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Managing Remote Teams: Why Employee Monitoring Matters

Managing Remote Teams: Why Employee Monitoring Matters

  • Maksymilian Kujawa
  • March 11, 2025
  • 10 min read
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Managing remote teams has its ups and downs; however, remote work is a dream for the vast majority of employees. According to a study conducted by Buffer.com in 2023, 98% of surveyed employees want to work this way. And for almost 70% of them, it’s been a very positive experience:

an infographic with results for the survey question about remote work experience

Of course, remote employees, as well as their managers, face some challenges that need to be addressed. The same source indicates some of those challenges:

  1. Working across different time zones: 14%

  2. Staying motivated: 11% of answers

  3. Difficulty focusing: 9%

  4. Difficulties with collaboration and communication: 8%

an infographic displaying results for a survey question regarding biggest remote work struggles

Those issues have been reported by the remote workers, but they are important from the managers’ perspective as well because they can adversely affect your team’s performance.

If you manage remote teams, you surely understand how vital it is for your team members to feel connected to each other and have effective communication. It can be especially difficult, if your company works at an international level, across different time zones.

Detecting and addressing employee burnout or disengagement can be difficult in such a setting. Maintaining employee engagement can be tricky even in a traditional office setting, let alone a remote one. So, what can you do about those challenges?

Leading remote teams requires good remote work arrangements as well as ongoing monitoring of employee productivity. Read on to see how to do so effectively.

The Importance of Employee Monitoring

With a good employee monitoring tool, you can spot patterns in employee engagement and productivity. If you see those levels go down, you can implement corrective actions. Of course, employee productivity is one of the priorities, but you should also consider things that are vital from your employees’ perspective, especially:

  • Work-life balance

  • Job satisfaction

  • Transparent communication with your team members

  • Regular check-ins to foster collaboration and employee engagement

Employee monitoring tools (as well as project management tools) will help you do just that. Those tools provide you with data and analysis that help you spot potentially dangerous trends very early in the process. As a result, you can act quickly and deal with the issue before it escalates.

So, if your organization operates in a remote environment, tracking employee productivity among remote teams provides you with the input and answers you need to make informed decisions on how to keep productivity and engagement at the right levels. In the same way, you can also drive job satisfaction, which leads to more engaged employees.

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Discover Available Monitoring Tools and Methods

When it comes to monitoring employees who are working remotely, there are different software options available for you. You can opt for monitoring tools that are based on:

  1. Tracking work time: Such tools record your employees’ activities in real time and assign them to predefined categories.

  2. Screen monitoring: You can use recorders that capture the screen of your employees’ devices, either non-stop or in some specified time intervals.

  3. Keystroke logging: Other tools record all the keystrokes in order to monitor what a given employee is doing at a given moment.

These are just technological solutions, though. Ideally, if you want to monitor employee engagement, you also need analytics or reporting features that will help you derive all the relevant insights from available data. Even better, if you have access to AI-driven analytics because AI will help you get all the information you need in an understandable and legible manner.

Typical metrics that you should track comprise:

  • Employee output (measurable results or accomplishments)

  • Attendance at work

  • Time spent online on the assigned projects

It’s also vital to check employee logs at least from time to time.

a collage of timecamp features that help manage remote teams effectively

Drive employee engagement with access to performance of your remote employees’

Ethical and Privacy Considerations

Monitoring employee performance should always be ethical and with respect to your employees’ privacy. First of all, you need a written policy (as well as the communication strategy around it) that clearly states what’s being monitored, why, and how. Keep in mind that you should monitor the minimal number of activities, just to get the insights that you need.

Over-monitoring can lead to employee mistrust, low morale, and even legal repercussions if it violates privacy laws. And speaking of privacy laws, before implementing any employee monitoring solutions, check what laws you need to adhere to in your country. In the European Union, employee monitoring has to be in line with GDPR. Other countries have similar regulations, and you need to know what is and what is not legal in this context.

Clear communication, as well as including your remote workers in the process, will help you gain their trust. When talking to your team, focus on the benefits that productivity monitoring will provide for them:

  • Better work-life balance

  • Less overtime

  • Clear expectations (e.g., promotion-wise)

  • Improved employee performance (people are usually open to suggestions that will allow them to finish their work faster)

Balancing Oversight And Empowerment

Don’t use employee monitoring as a punitive tool or to micromanage your remote workers. Such an approach will backfire very quickly, and you will end up with an irritated team that’s considering leaving your company very seriously.

