9 months ago
Cognizant Implements Employee Activity Tracking
Cognizant is using a new program called ProHance to track how much employees use their computers at work.
It marks people as 'idle' if they don't type or move the mouse for 5 minutes, and 'away' after 15 minutes.
Cognizant says this is to help clients find ways to work better, not to judge individual workers.
But some employees are worried about how their activity data might be used and felt they had to use the program.
Cognizant has started deploying activity-tracking software, ProHance, on company-issued devices for select projects.
The software monitors keyboard and mouse activity, flagging users as 'idle' after 5 minutes and 'away' after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Cognizant states the tool is client-driven, intended to identify process inefficiencies, not for performance evaluation.
Employees have expressed concerns about data usage and described the onboarding as mandatory, despite company assurances.
The move aligns with industry trends towards increased visibility and output optimization in hybrid work environments.
- Who
- Cognizant and its employees
- What
- Deployment of activity-tracking software (ProHance) on company devices for select projects
- Where
- On Cognizant's company-issued devices used for select projects
- When
- Deployment began about a month ago
- Why
- To monitor keyboard and mouse activity, flag employees as idle or away, and identify process inefficiencies at the request of clients
Employee Concerns
Cognizant's Position
Data Usage and Privacy
Employee Concerns
Employees are concerned about how the activity tracking data might be used and described the onboarding process as mandatory, despite assurances of consent-based deployment.
Cognizant's Position
Cognizant states the tool is client-driven, not for performance evaluations, and aims to identify process inefficiencies. They also note that using productivity measurement tools is common industry practice.
Deployment Justification
Employee Concerns
Employees feel the onboarding was compulsory, involving mandatory training and a required 'I agree' confirmation.
Cognizant's Position
Cognizant asserts that the use of such tools is at the request of customers and is a common industry practice, not intended for individual performance assessment.
Key facts
- Software Name
- ProHance
- Idle Flag Threshold
- 5 minutes of inactivity
- Away from System Threshold
- 15 minutes of inactivity
- Deployment Status
- Started about a month ago, limited to select projects, with gradual expansion
- Reason for Use (Cognizant)
- Client-driven, to identify process inefficiencies, not for performance evaluation
Quotes
Cognizant spokesperson
A spokesperson for Cognizant, an IT services company
“We occasionally use various productivity measurement tools — a common industry practice — in select business process management or intuitive operations and automation projects, at the request of customers. The purpose is to help better understand the client process steps and related time metrics to assess process design inefficiencies.”
firstpost.com
An individual
An employee of Cognizant who wished to remain anonymous
“We received a mandatory course, which includes a user acceptance. We had to click on ‘I agree’ to complete the course.”
firstpost.com
Sources
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