What Does Business Law State about Monitoring Employees?

by

29 January 2016

Small Business

mobile soy software

Occasionally, we come across many individuals that are conflicted about the role monitoring applications have to play in the day to day office routines and activities. The most common question asked deals with the boundaries and limits that are “bendable” with the installment of monitoring applications. And the answer is simple; monitoring applications and software programs are legal and frequently advised to be installed in any firm or company. Here is why.

Legal but…

Monitoring or spy applications are legal in any court of law across the world. However, there are some regulations that need to be upheld by the employers’ side before installing monitoring software around the company premises. These guidelines include:

Informing Employees Beforehand

When it comes to employee monitoring applications, every court of law strictly states that the employees should be clearly notified about being monitored. The best way to accomplish this is via policies and guidelines that should be always kept on display within office premises. These guidelines should clearly explain every element of the employee monitoring intervention put forth by the company. Moreover, even when the firm decides to take on new employees, they should adjust a clause in the contract which makes it mandatory for every person being hired to sign a nondisclosure stating that they are alright with being monitored on company-related matters.

Only Limited to Company Owned Gadgets

Monitoring software programs tend to give employers an unwarranted power over the employees. And to protect the employee’s interests, legal guidelines regarding monitoring apps clearly state that the spying should be only limited to company-owned gadgets. This means that every information coming in and going out through the company-owned gadgets are company property. The guidelines placed around the office premises should also clearly pinpoint this clause so that it poses as a reminder at all times. Furthermore, it is also recommended that the employers get their employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement that clearly states that all information on the company owned gadgets is company property. This means it can be used by the company in court if need be as well.

Using Reliable Technological Sources

When another’s a source of income and image in the business world is on the line, it is always best to be careful and use reliable technological sources and software programs rather than the usual cheap ones. The expensive yet well-reputed ones can be easily programmed and altered according to the specific needs of the company, hence always used for easy access and usage.

Balancing is key

Putting so many restrictions and highlighting many stingy clauses regarding monitoring applications like TheOneSpy mobile spy software around the office can definitely scare an employee and hence hinder their overall productivity. This is primarily due to the lack of rapport that should be there between the employee and employer to help increase profits as employee motivation grows. Therefore, it is always recommended by experts to use a system that is similar to a token economy where the employees are given some leeway and flexibility in some areas while at the same time restricted in some too. For example, allowing them access to specific social media sites during a few designated hours of the day.

Never Resort to Open Slander

It is never healthy to insult or accuse an employee openly among their peers. And with monitoring applications installed, there will be many times that the system may show you red flags which in reality are nothing but some mishap with the coding of the monitoring application itself. Therefore, rather than losing your cool and openly slandering a perfectly loyal employee, it is always best to take them aside or discreetly conduct a further investigation either with their knowledge of it or without it. This is because an employee can otherwise sue you for slandering their image followed by wrongful termination which would prove bad for your company’s image.

The law about monitoring applications is specifically made to protect both the employees as well as the employers in case of any mishap or misunderstanding between the two parties. While it may look like the employers have all the power with monitoring applications installed, but in reality, analysis has shown that monitoring applications have been found to be more useful to employees. For example, if an employee faces discrimination at the hands of another employee or employer, they can use the backup made by monitoring applications to highlight the wrongful act in court.

 

Business| Content Rally

PREVIOUS POST

How to Write and Design an Article that Attracts to Your Business

NEXT POST

Why You Must Embrace Green Home Technologies?

Tags

author-img

I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular

Creating A Startup Idea

Technologies For Creating A Startup Idea

20 Feb 2023

How to Download Facebook Videos

How to Download Facebook Videos on Android?

