Is It Ever Right To Spy On Your Employees?

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We’re going to deal with a very important and controversial issue today in the hope of setting the record straight for all modern business owners. Some people think that spying on their employees is never a good idea, and that it infringes on their rights. However, that is simply not the case in certain circumstances. So long as you are spying on only their work activities, you don’t have to worry about finding yourself on the wrong side of the law. Also, it will be difficult for your workers to make complaints because the systems they use are owned by you.

 

With all that in mind, it’s also important that you don’t penalize people without good reason. You must suspect an employee is doing something wrong before you launch a covert spying operation. Otherwise, you will simply undermine the trust held by your most honest team members.

 

You should spy on workers in the following situations…

When drivers are taking too long to make deliveries

There is no getting away from the fact that some professional drivers pick up bad habits over the years. You might discover they are taking very long breaks, or perhaps they are traveling longer routes to ensure they don’t return back too early. Both of those situations mean you will lose money, and so you need to put a stop to them. GPS tracking devices and relevant software are the best tools around for checking on your drivers. With the right bit of kit, you can find out exactly what they are doing with their day.

 

When workers are not performing as expected

Presuming you run an office, you might wonder why some of your team members perform better than others. One possible reason is that some of your team are wasting time on their computers. By installing the right software, you can pull their screens up on your laptop at any time. Doing that will let you know if anyone is using your computers for personal tasks like shopping or social networking. You can also check their internet history and browse through their emails without having to worry about being accused of snooping. Nine times out of ten, you will find what you’re looking for.

 

When you’re trying to shed dead weight before an expansion

If you are looking to expand and move to new premises in the near future, you’ll want to make sure you don’t take any less than committed workers along for the ride. Try creating some performance charts, so you can work out who isn’t pulling their weight. From that shortlist, you can then select names you want to check. Again, browsing through their internet history and emails will let you know if they are doing anything they shouldn’t while on your time.

As you can clearly see, there are plenty of good reasons an employer should spy on their workers. Of course, you just need to be careful that you don’t go too far. Simply collate your evidence and see if there is enough to warrant a warning.

Is It Ever Right To Spy On Your Employees?