How to Monitor Company Mail
Many companies use email as their private mode of communication, using it to send sensitive information and data. However, unlike other sensitive company data, emails are often unprotected.
One way to effectively protect company email data is to implement mechanisms to monitor said emails. This can be done through employee monitoring software that automatically allows managers to view emails on company-owned devices.
Read below to learn more about how monitoring software can help you protect your company mail.
Why Should Business Monitor Emails?
A 2007 poll found that 43% of firms monitor their employees’ email and 66% of their Internet usage.
Most businesses that monitored employee emails typically used “technological tools” to automate the process, which could involve checking emails for offensive language or just keeping copies of emails for when managers needed a specific one.
These statistics clearly showcase the prevalence of email monitoring but one may wonder why businesses feel the need to monitor emails in the first place.
Email monitoring is essential to protect your business from any unfavorable incident that may take place as a result of the harmful actions of your employees or external attacks, such as phishing, spam, and other similar activities.
Here are a few scenarios in which you might need to put systems in place to monitor company email:
Tracking Productivity
Time theft by employees can be damaging to a business. It involves employees spending company time doing non-work related tasks.
Reviewing a worker’s work-related emails might help you gauge how well they are utilizing your time and resources.
Additionally, by reviewing the internal email correspondence among your staff, you can gain a better understanding of the overall state of the organization. This can help you assess business policies and adjust them accordingly.
Data Protection
Many companies trust their employees with confidential information, including trade secrets, financial records, intellectual property, and more.
While the vast majority of employees will work honestly to honor that trust, there may be some dishonest or neglectful employees within your company who may compromise this information. Continuous monitoring of company communications allows early detection of such potential threats, allowing you to intervene in time to prevent damage.
External Attacks
Even in the absence of malicious insider threats, it is possible for an employee to unknowingly compromise information through spam or harmful email messages.
The dangers posed by spam and harmful email messages include phishing, virus issues, social engineering schemes, and more. It is possible to catch a potential threat in its tracks by carefully reviewing incoming emails for questionable content.
Bullying
Bullying in the workplace is a major problem that affects 79.3 million workers in the United States alone. Bullying can manifest in several ways, such as sexual misconduct, intimidation, targeted humiliation, and harmful rumors.
Although cyberbullying is more common in online meetings, it can and does occur in the workplace via email as well. Companies may put a stop to email abuse and other workplace difficulties by creating thorough email regulations and by monitoring employee emails with technologies.
How to Monitor Company Mail
Now that we’ve discussed all the various benefits that email monitoring can bring, let’s discuss how you can monitor your company’s email.
There are two main ways for companies to monitor their emails:
Monitoring Software
This is specialized software that is feature-packed and allows managers to keep track of employee activity, including email activity.
Such programs can monitor all outgoing and incoming email traffic, spot questionable behaviors, and mark particular words or attachments as spam. Employees may be asked to install monitoring software on company-issued devices or have it connected to the email system.
Remote Desktop
These tools especially emphasize desktop access and monitoring by providing employers the option to monitor their employees’ screen activity in real time. With this feature, businesses may monitor their employees’ email and device usage in real time.
It is recommended that businesses look into a comprehensive monitoring solution such as Wolfeye that incorporates both monitoring and remote desktop features.
Wolfeye is a 360-degree monitoring solution that will provide you with a complete picture of your employee’s activities, along with extensive reporting features.
Best Practices for Email Monitoring
Although email monitoring has tremendous benefits for data protection and employee productivity, it is nevertheless important to take proactive steps to minimize the risks associated with such kinds of monitoring.
After all, when done incorrectly, monitoring can lower employee morale and do the opposite of what you intended.
Following are some of the best practices that businesses should consider when monitoring company email:
Clarify Expectations
Inform your staff that the company manages and monitors all emails—sent and received—and that they should only use company email for work-related matters. This helps avoid any legal trouble down the road and clarifies employee expectations about privacy at the workplace.
Establish Guidelines
Establish clear guidelines for email communication to avoid potential dangers at the hands of unsuspecting employees, such as phishing attacks.
Some examples of these guidelines include using an encryption tool when sending critical company documents or data and staying away from questionable links in emails.
Data Retention Policy
Determine what kinds of emails should be saved, for how long, and by what means within the company. Remember that careful data retention is an important part of ethical employee monitoring.
Outline Consequences
Outline the potential repercussions that can be imposed on employees who do not adhere to the regulations specified by the company. These may differ based on the threat and may include temporary suspension to permanent layoffs.
Monitor Specific Indicators
Keep an eye out for common indicators of email risks when you monitor and filter business correspondence. Phishing attempts often involve certain telltale signals, such as misspelled domain names or a combination of real and phony links. Knowing exactly what to look for can help you intervene in time.
Conclusion
An effective email monitoring strategy should comprise multiple monitoring aspects that allow managers to obtain detailed insight into the company’s processes and any potential insider threats.
We highly recommend managers consider a comprehensive monitoring tool that can facilitate such a strategy.