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Teleworker Magazine
Any software designed to keep an eye on what employees are up to at work is bound to be controversial. On the one hand, employers might be glad of the chance to monitor performance and stop staff surfing the net or playing computer games when they are supposed to be working. On the other, employees could resent the lack of trust which the installation of such software could imply.
Software company Iontas' PC Focus is one of the products on the market which monitors what staff are doing during working hours and the company believes such evaluation software is as much a carrot as a stick.
A company spokesperson said: "A software evaluation tool will work as a natural deterrent in the same way as call logging systems, it will allow both persistent abusers and consistent performers of the system to be identified. "While you want to trust your employees and avoid being intrusive there must be a balance against protecting company interest and ensuring that employees do not abuse the technology and information available to them. "Used properly and responsibly, the evaluation software will improve employee productivity and morale, giving flexibility to working hours and the ability to work at home or in the office." But others are not totally convinced. Peter Skyte national secretary of the ITPA branch of the MSF union said: "What all these approaches ignore is that the best practice should be to monitor performance by output, ie what is produced not input, ie the number of hours spent at work. Modern employers adopt this approach. Old fashioned employers still adopt command and control policies treating employees as the greatest threat rather than as their rhetoric would suggest the greatest asset."
So will the product help or hinder teleworking ? Despite misgivings it can be argued that advantages include providing reassurance to employers and even for teleworkers to use for self-assessment, to locate peaks and troughs of workflow or displacement activities.
Iontas practices what it preaches with regards to evaluation software. The company says it strongly believes in teleworking and allows staff to work flexibly. A company spokesperson told Teleworker: "All staff have PC Focus on their systems. We can be assured that work is being carried out as PC Focus logs every activity. It does not record the content of documents or emails as this is personal information. "We have various companies using our technology. They have all reported that there is an increase of productivity and a decrease in non-work related computer activity." Iontas believes thousands of pounds could be at stake: "If One member of staff spends 1/2 hour per day on personal use on company computer that is 2.5 hours per week. The estimated cost of employee to company per hour would be £30 x 2.5 hours = £75 per week. Total cost per month = £325. Annual cost = £3900 per member of staff! "If a company has 25 staff members using computers in their work day, the estimated cost to a company for personal usage = £97,500.00. A huge expense to any company, not considering the cost of lost business."
