CurrentWare for Productivity Management
This section will cover features and settings you may want to consider when using CurrentWare for productivity management.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure your organization has accomplished the following prerequisites:
You have confirmed that your organization can lawfully collect user activity data, and all related prerequisites are met (e.g., employees have signed a policy acknowledging that they understand their activity is subject to monitoring on employer-managed systems)
You’ve decided internally who will have access to the data, and they are aware of their responsibilities when reviewing, using, and transmitting that data
You’ve successfully deployed CurrentWare and are actively collecting data
You’ve organized your users into their desired groups
You have a designated member of your organization who’ll be responsible for managing your CurrentWare deployment, adjusting settings, and generating reports
CurrentWare collects various data points that provide valuable insights into employee performance, browsing habits, software utilization, and more. While most data points are enabled by default, some features, such as the Location Tracking feature, must be configured before data collection.
To help balance the insights your organization needs with data storage requirements and the privacy expectations of your employees, you can use CurrentWare’s privacy-focused features to limit what is tracked, such as not tracking titles of browser tabs and software windows. This adjustment would allow you to gain insights into software usage trends without collecting data about the specific projects being worked on.
Use these optional privacy-enhancing features to improve transparency and minimize data collection
Notify Users They’re Being Monitored
Show The Currentware Client In The System Tray
Set Up Location Tracking (Optional)
The optional location tracking feature uses each computer's IP or MAC addresses to determine who works in-office, remotely, or hybrid at a given time. BrowseReporter makes automatic working location estimates based on how many users have connected from the same IP/MAC address; these can later be manually adjusted.
This feature is not enabled by default; review the location tracking knowledge base article to learn more about enabling this feature.
Idle Time Threshold
BrowseReporter can measure how long your users are away from their computers based on their mouse and keyboard movement. In most situations, when there is no movement from a user’s mouse or keyboard for a predetermined period, their computer is considered idle. When this happens, BrowseReporter will shift the tracking from Active Time to Idle Time.
Active Time includes activities involving active mouse and keyboard movements (such as composing an email).
Idle Time includes activities not involving mouse and keyboard movements (such as watching a video).
The idle time threshold is a setting that determines when a user is considered inactive. You can adjust the default idle time threshold by following this guide.
Email Reports & Alerts
BrowseReporter’s email alerts allow you to be immediately notified of specific user actions, such as visiting inappropriate websites or going absent from their workstation.
In addition, any of BrowseReporter and AccessPatrol’s reports can be configured to be sent to designated recipients on a set schedule. This makes it easy to provide specific user activity data to colleagues that do not have direct access to the web console.
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Desktop Screenshots
In addition to real-time viewing of user desktops, BrowseReporter allows you to configure trigger-based or interval-based automatic screenshots. With the User Explorer view, you can view screenshots for a specific user by the hour to quickly gauge what they worked on throughout the day.
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Team Performance Summary Emails
BrowseReporter’s daily summary emails provide managers with an overview of their team’s activities with high-level metrics such as the most unproductive/inactive users, the average productivity score of the team, and how many team members worked in the office that day.
The weekly performance report is similar but emphasizes the entire week. It contains an overview of the top 5 most used websites and applications, aggregated productivity metrics, and the top users based on productive hours worked.
Detect & Address Excessive Distractions
BrowseReporter’s detailed employee productivity reports and dashboards equip managers with the activity data they need to understand how in-office and remote team members spend their time during work hours.
Detect Distractions
Confirm if excessive time on social media, computer games, and other distractions is contributing to performance concernsHigh-Level & Granular Insights
Track the productivity of your entire workforce, a specific team, and individual employeesRestrict Access to Abused Resources
If a given website or application is a consistent concern, you can leverage BrowseControl to block access outright or limit access to specific times, such as breaks
Team Utilization & Burnout Prevention
Ensure a healthy and productive work environment by proactively addressing misbalanced workloads. Review employee activity data to see who isn’t contributing as expected and who is at risk of burnout by picking up the slack.