On the contrary, team leaders should use employee monitoring to empower their team members, share valuable suggestions with them, and engage in team-building activities to ensure their employees communicate with each other effectively and are satisfied with their working conditions.

With the right approach to remote work monitoring, you can help your employees feel valued for their work and engagement. The key point here is to focus on the outcomes instead of monitoring every minute of your employees’ lives.

Check-ins instead of real-time monitoring will help you maintain performance while showing trust in your employees’ abilities. Additionally, focus on cultivating a culture of open communication and psychological safety. Such an approach will encourage your employees to take ownership of their work. And lastly, you should allow your remote employees to have access to their own progress and statistics.

a collage of timecamp reporting features that streamline managing remote teams

Interestingly, remote employees are usually engaged in their work. The Buffer’s study shows that almost 60% of surveyed employees feel engaged in work. So, all you need to do is just nurture this attitude, without going overboard with your efforts.

an infographic with results for the survey question on employee engagement when working remotely

Use The Right Communication Tools And Keep Your Employees Informed

According to Buffer’s findings, messaging apps are the most popular communication tools. A whopping 50% of surveyed employees use them to communicate with their teammates. Other tools that you can use include:

  • Emails

  • Video conferencing apps (Zoom, Google Meet, Skype)

  • Project management software (many such tools have built-in communication/chat features)

Additionally, it’s important, especially for your leaders and managers, to provide constructive feedback to your remote team members. When talking to remote employees, focus on growth and improvement, rather than control and surveillance. Make sure your feedback is always specific and encouraging. Leave some room for discussion and ask your remote employees for feedback as well. Ask them what you can do to help them work more effectively.

Frequent check-ins can help you spot potential issues with the workflow or procedures in your company. Eliminating them will do more to employee productivity and organization’s success than following every step your employees take.

Also, keep in mind that some employees may benefit from more frequent check-ins, while others may thrive on greater autonomy. Be flexible and don’t impose frequent meetings on employees who do their job but prefer more freedom at work.

Use Data To Improve Team Outcomes

In general, when it comes to employee monitoring, outcomes matter the most. Your company should set KPIs (key performance indicators) around the outcomes instead of “busy work”. Here, good examples of such KPIs include:

  • Project completion rates
  • Client satisfaction scores (e.g., net promoter score)
  • Revenue impact
  • Deadline adherence

Such an approach focuses on things that matter long term and contribute to your company’s success. And this is where TimeCamp steps in the game. Our analytics dashboards are fully customizable so that you can track all the metrics and KPIs you want and tailor your employee monitoring to different teams and roles.

a screenshot of timecamp summary report that provides a clear overview of how remote teams work

You can use this input to work on your decision-making processes, as well as skill-development initiatives. With employee monitoring data, you can make decisions based on what’s really going on in your company (instead of relying on your hunch) and help your remote employees grow the skills they need to do their jobs better.

Foster Trust, Transparency, And Team Culture

We cannot stress enough that employee monitoring should be a positive tool that builds mutual trust between managers and employees. Here, there is still some work to be done. According to a study published by Forbes, 40% of executives in organizations with remote work policies say they monitor how often employees are in the office, and 37% track employee online activity, such as time logged in. 20% say they trust in-office employees more. Those numbers confirm that managers need to work on their trust toward remote employees.

It’s important to keep your team members involved in the whole process and actively listen to their feedback. Always keep open communication about your company’s goals and set realistic expectations. Show remote workers that by staying productive, they contribute to the overall company’s success. People need to know that their work matters, and employee monitoring can help them do so.

Remote leaders and managers should also schedule regular check-ins and one-on-one meetings with their team members (face-to-face interactions are usually more effective than just sending a few messages over chat). Furthermore, leaders should empower employees to manage their own tasks while providing guidance and resources. Here, you should focus on:

  • Setting clear objectives

  • Offering flexibility in work methods (don’t tell your employees how they should work if their methods are effective)

  • Recognizing accomplishments (if you want to take it one step further, you can also consider a reward program)

This way, you will promote autonomy and work ownership among remote team members, and that’s exactly what you need to have a successful and motivated team.

