Remote Workforce Management Software
Use CurrentWare’s remote workforce management software to improve the productivity and security of your employees—no matter where they work.
“Since we’ve let employees work from home we’ve had to have them connect remotely to the office. Thanks to BrowseReporter we know exactly what they’re doing during work hours”
Aaron Siegel, Network Administrator, Sessions & Kimball LLP
Track Websites Visited
Logon/Logoff Times
Productivity by Location
Application Usage
Log USB Data Transfers
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What Are the Benefits of Monitoring a Remote Workforce?
98% of employees surveyed said they would like the option to work remotely (at least some of the time) for the rest of their careers.1 To continue offering this perk in the long term companies need to implement remote workforce management software to keep employees productive and secure no matter where they work.
Improve Productivity
Actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. up to $550 billion in lost productivity per year.2
Remote employee monitoring software helps track remote employee productivity and work efficiency to see who is working diligently and who needs further support.
Protect Sensitive Data
26% of employees considered keeping company data during the COVID-19 pandemic.3
Visibility into how employees are handling sensitive data is essential for keeping sensitive data safe; especially in a remote environment.
Improve Visibility
86% of remote workers feel the need to prove that they are working hard.4
Reduced visibility is a significant struggle when managing remote teams. Tracking how employees spend their time provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate their efforts.
The Challenges of Managing Remote Teams
Whether you are managing a team remotely during COVID or you’ve always been a remote-friendly company, it’s no secret that remote workforce management is a unique challenge.
What are the top concerns of remote managers? 5
- 82% are concerned about reduced employee focus
- 75% are concerned about reduced team cohesiveness
- 82% are concerned about reduced employee productivity
- 70% are concerned about maintaining company culture
- 67% are concerned about employees overworking
Cybersecurity Risks of Remote Work
Allowing external access to internal resources erodes the very concept of a secure network perimeter. When approaching remote workforce management from a cybersecurity perspective you need to rely more on authentication, user activity monitoring, and endpoint security to protect sensitive data.
- How can we ensure that employees are following security guidelines when they work from outside of the office?
- Without monitoring solutions in place how can we determine what is “normal” activity for our end-users?
- How can we prevent remote employees from stealing trade secrets, personal information, and other sensitive data?
How can I keep data safe when remote workers have access to it?
- Provide your remote employees with security awareness training that addresses the unique risks of remote work.
- Monitor and restrict access to data egress points such as portable storage devices to ensure that sensitive data isn’t being stolen or mishandled.
- Provide them with access to company-owned devices that can be appropriately monitored and restricted.
Limited Communication, Culture, and Visibility
A lack of visibility is a significant remote workforce management challenge. 37% of employees at companies that allow remote work feel that working remotely hinders visibility.6
This lack of visibility can lead to burnout and a loss of morale as remote employees overexert themselves in an attempt to prove that they are working productively.
- How can newly remote teams prove that they have the skills to stay productive when they work from home?
- How can the managers of remote teams see the full extent of their contributions when they are not working together in the office?
- How can we ensure that our remote workers are collaborating effectively when they work from home?
How can I maintain communication and visibility when employees work remotely?
Provide remote workers with asynchronous communication and collaboration tools. Remote workforce management solutions such as team chat platforms, productivity and time tracking tools, and project management software allow remote teams to stay connected.
Coordinating Flexible Schedules
Working remotely with flexible work hours is an excellent perk for employees. Unfortunately this work style presents unique remote workforce management challenges that can be difficult to overcome. For teams that require real-time collaboration a lack of structure can harm productivity and cause unnecessary bottlenecks
- Are remote employees working too much (burnout risk) or too little (disengagement)?
- Is there enough overlap between remote teams for collaborative work?
- Do we have enough employees working during core hours to meet business needs?
How can I coordinate flexible work schedules?
Where possible, use asynchronous project management and communication systems. This allows employees to start and stop their contributions as they see fit. For remote teams that require real-time collaboration you can schedule core work hours where employees are expected to be available.
For these teams, monitoring solutions show you whether or not there is enough shared time for collaboration and communication during the work day. If the schedules of your remote workers do not overlap enough you can adjust core work hours to maximize availability.
Concerns About Low Engagement
How can you tell that your remote employees are working as expected? Considering that eight in 10 remote workers admit to slacking off at work during the COVID-19 lockdown, newly remote managers are struggling to keep their remote teams engaged.7
Struggling to maintain accountability when managing remote employees? With monitoring software you can rest assured that your staff is engaged and meeting expectations, allowing you to focus your efforts on providing your remote teams with the support they need to stay productive while they work from home.
