NEWS WE COULD USE

Vol.2, Issue No.01 04 January 2021

If you’re tracking employee behavior, be transparent about it

 Maintaining a corporate surveillance
program that operates only in the
shadows does little to promote posi-
tive conduct or to deter inappropriate
use of corporate assets when employ-
ees are working from home (WFH).
Consider the following scenario:
 A company has migrated all nonessential workers to WFH. They are using
their own devices, home technology & cable modems, possibly sharing with
family members who are doing their own work at home or with students
who are attending school remotely. As a consequence, the company is con-
cerned about security, privacy & productivity. Are its data & proprietary in-
formation safe? Are people actually working, or are they slacking off ?

 The company is deploying some combination of screen capture, & email

monitoring, & tracking traffic over the VPN connection, including what non-
work programs or software may be operating over it. But these tools provide
info about what employees are doing when they are WFH. How can a man-
ager protect the company’s interests while preserving employee expectations
around trust & privacy? It is possible to design an ethical corporate monitor-
ing program that balances the competing priorities.
 Remove the element of surprise. Being
transparent about how you’re monitor-
ing employees should be consistent
with a transparent culture & a relation-
ship of trust. This is premised on con-
cepts of legitimate interest & notice, &
is strengthened when employees give
their consent to be monitored.
Sources: HBR.org and Businessmirror.com.ph
Monitored by: Jose Leo Lemuel G. Caparas Jr. Email: jose.caparas@gmail.com Disclaimer: Any information, opinion
or views of the author or sources referred to in this report do not represent his position. While reasonable care has been
taken to ensure that the information contained herein is not untrue or misleading at the time of publication, He makes no
representation that it is accurate or complete. He does not accept any liability for any & all direct or consequential losses
or damages arising from any use of this publication or its contents.