It’s not about spying on your employees or finding an excuse to accuse them of wrongdoing; instead, it’s about discovering teachable moments and learning opportunities, while finding ways to optimize productivity and workloads across a team of employees.
Joseph Bolton, SmartDataCollectiveMatch monitoring to the work your team does
Field employees and office teams need different kinds of visibility. TrackoBit describes field employees updating task statuses, uploading photos, and providing proof of work completion. Its overview also covers hours-worked tracking for managers and office activity signals such as app usage and screen activity. If your team completes work at customer sites, ask whether task updates and completion photos provide the evidence you need. For office teams, start by deciding whether hours-worked records are sufficient before requesting more detailed computer activity tracking.
- Match monitoring to the work your team does
- Automated time tracking and activity logging
- Customer adoption and vendor claims
- How to choose employee monitoring software responsibly
- 1. KeepActive (prev. Kickidler)
- 2. MyAnalytics
- 3. Workpuls
- 4. Ekran System
- 5. Teramind
- 6. Hubstaff
- 7. Time Doctor
- 8. VeriClock
- 9. InterGuard
- 10. Veriato 360
- 11. AeroAdmin
- 12. ActivTrak
- 13. Mera Work
- Frequently Asked Questions
Automated time tracking and activity logging
Monitoring can help managers track hours worked and eliminate manual tracking, according to TrackoBit. Computer activity logging addresses a related need: KeepActive describes employee PC activity tracking, while ActivTrak describes desktop monitoring that provides insight into daily work activity and longer-term trends. Decide whether you need attendance records, activity records, or both. During a trial, compare the information with actual task completion and ask employees to explain gaps. Avoid treating a record of computer activity as a complete measure of someone’s contribution.
Customer adoption and vendor claims
KeepActive, previously Kickidler, says it is trusted by 5,000+ companies in 60+ countries and claims productivity gains of up to 30%. These are vendor-reported figures. Use the adoption numbers as a starting point for reference checks, and ask how the productivity claim was measured. Request examples from customers with work similar to your own, then define the improvement your team would need to justify the purchase.
How to choose employee monitoring software responsibly
Choose software only after you can state its purpose, establish the legal basis for monitoring, and justify the amount of data collected. Compare affordable employee monitoring software against those requirements before considering extra features. A trial should test a specific outcome, such as fewer manual time-entry corrections, alongside employee feedback. Consider alternatives to employee monitoring software for productivity when the problem can be addressed through clearer task ownership or manager check-ins. If you are assessing AI employee monitoring software, our article on AI-driven employee monitoring offers additional context; apply the same consent and proportionality checks to your shortlist.
1. KeepActive (prev. Kickidler)
We wanted to update with a 13th tool, which is known as KeepActive. We hadn’t heard of KeepActive when we first wrote this article. However, we did an analysis on it and found it was one of the best employer monitoring tools available. KeepActive is a great HR tool that gives you virtual autonomy over your employees. It has a number of great benefits. Here are some reasons we think employers should take a look at it:
- You can test it out with a free trial.
- You can store a variety of types of data, while most other employer monitoring tools are much more restrictive. KeepActive lets you store videos, system settings and a variety of reports.
- You can compress files to minimize storage space by 25% or more.
- KeepActive has an overall 5/5 rating on Capterra. It has also received a 5/5 rating for ease of use and its exceptional customer service.
- You can easily playback videos and other files to see more about employee activity.
KeepActive proves that big data can be exceptional for creating new solutions for employers. It is excellent for helping companies of all sizes monitor employees. The only limiting factor is the data that you allocate for storage, but you shouldn’t have any trouble using it. You only need around 1.5 GB of data to monitor employee activity for 24 hours, which shouldn’t be difficult.
2. MyAnalytics
Microsoft’s MyAnalytics has similar functionality, but is exclusive for Outlook and Microsoft customers. The platform pulls data from multiple Office 365 sources to help you figure out where your employees are spending their hours (i.e., on email, in meetings, or focusing on core work). It can also guide you to set goals for the future, such as minimizing your time spent in meetings.
3. Workpuls
Workpuls is an award-winning employee monitoring software that offers a variety of features that can give you a detailed overview of each employee’s performance and help you improve your team’s productivity. It allows you to track which apps your employees are using and which websites they’re visiting in real time, but it also gives you an opportunity to track attendance, overtime and billable hours, as well as to take screenshots. In addition, it provides clean comprehensive reports on performance and productivity of each employee and the same data on team level. This makes it a very scalable solution that is useful for small teams, but even better for large corporations.
