Microsoft Teams employee monitoring: Right way to boost productivity or not?
Read time: 3 minutes
In today’s world, monitoring employees has become a norm in many workplaces. With the rise of remote work, it has become more critical than ever to track employee productivity to ensure they use company resources appropriately. Many companies perform this by using Microsoft Teams Employee Monitoring, a popular communication & collaboration tool.
Microsoft Teams is a top-quality tool for remote work because it ensures that communication channels are open & employees can work together on projects. However, it also provides a window into their activity, and some employers use this facility to monitor their staff.
Here, we will see how admins can track their employees’ activities on Microsoft Teams. We will discuss what the host of a Teams meeting can track & what information can be tracked about you behind the scenes within the Microsoft Teams application.
When we talk about Microsoft Teams employee monitoring, the host of a Teams meeting has the most control over tracking capabilities. The host can download an attendance list, which includes participants’ names, the time they joined and left the meeting & the duration of their attendance. This can be particularly useful for tracking class or business meeting attendance.
Also, the host can record the meeting & receive a notification that participants are aware that the meeting is being recorded. The ability to record meetings is beneficial for businesses or educational purposes. It is important to note, however, that recording a meeting without the knowledge of others is a breach of privacy.
When users interact with Microsoft Teams, every action they take can be tracked & recorded in the app. Whether it is creating a meeting, chatting with colleagues, or sharing files, all of it is registered & stored.
While organizations with the Microsoft 365 admin center may access such data for Microsoft performance management, it is only ethical when there is probable cause, and IT and HR departments have gone through the legal department.
Microsoft Teams isn’t the only app that can monitor employee activity. In addition to Microsoft Teams employee tracking, authorized personnel can access user information through other Microsoft apps. For instance, OneDrive files, SharePoint, Skype & Exchange (Microsoft Outlook), emails, and calendars can all be monitored while improving Microsoft Teams performance. This includes every action an employee makes, such as file sharing, posting on a SharePoint site & meeting invites sent via Outlook.
It’s vital to keep in mind that while this data is available to Microsoft & authorized personnel, monitoring employees extensively without probable cause is considered unethical & could violate privacy laws.
Microsoft Teams provides a way for teams to communicate & collaborate, but it also has the ability to monitor employee activity. Microsoft Teams employee monitoring helps for better attendance tracking, collaboration measurements & data protection. Employees should also be aware of the information that is being tracked.
By understanding the potential monitoring capabilities of Microsoft Teams, employees can make more informed choices about their communication & where they share personal information online. In addition, it’s helpful to consider that all activity is recorded per ethical standards & privacy laws.
Furthermore, if you wish to migrate your data from one platform to another, we recommend using Kernel Microsoft Teams Migration for all your migration needs. This tool can accurately map source & destination Teams, migrate attachments in chats/conversations & migrate data either to existing or new Team depending on user needs. Give it a try today and feel the difference.
A. Yes, you can monitor Teams status via reports available in the Microsoft 365 admin center. These reports offer valuable insights into user activity and device usage & allow you to monitor your team’s productivity & guarantee everyone is staying on track.
A. Microsoft Teams is a highly secure app that prioritizes user privacy. It is equipped with advanced security measures & compliance capabilities. MS Teams is built according to the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Security Development Lifecycle, which is a key part of the Trustworthy Computing Initiative.
