5+ Tools To Track Your Remote Worker's Productivity

Preliminarily, remote working was looked down upon as a customer service job with barely sufficient wage, but with the winds moving, the trends have too!

Major companies like Flexjobs and Zapier have been remote since the start and are getting accompanied by Google, Amazon and Adobe that have declared the transition to work from home till the end of 2020.

Trying to evolve with the changing need of getting the work done from anywhere in the world & seeking for the apt talent is the future. Adapting to the technology has become a necessary skill that employers look for in their workforce.

Managing remote teams has become the need of the hour and managing a co-located one is definitely not a cake walk.

As a manager have you wondered if they’re watching Netflix or cat videos between work hours? Well, don't!

Here are 6 tools to help you keep and eye and monitor your remote worker’s productivity:

1.Time Doctor

Used by companies like Apple and PWC, it is the strongest time tracking software.

It’s features include:

• Simple time tracking: employees can start a timer as soon as they start working, time doctor will run in the background and assess the time spent and the sites your employees are visiting. No, it’s impossible to fake data, time tracker has a screenshot feature that clicks at random intervals
  
• Usage monitoring: worried your employees are using social media sites while at work? Well, time doctor prompts a pop-up message asking them if they’re still working, that little jab is enough to get them back on track
  
• Inactivity tracker: well, it’s easy to switch to work and do your own thing side by side right? No, not with time doctor, if the keyboard isn’t used for 3 minutes, time doctor assumes you’re taking a break and pauses the timer
  
• Advanced reports: detailed reports include- timesheet reports(indicate time spent working in a week/month), time spent report(breakdown of tasks that they worked on and how long it took them), timeline daily report (sequences tasks worked on in chronological order), projects report(time spent on project wise tasks), absentees report(number of absentees and their reason of absence),web & app usage report(which sites were accessed as well as the duration)

2. Timely

With an easy to use interface, tracking your time per project has never been so easy.

It’s features include:

• Time-sheets: to capture billable and non-billable activities
  
• Advanced dashboard: allows for easy collaboration of the team through activity feeds and keeps updated in real time
  
• Integrations: easy integration with several popular project management, communication tools and video conferencing apps
  
• Strong automated time tracking system: eliminates need for manual intervention. If a worker forgets to "stop the timer" on a certain project, you get a notification via email that the clock is still running. You can go in and edit as you like. It's just the best." – Rob Fulton, Exponential Black
  

3. Toggl

Perfect for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs, surely the best task manager in town.

Its features include:

• Powerful browser extension and integration: which can track time and automate workflows on various tools from a range of industries. To do list or project management softwares, you name it and it will integrate it
  
• Advanced reporting: helps analyse time spent on different tasks by employees
  
• Timesheet management: allows for easy access to detailed records and reports that can be exported as a PDF, XLS or CSV file for preferred easy storage
  
• Keyboard tracking: Movement of mouse clicks tracks and monitors the employees activity effectively

4. Timeneye

A user-friendly interface for solopreneurs and businesses looking for harmonious automated tracking capabilities.

Its features include:

• Automatic time tracking: keep track of your employee’s productivity by setting up roles and assigning tasks to each employee
• Weekly Calendar view: track the progress daily
• Hours management: track billable and non-billable hours separately
• Reports: analysis of all employee’s time usage through effort graphs and charts. Also weekly email summaries that demonstrate progress of each employee
• Budget notifications: see where your team’s hours go and identify if they are spending too much time on certain tasks, to be more efficient and within budget

5. Everhourextensions

An easy accessible web-based software supported by major browser extensions- Chrome, Firefox, Safari and one of the most affordable an all-in one time management tool. By the way, if you notice that Safari closes unexpectedly or slows down, one of the many reasons could be the use of a large number of extensions.

It’s features include:

• Live dashboard and time-sheets: keep a tab of how much time your team is spending, identify who’s overworked and who can handle more. An editing time record feature is also available if you’ve made a mistake, that can be locked by managers
• Budget & cost management: get a broad picture of the expenses to help you plan your budget and financial picture of projects
• Customisable reports: filter out features depending on your preference to comprehend how your team spends money, time and resources
• Invoices: favours advanced billing functions like invoice generation in several currencies, can copy to Xero/Quickbooks too!