07 Feb 2019

Ecommerce Web Design

7 Rules of Effective Ecommerce Web Design

28 Jan 2021

wordpress-1863504_960_720 edited

The 10 WordPress Plugins Every Sucessful Blogger Uses

28 Jan 2017

Follow Us

Recent

Car Hoists

Choose Quality Car Hoists From The Premium Car Tools Suppliers

26 Apr 2024

highest paying blue collar jobs

51 Blue Collar Jobs/Career Options To Pursue If You Get Laid Off From Big Tech In 2024

26 Apr 2024

AI Copywriting For Small Businesses

How To Use AI Copywriting For Small Businesses

24 Apr 2024

plumber moreno valley

Moreno Valley Plumbing Pros: Your Reliable Plumbing Experts

23 Apr 2024

Related

Leaving
Small Business

The Need to Settle End of Tenancy Issues Before Leaving

Small businesses usually rent a small office space given the number of employees who need to work in the same place. If you decided to rent a small office in a popular commercial establishment, you could sign a lease for about a year. Once the contract is over, you can decide to continue it or not. After a year, if your business has already grown drastically, and you intend to hire more employees to join you, it does not make sense to stay in the same place. You need to find a bigger office where you can successfully conduct all your operations. Before you leave the current office, you need to deal with the end of tenancy issues. You don't want to have problems with the owner of the space and not get your deposit back. Read the contract: You need to go through the agreement again to determine what you need to do as your tenancy is about to end. You might have to inform the landlord a month or so in advance that you don't intend to continue your lease. There might also be other stipulations you need to be familiar with before you decide to pursue the next steps. Deal with repair issues: A part of the contract is to keep the place in good condition. Some contracts might have clauses about damage due to wear and tear, which is perfectly fine. However, there might be other severe damage that you need to repair before you leave. Otherwise, the landlord could charge the amount to your deposit, and you won’t get it back in full. Clean the office: If you intend to leave soon, you need to start looking for a new place at least three months in advance. You will then have enough time to ask your employees to pack their stuff and move to the new office. If they will be busy packing their things, you can’t expect them to deal with general cleaning too. Besides, they are also doing their regular job while moving. You need professional cleaners like the ones at www.twinkleclean.co to do the job. They will make sure that the place will look as good as new. When the landlord checks the site, it will feel like no one rented and used it. If you feel satisfied with the services provided by the cleaning company you choose, you can partner with them again when you move to your new office. Pay any outstanding bills: you won't leave, you need to settle all your bills. You might still have packing them to pay. Tell your employees to do the same if they borrowed something from nearby establishments. You don’t want to start in a new office elsewhere with issues still unresolved in your old office. Once you finish doing all these things, you will be ready for a fresh start. Keep in mind everything that you do when you leave the old office since you might go through the same process again in the future when your new lease expires. Read Also: Necessary Spaces To Include In Building Your Office Choosing Open Office Space Vs Cubicle Office Space

READ MOREDetails
Market a Small Business
Small Business

How to Market a Small Business in a Big City

Big cities tend to have a highly competitive market base. As such, small businesses based in large cities like New York might find themselves at a loss when trying to develop a marketing strategy to engage a large audience with a relatively unknown brand. Market a Small Business in a large city like NYC requires a multi-faceted approach, and your plan should not merely emulate that of larger brands that may have much larger budgets. There are plenty of effective marketing strategies available for every budget. Working with a professional digital marketing agency will give you an excellent return on your investment if you have a limited budget. If your business is based in the Big Apple, you may want to consider having a New York digital marketing company help you perfect these strategies as they know how to serve the market best. 1. Research Conducting thorough and comprehensive market research services in Singapore should be the first step in your marketing campaign. The data you collect reveals vital information about your potential consumer base as well as your competitors. You can then use this information to tailor your marketing strategies to reach your audience best and stand out amongst the crowd. Here are some of the objectives that market research aims to achieve: Know Your Audience This involves general information about your target audience—their demographic information, location, what they do, what they like, how they act, etc. Identify Your Competitors Knowing who your competitors are is vital to building brand awareness. Knowing your competitors means knowing what products/services they sell, their marketing strategies, and what kind of audience they target. Spot Emerging Market Trends Stay up-to-date about your target consumer base’s latest developments and mold your marketing campaign to remain on-track with those developments. 2. Create Quality Content Content marketing is the strategic use of high-quality, relevant, and on-brand content like blogs, videos, or articles to market your brand or a product to a well-defined audience. Typical content marketing strategies include, but are not limited to: Social Media Content Marketing  This involves the consistent uploading of a relevant content on various social media platforms. This content can include images, videos, animations, stories, or even live customer service videos. Blogs  Blogs are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to produce content on the web. It is essential that your blogs are creative, engaging, and contain original copy, not plagiarized from other websites. They should be well-researched and tailored to the specific audience that your brand is targeting. Paid Advertisements Sponsored ads require financial investment, but they can be a great way to reach a broader audience and ensure that your brand remains visible and relevant on the web. Content marketing is an excellent way for small businesses to market their brand or product with a minimal investment. 3. Leverage SEO Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is another vital aspect to consider when developing your digital marketing strategy. SEO involves curating your website and its content to rank higher in a search page result. With more and more businesses developing a web presence, having good SEO scores should be high on your marketing strategy’s priority list. SEO isn’t always cost-prohibitive; the price for SEO implementation depends on who is setting it up and working on it. The initial investment can range from cheap to spendy, depending on what level of ranking you desire for your site. If you decide to do SEO yourself, start by researching relevant terms and keywords for your industry. You can then add internal links and secure backlinks (another facet of content marketing), produce quality, highly-legible copy, write blog posts with numbered lists, and add relevant keywords throughout your website. Properly implementing SEO will establish your site as an authority and drive more traffic directly to you. 4. Have a Strong Digital Presence When digital ads account for half of all ad spend, developing and maintaining a strong web presence is imperative for any serious small business. A robust online footprint includes both your business website as well as social media pages. It is a cost-effective way of building brand awareness in your target market base. Developing and maintaining a business website should always be one of the top priorities of your marketing campaign. Your site will serve as the primary representation for your brand on the internet, which is crucial in building consumer loyalty and brand reputation. For top-notch website creation, there are several options for you to consider. The first one is using CMS like WordPress. The second one is custom web development. For this, you can hire MEAN stack developers, a UX/UI designer, and a project manager. Additionally, social media can serve as an excellent digital marketing tool to reach a broader or more specific target audience. Social media serves as the vehicle to transport your brand to the masses and increase its visibility. 5. Generate Leads When your marketing campaign loses its potency on a specific target audience, you’ll need to generate new leads that you can then use to either find a new audience or expand the one that you’re already targeting. Here are some ways to generate new leads: Optimizing Your Landing Page  Use landing page strategies like implementing Call-To-Actions and write compelling headlines to improve your website’s traffic and conversion rates. Lead Generation Software  As the name suggests, this software identifies and collects new leads from multiple sources. With the right software, you can generate quality leads that significantly boost your conversion rates and sales. Data Validation Software  This is similar to lead generation software, but instead of crawling the internet for leads, it validates the information you already have. It works in one of two ways; it can either complete a batch validation analysis of a lead data spreadsheet or live as an API on your site’s contact forms and checks the data’s accuracy in real-time as forms are submitted. This can save time and effort when pursuing new leads. Email Marketing  Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective ways to generate brand awareness and boost sales. These include implementing newsletters, sign-me-up forms, or generating automated email ads for specific audiences. Budget As a Tool, Not a Barrier Small businesses should develop a very different marketing strategy than large corporations in a big city like NYC. Approaching marketing from a small business perspective is the best way to ensure the most effective use of limited budgets and resources. Your finances should never be a hindrance to achieving your marketing goals. With proper strategies and a bit of creativity, your marketing campaign can be just as impactful as your competitors'. Read Also: Optimize Your Small Business Revenue by Taking These Steps Basic Small Business Tips for Noobs Who Want to Start a Venture in 2020 How to Empower Your Small Business through Digital Marketing?