- Are my employees more productive working from home or from the office?
- Who are my top performers and who is taking advantage of remote work to slack off?
- Do my remote teams have everything they need to meet their goals?
How can I tell if my employees are working when they work from home?
Have regular check-ins with your remote team to go over their progress towards key deliverables. Review the quality of their work and see if it’s up to their usual standard. If it feels like they are lagging behind, review their employee productivity reports to see if distractions or inefficient work processes have affected their quality of work.
Check out our great reviews on Capterra!
“BrowseReporter lets you know what employees are up to. We are able to make sure employees are not spending extra work time on the internet, and if there is an issue we have the documentation to prove it.”
– Ken W.
IT Manager
“BrowseReporter is the most important tool in my company for increasing employee productivity. It provides comprehensive reports that help me keep track of my employees’ web browsing activities. It’s easy to use and setup.”
– Stanley K.
IT Director
What You Can Track With CurrentWare’s Remote Employee Monitoring Software
The CurrentWare Suite has 15+ user activity monitoring reports to choose from. You can easily track employee productivity across all of their work devices, providing you with insights into how they spend their time.
Websites Visited & Browsing Time
- See all of the websites your employees visit and the time they spent on each site, even when they delete their web browsing history
- Collect evidence of unsafe and unproductive internet usage to ensure that employees are following acceptable use policies
- See how long each website was actively used for to better understand how much time is being spent on distracting websites
Employee Productivity
- Get a high-level overview of how much time employees spend on websites that are productive, unproductive, or neutral
- Compare productivity levels by location to see whether or not employees are changing their work habits when they work from home
- Customize the productivity classifications to best match what is considered productive for your employees
Application Usage
- Identify the use of unsanctioned applications to prevent workplace piracy and shadow IT security risks
- Collect software usage data to see which programs should be decommissioned and which ones require more licenses
- Improve employee productivity by ensuring that employees aren’t spending their work day on unproductive applications
*Available in enPowerManager
Login & Logout Times*
- Verify that employees are starting and stopping their work days at expected times with reports of when they logged in and out of their computers
- Track login duration to ensure that employees are not logging in after hours or working unauthorized overtime
- Track the utilization rate of laptops and desktops with reports of what devices your employees are logging in to each day
Make Managing Your Remote Workforce Easier Than Ever
How to Manage Remote Teams With CurrentWare
The CurrentWare Suite provides the solutions you need to manage the productivity and security of your remote workforce.
Track Time Spent on Apps & Websites
Gain visibility into remote employee workflows with reports on how they spend their time on websites and computer applications. Use BrowseReporter to see the categories of sites visited, how long they spent browsing, and how much time was spent on unproductive sites.
Monitor Login and Logout Times
Whether you’re offering a flexible schedule or having employees work set hours, you need a clear picture of when they start and stop their days. Use enPowerManager to track each time your employees log in or out of their computers each day.
Block Dangerous and Inappropriate Websites
Introducing remote workers erodes the secure perimeter of a traditional workplace. Use BrowseControl to improve endpoint security by blocking access to websites that are unproductive, dangerous, or otherwise inappropriate for your company.
Empower IT Security & Human Resources
Collect evidence of inappropriate computer activity to address undesirable behavior before it harms employee productivity, introduces malware to your remote endpoints, and contributes to a hostile work environment.
Discourage Time Wasters
BrowseReporter’s remote employee activity reports show you who is staying on-task and who needs help regaining focus. Configure automated alerts to notify employees and managers when further coaching is needed.
Empower Remote Workers to Self-Manage
Provide remote teams with on-demand access to their productivity data with BrowseReporter’s End-User Productivity Reports feature. This provides them with the same insights that you have and provides them with the autonomy to self-manage.
Start Monitoring Remote Employee Productivity Today
Case Study
Sessions & Kimball Finds the Solutions They Need to Manage Their Remote Employees
As an experienced employment rights law firm, Sessions & Kimball LLP’s clients expect nothing short of excellence. When COVID-19 forced their employees to work remotely they knew that they needed to maintain their firm’s high standards.
Even before the shift to a remote workforce, Sessions & Kimball relied on web filtering software solutions to block clearly inappropriate websites. But blocking websites only provided a partial solution for managing how their employees use the internet during work hours.
That’s where CurrentWare’s remote employee monitoring software came in.
BrowseReporter’s remote user activity monitoring reports provided them with the exact details they needed to improve productivity and ensure that the internet was being used as expected. enPowerManager’s logon time reports provided management with a clear picture of team members that were starting their shifts later than their work from home policy dictated.
“Since we’ve let employees work from home we’ve had to have them connect remotely to the office. Thanks to BrowseReporter we know exactly what they’re doing during work hours.”