Identify Ebbs & Flows in Productivity
Set BrowseReporter’s productivity dashboard to a specific day to see average hourly productivity. Managers can use this data to determine when their teams are most and least productive throughout the day. This allows them to schedule demanding tasks during peak times and allocate lighter workloads during less productive periods.Detect Workload Imbalances Using the logon/logoff and active/idle time data, you can determine if certain team members consistently work longer hours or handle a disproportionate number of tasks. Managers can address these issues by redistributing workload or providing additional resources.
Remote & Hybrid Workforce Management
BrowseReporter’s Location Insights dashboard helps leaders make data-driven decisions about remote, in-office, and hybrid work.
Promote flexibility without sacrificing accountability with insights into how location flexibility affects employee engagement and productivity.
Compare Productivity by Location
Compare productivity scores between groups of in-office, remote, and hybrid employees to gauge the impact that location has on employee engagementEmployee Working Location Distribution
See how much of your workforce is working in-office, remotely, or hybrid in a given timeframe to inform real estate management decisionsOff-Site Restrictions
The client software on your employees’ computers ensures your restrictions are enforced on any network, ensuring productivity and security no matter where employees work
Time Theft Prevention & Work Schedule Adherence
CurrentWare keeps track of user logon activity, PC power states, and active vs idle time. These metrics complement traditional time trackers with evidence that employees are actively using their workstations during expected work hours.
Detect “buddy punching” (where one employee clocks in for another)
Ensure that employees are working the hours they’re paid for
Use productivity metrics to detect excessive non-work activities such as social media and games
Today’s Insights
With the “Today’s Insights” tab in BrowseReporter, you’ll get a convenient snapshot of your team’s most recent activity and productivity.
Data is displayed in individual rows with information on their online status, their most recently opened website or application, how long the user has been there, and other key data points.
See who’s currently active, who’s idle, and who hasn’t logged in yet today
Find out the website or application each user/group last used
Get a convenient high-level view of your workforce productivity
Dig deeper with convenient shortcuts to user activity dashboards
With these data points available at-a-glance your department leaders can log into the web console for a convenient high-level view of their teams.
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User Productivity
BrowseReporter’s detailed employee productivity reports and dashboards make tracking productivity simple and intuitive.
Equip managers with the activity data they need to understand how in-house and remote team members spend their time at work.
Productivity Grading
While CurrentWare includes default productivity gradings to get you started, you will get the best results by customizing the gradings to match what our organization considers work-related and not-work-related activity.
Productivity classifications can be assigned organization-wide at the Group level to account for differences in roles and responsibilities. For example, the Social Networks category could be unproductive for everyone except the marketing team. Learn more in our step-by-step guide to customizing productivity grading.
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Timeline View
The Timeline View provides an overview of computer activity throughout the day. At a glance, you can determine whether or not a given user was actively using their computer within a given timeframe. This dashboard is excellent for quickly identifying potential schedule adherence issues.
Active & Idle Time
BrowseReporter can measure how long your users are away from their computers based on their mouse and keyboard movement. In most situations, when there is no movement from a user’s mouse or keyboard for a long period of time, their computer is considered idle. When this happens, BrowseReporter will shift the tracking from Active Time to Idle Time.
This dashboard can be used to identify groups or users who
Are idle far more often than other groups/users
Are working at their computers far less than typical
Are putting in more hours than expected
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Location Insights
The location tracking feature uses each computer's IP or MAC addresses to determine who works in-office, remotely, or hybrid at a given time. BrowseReporter makes automatic working location estimates based on how many users have connected from the same IP/MAC address; these can later be manually adjusted.
Enforce Hybrid Work Policies
Ensure that employees are adhering to hybrid work policies and location-specific guidelines, such as working in the office at least one day per weekCapacity Planning
Make data-driven office space and resource allocation decisions based on historical location trends and occupancy dataProductivity by Location
Identify trends in productivity across different locations to design more effective hybrid work policies that cater to employee strengths, whether in-office or remote, thereby boosting overall performance.
Desktop Screenshots & Live Capture
The desktop screenshots and live capture features provide a clear snapshot of precisely what is on an employee’s screen.
With the User Explorer view, you can view screenshots for a specific user by the hour to quickly gauge what they worked on throughout the day.
