"Beware! You are being Monitored"

Do Performance Monitoring Systems really enhance productivity?

‘Monitoring' a term that in all probability brings to mind terror, be it in academics or in professional life. This is so because; the term has always been associated more with harsh punishment than reward. Professional life, especially with IT and IT enabled services sector, has come to be associated with 'do-or-die' state of affairs. The stress seems to be on performance and the incentive part is taking a long walk somewhere.

In normal circumstances, one would use the term 'appraisal' to evaluate or assess the professional activity of an employee. The idea being, that a positive appraisal of the employee very necessarily leads to the progress of the individual up the professional ladder and the general growth of the organisation. Similarly, a negative appraisal will definitely cost dearly to the employee. This scale of measurement, however, is acceptable because, you have been hired by an organization to perform and if you fail to do what you were hired for then prepare to kiss goodbye to the job.

But the moment, one applies the term 'monitoring', it always brings to mind unpleasant memories. Think of the times when the class monitor hovered over your head in the absence of a teacher while still in school, your name would be noted down in case of a little chatter with your neighbour and Boy! Would you have it once the teacher was back to her place. It is not so much the pain that is etched in your memory but the humiliation associated with it.

Monitoring as applied to the corporate sector spells the same doom for people who err. Punishment and Humiliation! But is it going to reward some genuinely hard working employees?

So what is ‘Monitoring'? Or 'Monitoring' what? Is it the personal activities of the employees that has got nothing to do with the organization or personal activities or otherwise of the employees which is detrimental to the growth, fame and reputation of the organization that has employed these individuals?

Sometimes, funnily enough, it also turns out that the company employing these monitoring devices themselves come under the hammer.

There was a sex scandal associated with call centre employees that was reported in one of the India Today editions some time ago. The company in question drew a lot of flak, the reputation was tarnished and the clients backed out. How did it enhance the productivity?

The CNN-IBN ran an interesting news on 18th June, 2006, on how there are growing cases of drug abuse among the call centre executives, it might be irrelevant if those involved do it in their private capacity, but the accusations are on duty. From the point of view of the individual, who says that he/she is stressed out working in night shifts and in most cases drugs keep them awake- which is very necessary for better productivity- even a minute's nap can cost the company a fortune, this happens in spite of the monitoring facility. Form the management angle, they have to cope up with complaints coming from their clients who accuse the call centre executives of being in inebriated condition- now will this not cost the company? There are actually two ways of looking at it.

Sometimes though, monitoring becomes absolutely necessary to keep credibility in check. W hat with the mis management in some call centers of 'confidentiality' of the clients as reported by some aggrieved clients in Australia and USA ? .

This is only a generalization of the problems that one faces in the BPO sector today. But, there are other problems, which are normally found in any job environment, like lack of interest in the job profile, low productivity, and of course, suitability of an individual for the job entrusted. Whether 'monitoring' of employees, which has a negative connotation tagged to it, truly leads to higher level of productivity is a question to be answered by the organization, given the cost-benefit analysis.

Monitoring does not come free of cost, one needs to pay  for it, whether monitoring is done through electronic surveillance or through human supervision, there is a certain price tag. It also depends on the size of an organization. And the real objective behind 'monitoring', whether it is merely productivity in economic terms or productivity in overall terms, which involves value added services provided in addition to what has already been assigned according to the previous agreement.

In economic terms, the margin of additional productivity resulting from 'monitoring' may be minimal for the simple reason that the profit of gains in addition to what is expected from normal operations, is to be calculated only after deducting the cost to be borne on 'monitoring' activities. But in a purely competitive world, for an organization, it is not merely the monetary benefits accrued out of monitoring that is important but also the reputation of an organization, that leads to higher trust levels in the clients/associates, keeping in mind, not merely the present operations and agreements, but also future growth and expansion plans of an organization. In a fast growing market of globalized economy, it is very, very difficult for an organization to gain trust and business from clients, even if there is a slight error in operations and blot to the reputation.

Whether the term 'monitoring' is mechanical and has only employer interest attached to it? One needs to see the question from this angle too! In case in the process of 'monitoring' some select employees are found to be working exceptionally well, will these individuals be rewarded? Just like erring individuals are punished. As the concept of 'monitoring' involves these and many other issues, it would only be appropriate to use the term 'appraisal' instead. One may still have reservations!

Whether monitoring is humane in the sense that it encompasses activities keeping in mind the well being of the employee and the organization or is it merely mechanical looking to enhance the productivity of the company which ultimately leads to profitability of the company, is the question that needs to be pondered upon.    

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