'A lack of trust' | Unsettling analytics - how far is too far with employee monitoring?

Employee monitoring is a loaded and confused term.

For some, it can simply mean keeping track of the most important KPIs and data relevant to an employee's work and wellbeing. For others, it means the threat of Big Brother-esque surveillance and unethical oversteps that signal a lack of trust about how, when, and where work is completed.

Both interpretations are justified. We know that people analytics has grown in prominence over recent years following studies such as Insight222’s People Analytics Trends research. Their study revealed that 65% of companies expanded their people analytics teams in 2022, up from 61% in 2021 and 55% in 2020.

Whether it’s to identify a drop-off in engagement or performance that could be explained by a worker struggling with burnout or to determine whether certain demographic groups are subject to bias in promotion cycles, many HR teams are monitoring employee analytics for the better.