See What Else Our Customers Have to Say
Whether it be monitoring and restricting employee internet use to enforce company policies, blocking USB file transfers to protect sensitive data against theft, or remotely controlling PC power states to save money, CurrentWare has played an integral part in keeping our customers secure and productive—no matter where their employees work. .
“It’s easy to overlook the threat that can arise from within the company, especially when devices are being taken off site. The damage that data breaches can cause is enormous, and I have become increasingly aware of the range of threats that we need to defend against, from cyberattacks to simple workplace carelessness!”
“Being able to identify negative browsing trends and put a stop to them within a couple of hours has meant that our employees are focused on the job almost all of the time. We have become an extremely efficient workforce.”
“The user-friendly interface let us get the software up-and-running extremely quickly. It worked perfectly and provided all of the functionality we were looking for.”
“We were able to have the software up and running on the same day, and we didn’t even need to contact customer support. Through a central server, we installed the technology on all of the computers remotely and immediately distinguished staff user accounts.”
Monitor Employee Productivity
Without Sacrificing Privacy
When monitoring remote employees it’s important to be aware of the potential privacy concerns that they may have. BrowseReporter includes a variety of privacy-enhancing features to help you monitor and manage your remote workforce transparently.
BrowseReporter’s End-User Reports
How does it work?
This optional feature provides your employees with on-demand access to their user activity data.
To access their data your employees simply need to click the CurrentWare icon that appears in their computer’s system tray and open the dashboard.
Transparency: Employees can clearly see exactly what user activity data is being captured when they work on a monitored device.
Security: Employees are only shown their data; they have no access to the admin console or the data of their coworkers.
Autonomy: With on-demand access to their user activity reports your employees can use BrowseReporter to self-manage their productivity.
“The employees find the reports to be an extremely helpful self-analysis tool. They use the reports to analyze and reconfigure their priorities!”
More Privacy-Enhancing Features
Monitoring Software Alerts
Display a custom message to notify your employees that their internet and application activity is being monitored.
Show in System Tray
Enable this feature to make the CurrentWare Client visible in the system tray of your employee’s computers.
Schedule Monitoring
Schedule BrowseReporter’s user activity tracking to only collect data during designated hours. Turn off monitoring during non-work hours and personal browsing periods.
Restrict Access
Restrict access to employee monitoring data with a password-protected console and unique data access permissions for each manager. Easily provide access on an as-needed basis.
CurrentWare’s Software Solutions
Device Control Software
- Block unsanctioned portable storage devices
- Add trusted devices to an Allowed List
- Audit USB file operations to track data in motion
Content Filtering Software
- Block websites based on URL, IP, and category
- Close unused or high-risk network ports
- Stop users from launching specific applications
User Activity Monitoring
- Monitor internet and application use
- Choose from 15+ detailed user activity reports
- Get automated alerts of computer policy violations
Remote Power Management
- Audit login times for suspicious activity
- Remotely control computer power states
- Schedule shutdowns to prevent off-hours access
Remote Employee Management Software Features
Internet ON/OFF
One click to completely block the Internet
URL Filter
Allowed list or Blocked list for specific URLs
Category Filtering
Block websites based on content categories
Internet Scheduler
Set unique restrictions at specific times of the day
Internet Monitoring
Track what websites are being visited by employees
Web Activity Reports
15+ different detailed web activity reports
Track Application Use
See what applications are being used by employees
Email Reports
Automatically email reports of web usage to managers
Block USB
Block unauthorized USBs to protect against data theft
Block External Devices
Easily block DVDs, external drives & other peripherals
Device Permissions
Set full access, read only or no access on storage devices
Allowed List
Allow specific storage devices on your network
Centralized Console
Manage all your users from the centralized console with Active Directory import or syncing
Remote Client Install
Only a few steps to remotely install the CurrentWare Client on all of your computers.
Offsite Management
Extend onsite Internet usage policies to laptops running outside the corporate network
SQL Server Supported
Database scaled for enterprise and large business operations using Microsoft SQL Server
Flexible Deployment Options
On Premises
Easy to install. Everything stored on your own network.
Remote Workers
Connect remote users with minimal configuration.
Private Cloud
All the benefits of the cloud on a server of your choice.
Want to see how it works?
Best Practices for Monitoring Remote Workers
Use Employee Computer Activity Data Fairly
The computer activity data of remote employees must only be used for its stated purpose. This ensures that employees have provided informed consent to having their data collected and improves their trust in the use of remote employee monitoring software.
