How does a screen monitoring tool work?

Screen monitoring technology is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to monitor employees’ computer activities at the workplace. This is also particularly helpful for businesses that have shifted to remote working and want to know how their staff members are doing and using company resources.

As its name implies, a  screen monitoring software tool helps to track activities on company computers including social media and internet usage and login and logout times. Also, it shows how long users spend on each activity and which computers they are using.

In this simple guide, we will cover everything about how a screen monitor works, which activities it tracks, and which features the best tool should have.

Ready to learn? Continue reading.

How a screen monitoring tool works

Captures real-time screenshots

This feature automatically captures and records computer activity at random intervals. The screenshots can be saved and used for future reference in case there is a dispute between an employer and an employee.

Monitors multi-screens

Useful especially if you have divided your workforce into teams. You can simultaneously monitor what each team is doing on their different computers.

Keylogging

Records every keystroke that is typed into the computer to determine what information was entered or which sites were visited.

Tracks email and files

Employers can see which documents are being shared and if they contain sensitive company data. Email tracking protects against data breaches.

Generates reports

The dashboard summarizes the screen activities into reports of time spent on each task, client, and project. The reports are accessible daily, weekly or monthly.

What does screen monitoring software track?

Employee attendance

A screen monitor automatically records all day’s activities, all log-ins, and logouts, active and idle hours as well as productive and unproductive apps used. This technology can used on its own or alongside other clock-in and clock-out systems.

Since employees can be logged in and still be unproductive, a screen monitor will give reports on the number of times the computer was idle even though the user was logged in

Internet and social media use

A screen monitor will show how much time your employees spend on social media and other online sites during working hours. It’s not uncommon for employees to engage in unproductive activities such as gaming, watching movies, online shopping, and chatting on Facebook instead of concentrating on their work.

The screen monitor will generate a report that shows their login name, URLs of sites visited, time spent, and amount of internet users.

Applications use

Monitoring software helps employers monitor all apps used by employees on work computers. They can then determine whether an employee’s app usage work-related by looking at the history of apps used.

A screen monitor will also show you which apps are commonly used for work and those that are used rarely. This can be crucial in reducing company expenses by stopping subscriptions for apps that are rarely used by the company.

Must-have features of an effective screen monitor

Scheduled monitoring

A good monitoring tool should only monitor employees during office hours and shut down afterward.

User analytics

This is an AI function that marks each user’s behavior pattern and notifies you when that pattern is broken.

Labeling

The software should be able to categorize apps, websites, and user activities as productive or unproductive.

On-demand screenshots

If the employer wants an immediate screenshot, the screen monitor is to take one immediately without waiting for the scheduled time.

Privileged access

Admins and managers are to have more access privileges than employees.

Third-party tracker

A good screen monitor must be able to track the activities of third parties who have access to your files.

Does screen monitoring sound like a welcome addition to your company?

Screen monitoring software is probably the most effective way to identify cases of unproductive use of the internet and social media. For starters, it improves employee attendance and saves you money that would have been wasted on paying unproductive employees.

Taking screenshots and tracking emails are some of the ways a screen monitor records user activity. These records can help to gauge employee attendance, social media usage, and which apps they frequently use.

If you are an employer who is focused on increasing your business productivity, screen monitoring software is probably something worth considering soon. A good tool will let you know which employees are wasting time on activities that do not add value to the company. It also helps you identify which social media sites and other apps you must regulate.