employee tracking system in your company, feel free to drop us an email at [email protected].