For example, if you are monitoring remote employees to ensure that work from home policies are being followed you should not then use that data to evaluate their performance during a salary negotiation.
Keep Employee Computer Activity Data Safe
The computer activity data of remote employees can be potentially sensitive. Information such as internet browsing history and search queries can reveal personal information including health status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.
To prevent this data from being misused you must treat user activity data like any other form of sensitive information. This includes limiting who can access the data, ensuring that anyone with access to the data understands their security and privacy responsibilities, and keeping the data stored in a secure location.
Respect the Limitations of Productivity Monitoring
The insights provided by remote employee monitoring software do not provide the full context into how employees work.
Unless an employee is in a position where 100% of their work occurs on a computer there is bound to be work-adjacent tasks such as meetings, deep thought, and project planning that is not reflected in their computer activities.
For this reason you must avoid making automated decisions based on their activity data. Instead, use the insights provided to optimize workflows, address clearly disengaged employees, and ensure that work from home policies are being followed.
Avoid Invasive Remote Employee Monitoring
In today’s privacy-conscious world employers need to monitor employees in a way that is transparent, minimally invasive, and respectful of employee privacy. The best way to respect the privacy expectations of employees and only monitor what is needed to meet the company’s goals.
Do Not Monitor More Than Necessary
You do not need to monitor individual keystrokes (and potentially capture private messages, passwords, etc) to track the productivity of remote employees. Instead, track how they spend their time during work hours by monitoring the computer activity of remote teams.
Do Not Monitor Employees Without Their Informed Consent
Employees that are not aware that they are being monitored, why they are being monitored, and how they are being monitored are less likely to find employee monitoring acceptable. By being transparent about your use of remote workforce management software you can get informed consent and demonstrate to your remote teams that you have their best interests at heart.
You must also provide employees with a workplace privacy policy that clearly states that they are being monitored, what data will be collected, why their data is being collected, how their data will be used, and how their data will be protected.
Do Not Monitor Personal Devices
You must respect the reasonable expectation of privacy that remote employees have when they are using their personal computers for work tasks. If you must allow your employees to use their personal devices you should have them work within a monitored virtual desktop or remotely connect to a company-owned workstation.
Want to learn more? Download our free white paper to learn the best practices for balancing productivity, security, and privacy when monitoring employees in the workplace.
Start Tracking Employee Productivity Today
Frequently Asked Questions
Are There Any Limits to the Free Trial?
The free trial of our remote employee tracking software is fully functional. You can deploy it on up to 10 computers for 14 days.
If you need more time or more computers to properly evaluate the best employee productivity tracking software for your organization, reach out to our support team.
Does CurrentWare Have Access to Employee Data?
No. CurrentWare’s employee productivity software does not send your user’s computer usage data to CurrentWare. They are installed and managed by your organization.
All of the data collected by CurrentWare’s software is stored on a database that is installed in your organization’s data center or cloud service provider.
For more information please refer to our Terms of Service.
Will My Employees Know They Are Being Monitored?
Depending on the needs of your environment and the laws of your jurisdiction you can opt to deploy BrowseReporter with or without its transparency-enhancing features enabled.
Stealth Employee Monitoring
BrowseReporter operates in stealth mode by default.
In stealth mode, the CurrentWare Client is not visible in the system tray or control panel of the employee’s computer. Your employee will not be able to uninstall the CurrentWare client or prevent it from running.
Transparent Employee Monitoring
BrowseReporter includes a variety of transparency-boosting features to help your employees remain aware that their computer activity is being monitored in the workplace.
- Monitoring Notifications: Display a custom message that periodically reminds your employees that their internet and application activity is being monitored by BrowseReporter
- Show In System Tray: Enable this feature to make the CurrentWare Client visible in the system tray of your employee’s computers.
- End-User Reports: Enable this feature to give your employees access to their own computer activity data. This lets them see exactly what internet and application usage data is being shared.
Is This a Cloud Solution?
No, our employee productivity solutions are not cloud-native. At this time they will continue to be offered exclusively for on-premises deployments, however, you can install CurrentWare’s software on a cloud platform of your choice with our private cloud option.
How Can I Monitor Employees That Work Remotely?
With the right employee monitoring software, you can easily keep track of what your remote workforce does during work hours.
Simply install the monitoring software on their computers and generate reports on their activities from the central console. To get started, download a free remote employee monitoring software trial.
I want to monitor employees who work from home but I’m worried about their privacy. What should I do?
In today’s privacy-conscious world employers need to monitor employees in a way that is transparent, minimally invasive, and respectful of employee privacy.
To help employers develop a privacy-first employee monitoring strategy, CurrentWare has written a white paper with the best practices for monitoring the productivity and time of employees.
