The Truth About GPS Monitoring At Work

You’ve probably heard about time-tracking in the workplace - employers utilize productivity software to see how their employees maximize their shifts.

But have you ever heard about GPS monitoring?

In this blog post, we discuss everything you need to know about using location-tracking devices to check in with your employees.

The role of GPS tracking in the workplace

That disembodied voice that tells you to “turn right” is a very popular example of what a GPS tracker is capable of doing.

Specific locations can be found using the Global Positioning System (GPS), a global navigation system. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which a GPS tracking device connects to, provides information on location and direction.

GPS tracking devices transmit radio signals and establish connections with satellites to locate a person or an object using geographic placement.

Immediately after installation, a GPS tracking gadget retrieves that information and pings those satellites. Latitude and longitude are used by satellites to determine a given point’s location and estimated distance.

In our personal life, you’ve probably used GPS tracking to find your location or even monitor your pet’s whereabouts.

Businesses more or less do the same thing—they use GPS tracking as a tool to safeguard their property.

What are the benefits of GPS tracking?

Using a GPS tracking system in your workplace has several advantages.

These advantages could lower expenses and boost revenues by emphasizing efficiency, depending on the size of your company and the extent of your tracking system.

Some of these benefits include the following:

Monitors valuables

The primary objective of GPS tracking is to safeguard a company’s vital assets. So you may rest easy at night knowing these assets are always in your hands when you track them.

Helps cut back on operating expenses

Gasoline and maintenance are some of the highest costs a business offering transportation or logistics services will ever encounter.

A business can measure how frequently its drivers use their vehicles by equipping GPS tracking devices.

These devices enable companies to verify that drivers use their vehicles for specified purposes. A business may even observe if drivers exceed the posted speed limit or accelerate quickly, which wastes gasoline and risks their safety.

Enables you to plan effective routes

When your employees are out and about as part of their daily responsibilities, one way to help them is through efficient route planning.

Real-time tracking can help you make an effective and readily available route. This planning helps save time and resources. Your employees will also be more productive when external factors such as traffic and road conditions are removed from their possible stressors.

Boosts security

A company’s assets are always in the right hands, thanks to GPS tracking. Unauthorized access will be immediately investigated.

If a particular asset is stolen, data from the tracking device will help trace and recover the said item.

Monitors working hours

Businesses can ensure that nobody is committing time theft by using GPS tracking.

Companies can monitor the daily movements of their staff thanks to a monitoring system. This is especially helpful for businesses that provide their clients with shipment and delivery services.

Customers will receive this information about the location of their package and the expected delivery date from GPS tracking their shipments.

Increases client satisfaction

Thanks to GPS monitoring, businesses can move products through the lifecycle and into customers’ hands considerably more quickly.

And we know what happens when customers are happy—greater client retention and a boost in profit.

Are there any concerns surrounding the use of GPS?

If you’re thinking about using GPS trackers in your company, it’s crucial that you pay close attention to the worries that your staff members have about being tracked and make an attempt to meet their expectations.

There are some factors you should take into account when choosing how and when to monitor your employees, whether you are keeping tabs on their whereabouts or their performance:

• What do your staff members consider a fair expectation of privacy at work?
• Who is the rightful owner of the object or car you want to track?
• Is the equipment just being utilized during work hours, or is the employee permitted to use it at their discretion or for personal use?
• What details concerning privacy, tracking, monitoring, etc., have you given your employees?

While many workers frequently anticipate some forms of monitoring from their employers, they might not anticipate other, more intrusive forms, such as their company phone reporting their location to their boss during or even after hours.

Employees who pursue legal action in GPS tracking cases frequently do so because they feel this infringes on their right to privacy.

Business owners and managers must be aware of their legal and ethical obligations because using GPS trackers to monitor employees is a contentious legal issue.

Employers must decide if tracking employees is morally acceptable even though it might be legal in their state.

The easiest method to avoid legal difficulties is to ensure that your staff members know how you are monitoring them and that they feel comfortable raising any issues they may have.

Get started on the right foot with these pointers:

• Clearly define your company’s privacy policy so employees are not caught off guard.
• If your employees know you are tracking them, be upfront with them about your plans for their data to ease any doubts, annoyances, or concerns they may have.
• Keep information gathering to the absolute minimum necessary, such as monitoring company equipment, double-checking house call specifics, etc.
• Turn off tracking after hours to protect your employees’ privacy.

It can be helpful to make it plain to your staff that the purpose of utilizing GPS monitoring is to increase productivity rather than to keep tabs on individual employee performance.

Honest workers won’t act in such a way when they are aware that you are observing, even though you are still free to reprimand workers who make unauthorized stops, keep false time records, or take risks with the assets of your business.

To summarize

There are risks associated with monitoring employees as an employer, but if done correctly, building trust with your staff is possible.

Companies frequently discover that GPS tracking is successful when carried out responsibly and healthily, with open communication between employers and employees.

For a more streamlined HR workflow, why don’t you give Hezum a try?

With solutions such as an onboarding tool, a time-off manager, and a centralized database, you can assist your HR staff by giving them more flexibility and time to support what matters most—your employees.

Visit our website or schedule a demo to learn more about Hezum today.