Remote working has become the new normal in the year 2020, and it seems like it is here to stay. With these new working conditions, business owners feel the need to change their employee monitoring strategies. Old school employee monitoring is ineffective when the workers are not present on-site. That is the reason why purchasing employee monitoring software is the new trend amongst businesses.
Employee monitoring apps are used not only as tools for keeping an eye on the staff’s performance. These tools also ensure that the focus of the team is on their assigned tasks, and they do not get distracted by their home environment. Business owners can use these apps to gain deeper insights into how their employees spend their allotted working hours. We have reviewed the top three employee monitoring apps of 2020 to help you make an informed decision.
1. XNSPY
XNSPY holds the number one position on our list because it provides the consumer with a wide range of features. It is also one of the most affordable employee monitoring apps in the United States and Canada. Many businesses trust the app because of its compatibility with almost all Android and iOS devices. It means that business owners do not have to change their employees’ phone sets according to the software’s compatibility. XNSPY offers some unique features that make employee monitoring very convenient.
Features:
- Monitor all sent and received emails of the employees. Email abuse is very common, and this feature will ensure that your employees do not misuse the company’s confidential information.
- Monitor your employees’ internet activity. Many employees can get distracted at home when they know that no one is watching them. Employers can use this feature to ensure that the employees are not watching Netflix during their working hours.
- Monitor your employees’ social media accounts. Your employees represent your company, so you would not want them to bad mouth the company’s name on their social media profiles. This feature allows you to keep a check on what kind of information they share on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Monitor your workers’ location. If you suspect that your employee is not at their home office during working hours, this feature will let you know their exact location.
- XNSPY’s alert notification feature will allow you to set specific alert words, locations, or contacts that are sensitive to the business. You will get instantly notified about it through email.
- Monitor all the phone calls your employee makes through their work phones. Conversations can get recorded and downloaded for you to listen to at your convenience. It can be a useful tool for those employees who have to make sales on the phone. Employers can listen to the recording to ensure that their salesforce is dealing with the clients correctly.
Price:
XNSPY is currently offering two different kinds of plans. The Basic Edition costs USD 4.99 per month. The Premium Edition that has all the features costs USD 7.49 per month.
Pros:
- All the plans are very affordable. It is an advantage for small-scale business owners who do not have enough capital to invest.
- The live customer support is available 24/7 to help you out any time you get stuck during the installation process or while using the app.
- XNSPY has an easy-to-use interface.
- It is compatible with almost all Android and iOS devices.
Cons:
- Android devices may require rooting to unlock all features.
- The installation time takes a little longer than what they state on their website.
2. Teramind
Teramind is a popular employee monitoring software. It comes second on our list because it is an expensive software program, which might not be suitable for small businesses. However, it does great for large-scale enterprises.
Features:
- Employers can track the webpages that their workers access. They can also record a video of them browsing those webpages.
- All sent and received emails can get monitored. It also includes their chats on social media platforms.
- Employees can keep track of each print job that is initiated by the user. You can also receive a scanned copy of the printed document.
- The keystroke logger feature records everything that gets typed on their monitored device. This feature may seem a little intrusive to many employees.
- The content blocking feature allows you to set up certain websites or pages that you do not want your employee to access.
Price:
Teramind offers three different kinds of plans to its users. The Teramind Starter Plan requires a minimum of five users. It costs USD 60 per month. The Teramind User Activity Monitor plan has some additional features. It costs USD 125 per month. The Teramind Data Loss Prevention Plan costs USD 150 per month.
Pros:
- It has extensive employee monitoring features that work best with large-scale business organizations. The features include the prevention of data loss also, which can be an asset for large companies.
- It offers three different types of plans for users to choose the one that completes the requirement for the company.
- Even though the features are detailed and extensive, the usage of the app is easy to understand and manage.
Cons:
- One of the most expensive employee monitoring software.
- It is not small-scale business-friendly, as it requires a minimum of five users. If you have a workforce of lesser people, then you cannot use the app.
- Some users have reported their device getting stuck while using some of its features.
3. ActivTrak
ActivTrak is a free employee monitoring software for small businesses. It has all the necessary features that we need in an employee monitoring app. The best part about ActivTrack software is that you can add up to three users for free. The reason why it comes at the third position in our list is that it does not offer extensive features for the employer to track the team’s activities in detail. The app is also not compatible with many devices.
Features:
- The application monitoring feature gives the user access to all the apps that the employees are accessing.
- The free version of the app allows users to take one screenshot of the activity per window that they open.
- The website-blocking feature lets users restrict employees from accessing certain websites.
- The real-time monitoring feature shows the user all the real-time activity of the monitored device.
Price:
ActivTrak has three different types of plans to select from. The free plan can be used by up to three users. The Advanced Plan costs USD 7.20 per month for each user, with an annual contract. The Sensitive Data Bundle Plan costs USD 11 per user, per month, with an annual contract. You can also customize your plans according to your needs.
Pros:
- It is affordable for small business owners as up to three users are free.
- It has all the basic features that business owners need to begin monitoring their employees.
Cons:
- It requires an annual contract if you have more than three users. Many business owners might not want to commit to this long contract.
- It lacks many features, such as the keylogging feature.
- The app is not user friendly and can get difficult to understand.
- It has been reported to have issues with iOS devices.
- The live monitoring feature often freezes the phone.
- There is no email customer support available on their website.
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