Instantaneous Insights
Live capture provides a real-time view of employee activities, allowing immediate identification of issues or areas requiring attentionEmployee Onboarding
Observe the behavior of new employees to intervene promptly if needed, preventing potential problems from escalatingDeeper Analysis
Use snapshots of employee activity across their entire day to further investigate red flags found in other reports and dashboards, such as verifying that hours spent on LinkedIn are work-related and not caused by job-seeking or instant messaging
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Login Sessions
The login sessions dashboard provides a high-level overview of when employees start and stop working on their computers.
Estimate Break Times
Audit login and logoff times to see if employees can remain actively working on their computers without interruptions that require them to walk away from their workstationSchedule Adherence
Verify that employees are present and active during work hours and see when they are away from their computers
Employee Monitoring Starter Kit
The Employee Monitoring Starter Kit equips your organization with everything needed to implement an effective employee monitoring strategy. It includes comprehensive templates for creating clear and compliant policies and disclosures, ensuring transparency and legal adherence.
The kit also features presentations tailored for key stakeholders, helping you communicate the importance and benefits of monitoring in a structured and persuasive manner. Additionally, it offers a collection of best practices for monitoring employees, enabling your organization to establish a balanced, respectful, and efficient monitoring system that supports productivity and privacy.
Workplace Monitoring Policy Template
A Workplace Monitoring Policy is crucial for balancing organizational oversight and employee privacy. It establishes clear guidelines on how and why employee activities are monitored, ensuring transparency and fostering trust within the workplace. By outlining the scope and methods of monitoring, such as internet usage and working hours, the policy helps prevent misuse of company resources and supports compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Use This Workplace Privacy Policy To:
Disclose your company’s intent to monitor employees in the workplace & the reasons for monitoring
Set workplace privacy expectations when employees use company-owned IT assets
Meet transparency and disclosure requirements for compliance with privacy laws
Privacy Tips for Monitoring Employees
In today’s privacy-conscious world, employers need to monitor employees in a way that is transparent, minimally invasive, and respectful of employee privacy. These tips will reduce impacts on employee privacy so employers can maximize the benefits of their employee monitoring strategy.
How is the Productivity Score Calculated?
BrowseReporter’s reports and dashboards calculate productivity scores based on time spent on productive, unproductive, and neutral applications and websites.
Learn More: How Is The Productivity Score Calculated?
If I Change Productivity Gradings, Will Our Historical Data Be Updated To Reflect The Changes?
Yes. The next time you visit the productivity dashboard, it will be updated to reflect the adjusted gradings. Previously generated static reports will not change, however, the next time you generate the report it will reflect the new gradings.
What is a Good Productivity Score?
The short answer is: It depends!
There's no universally agreed-upon "good" productivity score. What is considered a good score for your organization and its employees depends on various factors.
Industry and Role
Productivity metrics in a software development team will differ significantly from those in a sales or customer support role.Company Culture and Goals
Managers of knowledge workers may prioritize creativity and results over time management, while a data entry role may emphasize efficiency and output.Individual Differences
Employees have different work styles, strengths, and challenges. While the productivity score is an excellent tool for detecting actively disengaged employees, a 5% difference in the productivity score between two top performers is unlikely to require intervention.
Guidelines for Using the Productivity Score
Don’t Strive for a 100% Productivity Score
Research from Brent Coker of the University of Melbourne has indicated that brief and occasional web browsing improves productivity—but only if it does not consume more than 12% of an employee’s work time. So long as performance is up to par you’re best off focusing on the outliers that are well below their peers.Avoid Micromanaging—But Remain Proactive
Review the employee's historical activity before acting on the productivity score to determine if distractions are an ongoing concern or an anomaly for an otherwise top-performing employee. Penalizing high performers for taking brief breaks throughout the day will harm morale due to the perceived lack of trust and reduced autonomy. On the other hand, it’s important to proactively address actively disengaged employees to ensure that workloads are evenly distributed.Combine With Other Metrics
The most effective way to use productivity scores is to include them in your performance management toolbox as one tool among many. Combine the productivity score with qualitative assessments, employee feedback, and performance reviews to comprehensively understand employee performance.
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