READ MOREDetails
Content Rally
Small Business

Office Spaces – Which One is Right for Your Business?

There are a number of different office spaces to choose from these days, each offering different amenities that appeal to different industries and businesses and their specific wants and needs. But how do you know what office space or business centre would be right for you and your business? We are here to help! In this article we are going to look at three different office space options, what size businesses they are most likely appeal to, and what they have to offer the businesses that could potentially occupy them: Traditional Office Space The traditional office space is the perfect option for larger and more established businesses who have the adequate cash flow available in order to pay for the large overhead expenses that usually come with these kinds of pricy spaces. Some of those overhead expenses would include insurance, rent, telephone bills, and utilities, to name a few. Perfect for larger teams who need the space, traditional office spaces provide businesses with the resources they may need to hold meetings, conferences, and creative planning sessions where employees need to come together to plan or discuss business, as well as a staff room, kitchen, and other luxuries. A traditional office space, because of its costly overhead, it is not the ideal option for small businesses or start-ups. Read More:  How To Choose The Best Printer For Your Office Shared or Co-Working Work space A shared workspace usually comes about when a business who is set up in too large a space, rents out a portion of it to another company or business who is not in the same field as they are or a direct competitor. By renting out a portion of the large office space it helps to lower the amount of money the original business is paying for its rent and utilities, all while being able to keep the space they want and avoid moving. This type of working space is ideal for companies who are looking to save a little extra cash on rent and utilities and don’t mind sharing a working space with another company. A co-working space is ideal for small businesses or start-ups that only have one or two employees working for them and do not have the cash flow to invest in their own permanent space and all of the necessary equipment that they would need (for example desks and chairs). Co-working spaces come fully kitted out with internet, furniture, printing services, and more, and some even include the likes of conference rooms that can be booked on a daily basis and utilized by everyone. Home-Based Office Space An advantageous option for both new businesses and small businesses alike, home-based office spaces have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years – and quite rightly so. With the prices of private office spaces soaring and the need for a more cost-effective option, home-based office spaces have become the choice for many small or start-up businesses who are looking to save on costs for both rental and utilities. However, there are a few downsides to working from a home-based office space, including that there is nowhere to meet with clients, and maybe some employees would not feel comfortable working from your home. However, there is always the option of meeting clients at a restaurant or coffee shop, and taking the time and effort to find the perfect employees who understand the vision you have for your business. These negative points can be worked around in order to get a start-up or small business off the ground and on to bigger and better things. By following the guidelines mentioned above you should find the ideal office space for you and your business, ensuring that you make the right decision and get value for your money. Read More: Making Your Office Safer For Workers Office Spaces – Which One Is Right For Your Business?

READ MOREDetails