Cognizant’s Micro-Tracking: Does 15 Minutes Away Put Employees at Risk?
Cognizant introduces stricter laptop monitoring for its employees. From keyboard touches to mouse moments, the tool will track every minute. Here's how...
Cognizant is getting stricter with its employees. The company has installed a software system to closely monitor the keyboard and mouse movements of the employees. Cognizant has partnered with ProHance for the same. The tool will track how employees use their time, identify periods of inactivity, and assess the overall productivity of their time. And many wonder with questions. Why is the company doing this now?' How does the tracking work in real-time? Will the tracking affect the performance review? If so, will there be any layoffs due to non-performance? For all that, learn more.
How Does Prohance Track Employees?
5 mins without touching the mouse or keyboard...
- ProHance's technology will mark you as “idle”.
- Meaning: no activity detected for 300 seconds (5 minutes).
15 minutes of idleness on the laptop...
- The tool will mark you as doing "activities away from the system.”
- Meaning: The tool will assume that you stepped away (tea break, restroom, etc.).
15+ minutes will mark as away from the system.
Therefore, this is how ProHance's software will categorise the employee's laptop activity.
Is This Used for Performance Reviews or Appraisals?
It's a 'no' according to Cognizant. The company clearly stated that:
This tracking is intended solely to monitor timing and will not be used to evaluate the employee's performance. They study:
- How long do tasks take?
- How do processes flow?
- Where inefficiencies exist?
Hence, it's only for process analysis and not employee scoring.
Do Other Companies Do Employee Time Tracking?
- Yes, Wipro is in collaboration with ProHance for similar monitoring.
- And such a practice is quite common in the IT and BPO sectors.
Do Employees Have to Give Consent?
According to Cognizant, it will start tracking only after the employee consents to it. However, here's what employees are saying...
Some employees told Mint:
- The employees were given a mandatory training course on ProHance.
- In the course, they had to click on 'I Agree' to complete it, essentially a mandatory requirement.
- Hence, the "consent" feels forced.
The course also explains:
- How productive hours are measured.
- How time per task is tracked.
- And how time spent on different apps is recorded.
What’s the Real Reason Behind the Strict Tracking?
Clients of Cognizant want its employees to work their full hours, even if they take a break. With this micro tracking, the company aims to minimize long breaks and expects consistent work from its employees.
Sarika Anand
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