Allowing employees to work from home or other remote locations can be a huge benefit to companies of all sizes. Studies show that workers who are allowed to work from home are generally happier and less stressed, and actually save their companies money by eliminating overhead, cutting down on supply costs, etc. Unfortunately, many business owners and managers have been hesitant to give their employees the flexibility to work remotely because they worry that the workers won’t be as productive as they would be in an office environment.

If your employees are like most Americans, when they’re not actively engaged in other activities they’re glued to their smart phones. In fact, according to a recent survey, 81% of Americans own a smart phone (as of June 2019). While that statistic in itself might not be cause for alarm, the amount of time Americans spend on their smart phones may be: current research suggests that the typical smart phone owner in the U.S. spends over 4 hours a day – every day – on the device.

It’s hard to remember when the Internet wasn’t part of our day-to-day lives. But believe it or not, the Internet only became widely used in 1995, making it just under 25 years old. For some of us, it seems like only yesterday, while other people can barely remember a time when we did all our banking in person, paid bills via “snail mail,” watched television to catch up on news stories, did our shopping at a local mall, and picked up a phone to communicate with family and friends.

Recently, the world lost a true legend when iconic businessman Lee Iacocca passed away. Whether you agreed with all of his business decisions or not, no one will deny the impact he had on not only the auto industry, but on U.S. commerce in general. Iacocca once said, “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them.

We can all agree that becoming a good manager or supervisor takes skill and practice.  That’s true in virtually any workplace. So how in the world do you motivate employees who work from remote locations? You might be surprised to learn that the secret to motivating remote employees is not nearly as much of a mystery as we’ve been led to believe. What follows are some methods used by successful supervisors to keep their remote employees performing and succeeding in their jobs.

MySammy Manager has auto update mechanism built in. When a new version is available, you will be prompted to update to the new version when you start MySammy Manager.

Telecommuting and Remote Monitoring Software

In February 2013, the business world was abuzz with the story of how Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer banned telecommuting after a review of the VPN logs for those employees showed that they weren’t logging in as often as expected. This story is remarkable for a few different reasons:

• As hard as it is to believe, Yahoo’s management relied on VPN logs, a very crude method, to conclude that their telecommuters were slackers.  This clearly reflects the past management’s failure to establish proper measurements for those telecommuters.
• As a technology giant, Yahoo! set a bad counter example to the rapidly growing trend of telecommuting throughout the U.S. and around the world.  As a matter of fact, there are many studies showing telecommuters are more productive than their colleagues who work in the office.
• There are plenty software solutions out there that can help management to measure telecommuters’ performance. Yahoo’s upper management decided to give up on telecommuting without first trying some type of PC monitoring software or – better still – a product like MySammy, which happens to be ideal for telecommuting companies.

Increasing Employee Productivity through Measuring and Monitoring

The Internet is a double-edged sword.  There are so many things you can accomplish through the Internet nowadays. It is unthinkable not to empower your employees with Internet access. But on the other hand, you’re concerned that your employees are wasting time online during work hours. You are not alone!  There are studies showing that up to 56% of the time employees spend on the Internet are not work related. There is even a term called “cyberloafing,” which is used to describe the actions of employees who use their Internet access at work for personal use while pretending to do legitimate work-related tasks.

You are frustrated and considering computer monitor software as a means of addressing the problem. While your motivation is understandable, you should know that computer tracking software only provides a partial answer to your problem.

Get the Most from Your Internet Blocking Solution

There’s no doubt about it – wasting time on the Internet during work hours is becoming more and more of a problem for employers throughout the U.S. and around the world. That’s why countless businesses have turned to software and hardware solutions that work as an Internet block, in an effort to prevent employees from visiting nonproductive websites while they’re working. This has proved to be a valuable tool for many employers, but this is a passive solution to prevent employees from wasting time with one outlet only. It still may not be enough to increase employee productivity. In recent years, Internet block solutions have become less effective thanks to the latest smart phone and tablet PC technology.

Why Employee Monitoring Alone Just Doesn’t “Measure Up”

Unlimited Internet access can tempt even the hardest-working employee. If your workers’ productivity is suffering because they’re spending too much time doing personal business on the Internet, it can hurt your business. One option that some employers have tried is to monitor employee Internet usage.  Chances are you don’t want your highly trained IT professional acting as an Internet usage monitor, and some types of employee monitoring software – often referred to as “spyware” – are considered to be too much of an invasion of employee privacy. Still, using software that will monitor employee Internet usage can be an effective tool, particularly in extreme cases where Internet abuse and/or illegal Web-based activities are a possibility.