4. Ekran System
Ekran System has a great threat detection tool for monitoring employees . It monitors internal network use, which makes it easier to identify threats that have penetrated your defenses. This is useful for finding both rogue employees or people that have impersonated legitimate users to breach your security.
5. Teramind
Teramind is another platform geared toward monitoring and changing employee behavior. With it, you can set custom rules, such as redirecting employees when they attempt to reach specific websites, or blocking certain apps entirely. You can also monitor your employees’ behavior, including how they spend their hours, how long they work in a given day, and how they’re emailing and chatting with others.
6. Hubstaff
Hubstaff serves primarily as time tracking software, but it also offers employee monitoring software. You can take screenshots of employee activities automatically, to see which apps they have open, and track things like keyboard and mouse usage to make sure they’re staying on task throughout the day.
7. Time Doctor
Time Doctor is time tracking and behavioral tracking software designed especially for remote teams. It also features automatic, regular reporting, so you can keep track of how your employees improve over time. According to their website, users of the software can save up to 31 hours per month, per employee.
8. VeriClock
Vericlock is another cloud-based time tracking system for employees. If you’re looking for a simple solution that doesn’t require much setup or explanation, this may be the best fit for you; it doesn’t have as many features as the other options on this list, but that simplicity may be an advantage.
9. InterGuard
InterGuard is an employee monitoring system that monitors a suite of potential employee behaviors, including email, keyboard activity, instant message activity, internet usage, and app usage. You can also use it to set up specific rules that prohibit certain websites or certain types of activities.
10. Veriato 360
Veriato 360 is designed to give you more control and visibility over your employees. It features DVR-like recording, so you can play back employee behaviors and actions, and control exactly which types of data you collect from your team.
11. AeroAdmin
AeroAdmin is designed for remote employee monitoring. You can use it to connect to employee devices remotely, and view their entire screen. It doesn’t offer as many in-depth analytics or data visuals as some of the other solutions on this list, but it’s free for both personal and business use.
12. ActivTrak
ActivTrak is free behavioral analytics software for your team. It’s completely invisible, and will allow you to monitor how your employees are working. For example, you can monitor the emails your employees are sending, view which sites they’re browsing, and gather analytics to see which apps are most used on their computers. You can even use a built-in GPS feature to see where your employees are doing the work.
With employee monitoring tools in place, you’ll quickly learn the strengths and weaknesses of your individual team members, identify key areas that require improvement, and hopefully motivate your team members to continue doing their best. With a little trial and error, and a commitment to ongoing improvement, you can eliminate the vast majority of wasted or inefficiently spent time in your organization.
13. Mera Work
Mera Work is an employee monitoring software and workforce productivity platform for remote, hybrid, and office teams. It combines automatic time tracking, attendance, app and website usage, screenshots, productivity insights, project and task tracking, and workforce reporting in one platform.
Managers can review online, offline, idle, and away time alongside productivity and attendance data to better understand work patterns without relying on activity alone.
Key features include configurable screenshots, productivity classification, automated timesheets, shift tracking, employee time claims, offline tracking, alerts, and role-based access.
Mera Work starts at $4 per user/month or $3 per user/month with annual billing and offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
For organizations looking to connect employee activity with time, attendance, projects, and productivity insights, Mera Work provides a more complete view of workforce performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I see what my employees are doing on their computers?
Use employee monitoring software with PC or desktop activity tracking. KeepActive describes employee PC activity tracking, and ActivTrak’s current description covers desktop monitoring with insights into daily activity and longer-term trends. Confirm which activities a product records before installing it. Inform employees about the purpose and scope, obtain consent where required, and limit collection to the business need. Personal-device monitoring requires particular attention to consent and privacy rights.
Is there any free employee monitoring software available?
You can try some tools free. KeepActive advertises a free trial, and Insightful’s employee monitoring page offers a try-free option. These references do not establish a permanently free plan or confirm trial duration. The original list describes free options from AeroAdmin and ActivTrak, but their current terms need verification. Before choosing a tool, check the trial deadline, employee limits, included features, and what you will pay when free access ends.