Will BrowseReporter Continue Monitoring Employees When They Leave the Network?
Yes. The client agent has the ability to monitor employee computer activity even if it loses connection to the CurrentWare Server.
When your employees disconnect from your network the client agent will store their activity data locally on their computer. Once they reconnect to your network their data will be synced to the CurrentWare server.
Note: If you wish to get activity data from employee computers that are outside of the network, they will need to be able to communicate with the CurrentWare Server. Once a connection is reestablished you will receive your employee’s computer usage data and any CurrentWare policy updates will take effect.
Learn More: How to Set Up CurrentWare’s Employee Productivity Tracking Software for Off-Site Workers
Is It Legal to Use Remote Employee Monitoring Software?
When determining how employee monitoring software will be used in your organization it is important to understand the potential privacy implications for your employees and what factors influence your right to monitor employee computer activity.
Depending on your jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of your employees you may have legal obligations to fulfill before monitoring employees in the workplace. The best practice is to consult with a legal professional first.
Most workplace privacy and employee monitoring laws require you to be transparent about data collection. This includes informing employees about what is being monitored, how their data will be protected, and how it will be used.
Learn more: The Best Practices for Using Employee Productivity Monitoring Software
How Can I Monitor the Productivity of Remote Workers?
Have regular check-ins with your remote employees to go over their progress towards key deliverables. Review the quality of their work and see if it’s up to their usual standard.
If it feels like they are lagging behind, review their computer activity reports to see if internet-based distractions have affected their quality of work.
Using BrowseReporter’s remote employee productivity reports you can readily see how your employees spend their time on websites that are deemed productive, unproductive, or neutral.
My employees use a VPN and/or remote access software to connect to their work computer. Can CurrentWare still track their activity?
Yes! Simply install the CurrentWare client agent on the workstation they are connecting to. CurrentWare can also be set up for remote workers with port forwarding, offsite mode, and a standalone software installation.
How do you effectively manage a remote workforce?
Effectively managing a remote workforce requires a combination of asynchronous management and communication, flexibility, and a revised approach to productivity management.
Performance management for remote workers is a particularly unique challenge. How can you know that employees are engaged and working as expected when they are out-of-sight and surrounded by distractions?
Just getting started with remote workforce management in your company? The CurrentWare team has prepared a guide that will provide you with the insights you need to manage a distributed, hybrid or remote workforce. | Read the Guide
Resources for Managing a Remote Workforce
Work From Home Policy
A work from home policy is critical for establishing guidelines for remote workers. This free work from home policy template provides the key elements you’ll need to get started. Simply download the template and customize it to fit the needs of your remote workforce. | Get My Free WFH Template
Free Remote Workforce Management Software Trial
CurrentWare’s remote workforce management software provides the solutions you need to monitor the productivity of remote workers, restrict internet and application use, and protect sensitive data against theft to USB storage devices. | Get My Free Trial or Try the Live Demo
Remote Workforce Management Videos from CurrentWare
CurrentWare has published a variety of videos on managing a remote workforce. Learn how to keep your remote workers productive and secure, see how other businesses have made the transition to a remote workforce, and see CurrentWare’s remote employee monitoring software in action. | Watch Now
Remote Workforce Management Articles from CurrentWare
The CurrentWare blog regularly publishes articles about remote workforce management, employee productivity, and cybersecurity. This custom feed showcases all of the articles on the topic of managing remote workers. To stay up to date with future releases, subscribe to the CurrentWare monthly newsletter. | Read Now
1 We Forum – 6 charts that show what employers and employees really think about remote working https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/coronavirus-covid19-remote-working-office-employees-employers. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
2 Gallup – State of the American Workplace 2017 Report https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
3 Deloitte – Cyber crime – the risks of working from home https://www2.deloitte.com/ch/en/pages/risk/articles/covid-19-cyber-crime-working-from-home.html. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
4 CityAM – Remote working is causing employees to feel overworked https://www.cityam.com/remote-working-is-causing-employees-to-feel-overworked/. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
5 Owl Labs – 2019 State of Remote Work Report https://resources.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2019. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
6 Indeed – Remote Work Can Bring Benefits, but Attitudes Are Divided 14 Nov. 2018, https://www.indeed.com/lead/remote-work-survey. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
7 SellCell – Survey: Eight in 10 Remote Workers Admit to Slacking Off at Work 2 Jul. 2020, https://www.sellcell.com/blog/survey-eight-in-10-remote-workers-admit-to-slacking-off-at-work/. Accessed 4 Jun. 2021.
Make Managing Your Remote Workforce Easier Than Ever