by Jamie Davidson, Marketing Communications Manager for Vast Conference
We’ve all, at one time or another, been under the watchful eye of a supervisor who constantly assesses our every move. Not only is it incredibly frustrating to feel like we aren’t trusted to do our job, but it can also be an invasion of privacy. Micromanaging isn’t good for productivity and it’s certainly not good for employee confidence.
In this guide, we’ll look at five tools that can help track employee performance without being invasive. The need to track what’s happening within your company is certainly necessary, but when managers overstep, they risk negative responses. These five tools can help keep tabs on the important stuff without violating team privacy and work spaces.
How Micromanaging Affects Employees.
What’s the deal with micromanaging, anyway? Micromanaging is a style of leadership that involves watching and being involved in your team’s every move. This leaves little room for employee growth, autonomy, or creativity and can even cause feelings of resentment against supervisors.
Micromanagement can also decrease productivity. When employees feel like they’re constantly being watched and analyzed, they have less of a desire to perform at their best. You’ll notice your team slacking, performing at a much lower quality, and becoming disinterested with their work.
A good alternative to micromanagement is a more laissez-faire attitude. The term means “let you do”, and allows teams a chance to make their own decisions, take responsibility, and thrive creatively. This can feel like relinquishing control, but teams will perform much better if they are trusted to accomplish their goals. Whether handling a remote team or you’re in the office, a laissez-faire policy is the best way to go.
Now that we know why we should avoid micromanagement, let’s look at the helpful tools.
1. WorkPuls.
WorkPuls is your go-to for non-intrusive employee and performance tracking. The simple interface allows you to track projects, employee time cards, web activity, and much more. Your company’s most important asset is time, after all. Taking control of your company’s time means taking control of its financial success, as well.
With computer activity tracking, you can ensure your employees are utilizing the correct web tools and websites without constantly checking their screens. Regular screenshots help you monitor activity, and you can verify attendance from the interface anytime during the day.
WorkPuls starts at just $4.80 per employee and offers four tiers of service for large and small businesses alike.
2. Teramind.
Many employee monitoring tools have a “big brother” feel to them, making employees feel as though they’re always being watched. Teramind aims to keep things monitored more discreetly, giving you control over your company and your team without scaring them off.
With user activity monitoring, analytics, data loss prevention, employee monitoring tools, compliance and audit tools, and insider threat prevention, Teramind is your all-in-one security, tracking, and loss prevention tool. It’s perfect for small startups or large corporations alike.
Teramind offers four tiers of service, starting at just $60 per month for five users. You’ll also get access to a free seven-day trial for the first three tiers of service, and a 14-day trial for the fourth tier.
3. HubStaff.
For a lightweight employee tracking and HR management tool, you want HubStaff. Time-tracking tools allow you to accurately monitor your employees’ productivity throughout the day, and advanced GPS tracking tools can help you track employees during company travel.
You’ll also have access to efficient HR tools, with the ability to manage payroll, invoicing, and more with HubStaff. Avoid the micromanagement leadership style with this discreet but effective time-tracking and employee management tool.
HubStaff offers a free version of its services for small businesses, but otherwise offers three tiers of service, starting at just $7 per user per month. If your small business needs an effective tracking and management tool, you can try HubStaff free for 14 days.
4. Monday.com.
Instead of using endless email chains and checking in on your employees every hour, try Monday.com. Over 100,000 organizations all over the world use Monday to manage projects, teams, and improve accuracy and deadlines. With calendar integration, you’ll never miss another due date or team project update, and Monday can integrate with hundreds of other tools and apps.
Collaboration just got an upgrade with Monday. No more confusing email chains; Monday allows for seamless collaboration among large and small teams alike, providing one easy-to-use platform for projects of all sizes. Monday.com is the perfect solution to the work-from-home needs of the modern business during COVID-19.
Monday also offers four tiers of service, starting at just $8 per user per month. You’ll even get access to Android and iOS apps with the basic tier, along with several other collaboration, communication, and tracking tools for maximum productivity without the micromanagement teams dread.
5. Teamwork.com.
Workflow programs can help make projects simpler and more efficient, and Teamwork.com allows you to fully customize a workflow for each assignment and/or team. Within the interface, you can assign projects and tasks, track their progress, monitor team activity, and communicate with your team seamlessly. Centralizing project information in one place reduces the chance of lost files and confusion, and you can view all of your tasks and team members at a glance to ensure they’re in the right place.
Trusted by over 20,000 organizations worldwide, Teamwork is a platform that’s designed to make your business more efficient, your teams more communicative, and tracking less invasive. Take control of your teams and projects with this easy to use, affordable tracking and management tool.
Teamwork offers four tiers of service, including a free option. The Pro package starts at just $10 per month per user, starting at five users.
Leaving Micromanaging Behind.
With these five tools, you can make micromanaging in your organization a thing of the past. You’ll be able to track teams, time cards, productivity, progress, and more within intuitive interfaces. The best part? You won’t have to spend a fortune doing it. Many of these tools offer a free tier of service for small or large businesses, providing incredible tools at no cost. Leave micromanaging behind forever and create a more cohesive, productive team.
Jamie Davidson is the Marketing Communications Manager for Vast Conference, a meeting solution providing HD-audio, video conferencing and web streaming bringing teams together to work done.