6. Scalefusion

Scalefusion's MDM solution comprises a Kiosk app package that can be accessed on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, incorporating the most pertinent tools for instilling security, productivity, and earning the trust of your customers in the simplest of ways.

Embedding your devices in the MDM solution of Scalefusion as your next kiosk would make sense for you in this regard. It has the following features:

Kiosk Browser management
The overage of data due to unnecessary browsing of websites on the company-owned or Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) device can cost the enterprise a fortune. Scalefusion Kiosk's browser management enables IT admins to blacklist non-critical websites and set browser settings for added security.

Remote Troubleshooting
Scalefusion's dashboard allows remote employees to cast their mobile device's screen to IT admins remotely for monitoring in real-time, and analyze the troubleshooting issue. Implementing remote desktop monitoring can be a proactive approach to maintaining security and efficiency in a remote working environment.

Remote Wipe
In some cases, an enterprise may face challenges in mitigating the risks of security leakage from an employee mobile device if it were lost or stolen. IT admins can utilize the Scalefusion dashboard to perform a remote wipe of the managed devices and protect the corporate data lying on them.

7. factoHR

With this easy-to-use cloud-based software, you can effortlessly track employees’ work timing and regularly analyze their productivity rate in the remote work culture.

Its top-notch features include:

• Downloadable Reports: Generates detailed reports about projects, working hours, clients, etc., on its automated platform. This helps in eliminating the manual efforts and time requirement for excel sheet management.
• Productivity Tracking: By continuously monitoring the projects or tasks completed by the workforce, employers can figure out the productive and non-productive work performed by them.
• Hierarchical Approval: This platform allows to set up multiple authorities for approving the tasks submitted by the employees.
• Integrations: This time tracking module is integrated with payroll, leave, and employee’s shift that helps to form a proper schedule depending on the availability of the workers.Enhanced Accessibility: Empowers managers and employees to input the task entries from both the ESS portal and mobile application.

8. My Hours

All-in-one free time tracking software modified for your specific needs.

Its features include:

Get out of your inbox mess: create projects, assign tasks and write down or attach details. Track project profitability with hourly rates. Set up budgets and get reminded when you’re close. Add a detailed description to your time logs and expenses. From Dashboard to more advanced time analytics. No need for extra spreadsheet work, even though you can export your data.

9. TimeCamp

TimeCamp is a comprehensive time tracking software that fills timesheets automatically with time entries and, if you need, with daily activity. It’s a time tracking software with an advanced timesheet approval feature - use it and keep an eye on your employees' working hours.

TimeCamp offers plenty of features, for example:

• Automatic time tracking for web, desktop, and mobile, and as a browser plugin for Chrome and Edge;
• Wide range of integrations: 30+ other tools like Asana, Trello, JIRA, Zendesk, Monday, Clickup or Azure DevOps,
• Robust time reporting (preset and custom reports available),
• Attendance tracking for payroll processing,
• Budgeting with estimates and billable hours,
• Invoicing - generate invoices based on time logged for a project or task and send them straight to your customers

10. Hubstaff

Hubstaff stands out as a robust time tracking and productivity management solution designed to keep remote teams on the path to success.

• Automatic Time Tracking: Hubstaff seamlessly monitors and records the time spent on tasks and projects, ensuring accurate and efficient tracking without manual input.
• Activity Monitoring: With precision, Hubstaff tracks keyboard and mouse usage, guaranteeing that team members remain actively engaged in their work.
• Screenshots: For a transparent and verifiable work process, Hubstaff captures random screenshots, visualizing the ongoing tasks and project activities.
• App and URL Tracking: Hubstaff goes beyond time tracking by monitoring the specific applications and websites utilized during work hours, offering insights into productivity-enhancing or distracting activities.
• Productivity Monitoring: Hubstaff includes tools to measure and enhance team productivity through detailed insights into activity levels and application usage. This feature helps identify patterns, optimize workflows, and foster a more productive work environment.
  

Hubstaff's comprehensive features empower teams to manage time effectively and maintain a high level of transparency, accountability, and productivity in the remote work environment.

At the end of the day, remember time tracking for performance and stalking them constantly or creeping on their personal data are two distinct things. Do not invade your employees privacy, remember, you've got an upper hand compared to your counterparts when it comes to a more productive workforce. A study by Stanford suggests that remote employees are 13% more productive and are the future of work! (Check out 7 reasons why remote work is the hiring trend for start-ups).