Editor's Note: Watchful Eyes
September 02, 2008
By Lorri Freifeld
With retailers such as TJX Cos., OfficeMax, and Barnes & Noble recently stunned by hackers stealing 40 million consumer credit card numbers, it's no wonder companies are doing whatever is necessary to protect their information systems. And they're not just guarding from outside attacks—they're also keeping a close eye on their employees.
Indeed, workplace monitoring of employee computer usage is on the rise, according to The 2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey, an annual study co-sponsored by the American Management Association in New York, NY, and The ePolicy Institute in Columbus, OH. Fully 65 percent of companies say they use software to block connections to inappropriate Websites. Forty-five percent track content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard. And 43 percent store and review computer files and monitor e-mail.
Clearly, employers are not necessarily interested in the snippy e-mail you wrote your sister or the fact that you ordered 150 fishing lures with two-day delivery to your cabin upstate. But the fact of the matter is that employee computer activity poses real legal, financial, and regulatory risks to businesses, not to mention the productivity lost to hours of Web surfing.
The problem is that many companies buy some monitoring software and implement a policy, and that's it. But they miss the most important part: providing adequate training to educate the workforce (and prevent the inevitable comparisons to Big Brother and subsequent blow to employee morale) and to help enforce the policy. See "They're Watching You" on p. 22 for tips on designing a monitoring policy and training program.
Another hot topic in the news is sky-high gas prices, which has some companies contemplating the benefits of telecommuting and flextime. California human resources company Employers Group recently surveyed California employers, asking what they are doing to minimize the effect of gas prices on their employees. Some 45 percent of respondents reported they would allow flexibility in starting/quitting times to avoid high traffic commute times, and 20 percent would institute telecommuting. Such solutions affect training, bringing more online technologies and communication tools into play (turn to "Live But Not in Person" on p. 40). Going one step further, some companies, such as Cisco Systems and Gilbane Inc., are utilizing multiple forms of delivery and innovative technologies to create the next generation of blended learning (see "A Better Blend" on p. 30 for case studies).
The military is no slouch when it comes to being on the cutting edge of learning technologies. Check out our special section, Focus on Government & Military (beginning on p. 43), for best practices from the U.S. Army, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Northrop Grumman, and the State of Michigan.
Speaking of best practices, visit www.trainingmag.com/top125 to submit your 2009 Training Top 125 application by September 22. I look forward to reading it.
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