We have one more suggestion in the context of transparency: Always make sure your employees understand what is being tracked, why it’s necessary, and how the collected data will be used. If you don’t share this information with your team, you can expect to lose your employees’ trust very quickly.

Implementing And Scaling Monitoring Practices

Generally speaking, productivity monitoring should be a constant part of your company’s operating practices as soon as your team (both remote and on-site) starts to grow. The more people you have onboard, the more difficult it becomes to keep productivity and engagement levels high.

If you wait too long to implement employee monitoring, you will likely need to spend more time fixing problems and eliminating bottlenecks that have been slowing your business down for months or even years.

However, if it’s a new approach in your company, implement productivity tracking gradually. You can start with a pilot program or beta testing, so that your employees have enough time to get acquainted with the monitoring tool and understand what the new requirements are all about. This way, you lay the necessary groundwork and ensure long-term success of your monitoring strategy.

As your remote teams grow or change, you should adapt your monitoring strategy, and this is where customizable settings and tailor-made monitoring options come in handy. This way, you can accommodate different work styles and responsibilities.

A Smooth Onboarding Process

It’s good to inform new employees about monitoring on day one. Just as with the rest of your team, clearly outline to new hires what is being monitored, why it matters, and how it benefits both employees and the company. If possible, provide your new team members with at least basic introductory training so that they can feel comfortable in this work setting.

Navigate Potential Pitfalls when Managing Remote Teams

Lastly, it’s important to always be on the lookout for potential pitfalls and issues with your monitoring system. Don’t just assume that “everything is great.” Listen to your employees and look for early warning signals that something needs to be changed in the way your monitoring system works.

Such early warning signs showing that your monitoring is intrusive rather than empowering include:

Early warning sign

Implications

Decline in employee performance

Employees may feel untrusted or micromanaged, leading to lower job satisfaction and lack of engagement.

Increased stress and work-related anxiety

Constant surveillance can create pressure to always appear productive, thus negatively impacting your employees’ mental health.

Hesitation to communicate freely

Employees may avoid open discussions, fearing their conversations are being monitored or misinterpreted.

Resistance to tracking tools

Pushback against monitoring software suggests your employees view it as invasive rather than helpful.

Reduced collaboration and innovation among your remote workforce

Fear of being constantly watched can kill creative thinking and open teamwork.

Increased turnover

Employees who feel over-monitored will leave your company as soon as they get the chance.

an infographic explaining how to navigate the potential pitfalls when managing remote teams

If you see any of those signs, you need to act quickly. If monitoring is misused or overused, your company can face serious financial, legal, and cultural consequences. In the worst-case scenario, violating privacy laws can result in lawsuits, fines from regulatory bodies, and damage of your reputation. And even if that doesn’t happen, a “culture of distrust and constant surveillance” will quickly lead to lower productivity, higher turnover, and difficulty with attracting new employees.

What’s also important is that excessive monitoring can lead to wasted resources if it does not contribute to performance improvements. To avoid these risks, you should:

  1. Implement fair and legally compliant monitoring strategy that takes employee well-being into account

  2. Prioritize transparency and open dialog with your team members

  3. Be willing to implement necessary adjustments based on your team’s feedback

Wrapping Up

Remote working environment comes with some challenges, with employee engagement and performance being the most important ones. A good team monitoring strategy will help you maintain high levels of both productivity and employee satisfaction.

However, it is essential to treat productivity tracking as an empowering tool. Don’t over-monitor or micromanage your employees. Keeping employees informed is also incredibly important; in order to succeed, you need an open and positive atmosphere of trust and transparency.

If you’re currently looking for such a tool for your business, try TimeCamp! You can start even today for free!

Get to know where your time goes with TimeCamp!

Track time in projects and tasks, create reports, and bill your clients in just one tool.

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Sources:

https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work/2023

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/03/12/the-trust-gap-between-employers-and-workers/

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Maksymilian Kujawa Seasoned marketer with 5+ years of experience working with SaaS products, B2B audiences, and market research. Passionate about data-driven strategies, storytelling, and bridging the gap between product and market needs. Always on the lookout for automation opportunities, recently deeply interested in the possibilities offered by AI. When not crafting marketing strategies, he enjoys exploring the worlds of business psychology, history, and sports.

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