Businesses today are faced with a dilemma. How do they maintain a positive culture in their working environment while maintaining productivity and profits in their business?

Internet access is seen as a ‘right’ for many folk these days and businesses are often unaware of the potential lost productivity unmanaged internet access amounts to.

WebSafety NZ Owner, Dean Stewart says that around 70% of staff spend around 1.5hrs surfing non-work related sites outside of break times. “Take an average hourly rate of $20 per hour, that amounts to $5k per annum in potential lost productivity for just one person.”

Stewart says the main ‘timewaster’ sites vary but often relate to social networking, shopping, funny video and image sites and gaming. These sites can be addictive and staff can spend an excessive amount of time without realising it.

Implement a Simple Strategy

Deploying solutions in your workplace are not expensive. It’s a myth that they are costly and include the installation of expensive hardware.

For smaller businesses today, there are client based software solutions that will cost you as little as $150.

All websites fall into at least one of 70 categories. Blocking is done by category, with options to allow access to a site within that category for a specific time period. Flexibility is the key.

Our guide below will help you make decisions in deciding what is best for you:

• Implement an acceptable use policy. Well written, this will go a long way in setting the boundaries for your staff and make them accountable. It covers some clear statements the businesses want to get across right at the beginning. General detail about what is expected and what is unacceptable within the electronic environment, the level of monitoring taking place and consequences of any policy breach are also included.
  

• Decide your internet usage strategy. Some examples below will help you.
  

• A small call centre may only want to block access to pornographic material, Facebook and TradeMe on individual computers. In this case we would recommend a product that does this functionality only.
  

• A business with 10 staff want to block similar access as above, but also want daily reports on all internet activity of each user, as well as the search terms they are using. The manager has identified some staff are under-performing, therefore wants a clear picture of internet activity.
  

• Businesses with 20 staff have small teams performing different functions. They require each team to have different internet access, some more restricted than others. They also wish to view and manage all activity from a single website online in real time.
  

• Your IT department have some internet monitoring software already installed, however, you suspect one of your staff are bypassing controls in place and need evidence.
  

• “We’ve found our WebAudit product to be very successful in uncovering internet usage on any targeted computer. By examining the hidden log files we are able to identify all activity, regardless of how it was accessed”, says Mr Stewart.
  

While WebSafety NZ recommends an open approach to internet usage, agreeing that a small amount of personal surfing is acceptable, there are sound reasons for blocking some categories of internet sites in a business environment.

Categories such as ‘hacking’; malware / spyware’; ‘phishing’; ‘proxy avoidance’ are a security risk and should be blocked.

Other categories such as ‘pornography’; ‘mixed adult’; ‘extreme’; ‘hate & intolerance’ are some of the other categories that have no place in a business environment today.

Options for managing internet usage in the workplace vary, as do the requirements of each business. However, one message is clear. Set boundaries and make staff accountable.  

For more info managing internet usage email info@websafety.co.nz