Any talk of growth or expansion will likely have to give way to discussions about how to stabilize your business as we head toward the dark clouds of an economic recession. 
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When there’s a severe lack of growth in the economy, the trickle-down effect extends to everyone from consumers to business owners. Consumers have less disposable income to send your way, and as a result, you’ll likely see a dip in sales.
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One of the best ways to stabilize your business in the face of economic uncertainty and other potential risk factors is to implement remote working monitoring software. 
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In this guide, we’ll show you how employee internet monitoring software can support sustainable productivity in the long run.

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Enable and Track Sustainable Productivity

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One of the primary use cases for pc usage monitoring software is establishing and tracking employee performance KPIs and other metrics.

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With automatic time tracking and data visualization, you’re able to build out a clear picture of individual and collective productivity over time. Real-time employee performance dashboards allow you to zoom in and see the day-to-day data too, so you can make changes on the fly when output appears low.

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When you can see the data mapped out on both a micro and macro level, it becomes easy to implement new directives and make alterations while measuring the impact they have on productivity levels.

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For example, if you want to transition towards an approach that favors sustainable productivity - that is to say focusing on results while also prioritizing employee wellbeing - you can do so with the support of software to monitor employees.

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Here’s how you can enable and track sustainable productivity in three simple steps:

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1.  Spend a few weeks tracking employee time data with an employee monitoring solution. Identify productivity trends and workload distribution.

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2.  Take steps to even out the workload between team members to reduce the risk of burnout and lighten the burden on each individual.

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3.  Check back in with the time data a few days and weeks after making the changes and evaluate productivity levels. 

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If you find that post-change productivity levels are higher, then you’re on the right track, and you can continue to support your employees to move in the right direction. If they’re lower or there’s little difference from before, try checking in with each employee to identify whether there’s an underlying reason for their low output, such as being disengaged with their work.

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By introducing sustainable productivity and tracking it with software to monitor activity on computer, you can stabilize your output through challenging times. It’s also more likely to lead to a higher retention rate as you show your workforce that you value their wellbeing and see them as more than just a means to an end. 

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Vary your Recruitment Strategy

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As we saw when the Great Recession sent shockwaves around the US in 2007, it’s critical that you cut costs in order to maintain profitability and stay afloat.

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Many businesses went under during this severe recession, so to avoid the same fate in 2023, it’s worth considering where you can trim the fat in your business.

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Staff will often be the first expense businesses look to cut back on, considering that it’s often one of the most significant. However, as much as mass layoffs appear to be the norm during recessions, you can also cut costs by focusing on retention and varying up your recruitment strategy.

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Experiment with Outsourcing

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For example, you can outsource common business services at a fraction of the cost you’d pay for hiring locally. Employee monitoring software mitigates some of the risk you assume with outsourcing as you can track your outsourced team’s productivity levels.

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With relatively risk-free outsourcing, you can free up valuable resources and avoid making significant layoffs which could damage the trust you have with your workforce.

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Whether it’s nearshore outsourcing, where you dip into the talent pool of neighboring countries, or farshore outsourcing, where you look to the farthest reaches of the earth for a low-cost solution, you can stabilize your business with a change or two to your recruitment strategy.

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Ensure Accurate Billing

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One of the problems that commonly comes up in client-facing industries is billing correctly.

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Without a reliable system to monitor computer activity, so you can see exactly how many hours a team or individual has put into a client project, you’re relying on guesswork to bill your client. As a result, you could be undercharging for your services, and losing out on a lot of money in the long term.

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With screen monitor apps, you can not only produce accurate billing reports and invoices based on time data, but you can also demonstrate to clients that you take your time (and theirs) seriously.

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Adding an extra level of professionalism, hourly time tracking software can help you secure new client deals and show existing clients that they wouldn’t find a better service elsewhere. 

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Safeguard Against Cyber Threats

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While it’s prudent to be proactive and find ways to stabilize your business in anticipation of upcoming uncertainty, it’s equally as important to identify threats that could destabilize your business.

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Even when business is as usual, there’s always a risk of being blindsided by cyber attacks.

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Using employee monitoring solutions you can all but mitigate the risks posed by cybercriminals, both from within your company and from external sources.

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Internal Threats

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Employee fraud is surprisingly common, and at a time when many employees work remotely and are emboldened by anonymity, it’s a threat you need to address today.

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Fortunately, employee monitoring solutions like Insightful present you with a robust defense against internal cyber threats.

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Here are several ways Insightful can help you prevent employee fraud:

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•  Identify suspicious activity: First and foremost, Insightful lets you see what apps and websites your employees are using in real-time, so you can pinpoint suspicious activity.

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•  Access company computers: Through remote computer access and ‘stealth mode,’ you can deactivate an employee’s computer when you suspect they’re committing fraud.

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•  Build a case: With a wealth of data, you can build a case against the employee in question.

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External Threats

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Insightful can also help you neutralize the risk from external cyber threats too.

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Equipped with the following robust cybersecurity features, you can effectively minimize external threats:

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• Secure passwords: Your passwords are protected with an advanced hashing algorithm and two-factor authentication further secures your account entry information.

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•  Data encryption: All data is encrypted, both while at rest and in transit. 

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•  Limited data access: You determine from the outside who has access to the data you collect.

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