How to Get the Board’s Buy-In for Employee Monitoring Software
If you’re a manager in a large corporation, you must know how difficult it is to reach a decision across the executive board. Even small issues require extensive presentations, persuasion, maybe even voting. And you probably dread to think about large-scale important decisions.
But certain things are simply worth fighting for.
And since you’re here, that thing is very likely a PC monitoring software.
However, this decision is important and big. It will affect every employee in your company. It will cost a lot and it will change a lot about how managers go about their jobs. So, it’s clear that getting buy-in from the board isn’t going to be easy.
Luckily, there are some steps you can take in preparation for your pitch and some crucial things you can include in your presentation that can help other executives see the full benefits of going this extra mile.
Make Them Care
Your boss is a busy man. So are the rest of your C-suite colleagues. They won’t be willing to sit and listen to you talk about productivity and management in abstract terms for an hour. They won’t even do it for five minutes and you know it.
You need another tactic to capture their attention and make them care.
First of all, the numbers are great. They are specific and tangible and people love them, especially if they’re big. For example, did you know that over 90% of companies use an employee monitoring system? This can be a great lead-in into the reasons for such a huge popularity of employee tracking.
The next thing you can do is include specific examples. The more specific, the better. If you know another company that uses computer monitoring tools, maybe you can ask their managers about their experiences. Or you can look up reviews and testimonials online (just make sure they’re genuine!).
Finally, tailor your pitch to the needs of the executives. Making Greg from Accounting faster in working in Excel will probably not convince your CEO to immediately implement a company-wide monitoring software. But telling him that it can be used to protect clients’ data might.
So, think about their roles and which problems the computer monitoring system can help solve, which processes it can optimize and how it will benefit them personally as well as their employees.
Talk Money
Now, the board cares about money. Therefore, this issue will inevitably arise.
It might seem to you that the financial aspect of implementing a digital employee control solution may well be a pitfall you’re not going to be able to wiggle your way out of. After all, these systems are usually charged per employee, so it seems that this is going to be the one big number your executives aren’t going to love.
Well, actually, you can take the money talk and use it to your advantage. How? Three magic words: return on investment.
Yes, it’s going to cost a lot at the beginning, but just imagine all the savings you’ll be able to make by using the software. Improved productivity means that projects get finished faster. You’ll be able to see which programs nobody is using and cancel subscriptions to them. You can pay overtime more fairly. The list goes on and on.
For the best possible impression, try to put these numbers on paper, even if they’re just rough estimates.
And lastly, convince the board that you’ll choose the employee monitoring tools smartly. Outline the procedure and factors that will ensure you get the optimal software for your business needs without spending unnecessary money.
Everyone’s Afraid of the Law
Touchy subject, we know. And quite controversial too. But you need to be prepared for ‘Is that legal here?’ type of question.
In short, yes, it’s legal in most cases. You might have to give prior notice to your employees or possibly ask for their consent, depending on your country’s specific laws. But the details vary among different governments. This is why you need to research this thoroughly before pitching the idea.
For instance, if you’re in the EU, you’re in luck! Not only is it legal to monitor employee computer activity but it’s also mandatory to track your employees’ working hours as stated by the EU Working Time Directive. And an employee tracking tool can help you fulfill this obligation.
In combination with all the other benefits, even the top officials will struggle to find a reason not to go with it.
Prepare for Questions
We’ve mentioned some questions that could come up during your presentation, but we can’t anticipate them all because they vary from company to company. That’s why you’ll have to.
Are there any special concerns you think managers will have? What does each of them care about? What are some KPIs that they’ll want to track and can employee monitoring software help them with it? What are some other organizational, onboarding or technical problems that might arise?
Try to anticipate the questions they could ask and prepare to answer them. Needless to say, you shouldn’t lie or misguide them. If you don’t think computer monitoring software can help them in certain areas, be honest.
Conclusion
And that’s it! This should give you some idea of what might work in trying to convince your board of executives to invest their money and effort into employee monitoring software. If you’ve seen all the benefits it can offer to a big company, there’s no reason why they won’t. The trick is, to be honest, specific and patient. Your company will thank you in the long run!
