1

Looking for some advice. Was asked by HR today if I had a way to track a users inactivity.

Here’s the scenario:

User says she works from 9-5pm

Her Manager says she does not see the user after 3pm.

I have a domain policy that tracks login/logout activity also have our inhouse application db that we can generate login/logout reports from…but the main issue is the user is not logging out so reports dont match to what she says her work time is.

i can force a log off, but that doesnt necessarily mean she was at her desk when the session ended.

could I track any inactivity??? keylogger software, webcam??

I welcome any ideas, thanks in advance guys…

25 Spice ups
2

Almost impossible to track attendance based on computer usage. This is an HR problem not an IT problem. If they believe she is leaving at 3:00 then HR needs to babysit her and have her come to the office when she starts her day and leaves at the end of the day.

42 Spice ups
3

Or, as OP suggested, HR could install a camera at the door. You’ll seen when people enter and leave that way. It won’t be targeting this one user, either, which makes it much less likely to cause any kind of legal issues.

5 Spice ups
4

You might look at this: Using Windows Auditing to track user activity | Peter Gubarevich

Talks about using Audit Policies, which can be pushed out per Windows PC or via GPO. You can do more than just track login/logout activity. Maybe set it up to check access to the folder where Outlook is run or something obvious like that?

Maybe also check your VPN logs to make sure the user isn’t working remotely.

2 Spice ups
5

The problem I see with any kind of computer logging is that the user can say something like “Oh, I was working on filing” or anything else that would keep them away from their PC.

9 Spice ups
6

If they are just looking for computer activity, I’d say just make a task via Task Scheduler to log off after an idle amount of time. (15 minutes) You can then look through your logon/off records to see if she is still trying to get in after that.That’s really all you can do from the IT side. If they want to know what she’s doing around the workplace, they’re gonna have to follow her. Either way they’re going to have to babysit her themselves

3 Spice ups
7

Agreed. What I recommended is only PC related. Anything outside that scope would be an HR/management issue IMO… not something the IT dept is likely to be involved with unless they want to install a video monitoring system or something like that.

8

I didn’t try, but you could try o create a batch file, which will take the date and hour when the script is launch.

Then, with the task scheduler, you could create a task, which will launch the batch file when the computer is locked and unlocked.

You can do this like that in powershell:

get-date >> c:\yourfile.txt

Don"t forget to do manually on the workstation:

set-executionpolicy unrestricted

(and put it at restricted again when your are done with your monitoring)

EDIT: Tested, and worked perfectly. it give you the time when it got locked, and the time when it got unlocked.

If you need help to create the task, do not hesitate. I joined the script in attach file.

EDIT2: you must put a gpo which lock session after 5minutes(or else) of inactivity, otherwise it wont work…

2 Spice ups
9

And if they do not log off of their computer then what? And if the end user is really smart they will set up a scheduled task to log themselves off at 5:00

1 Spice up
10

Take a look at Spector 360 . It has the ability to track user activity. Not just logon and logoff, but actually when they are active and inactive .

I’ve attached an example screenshot of a user activity overview.

2-19-2014_2-20-05_PM.png
2-19-2014_2-20-05_PM.png1061×394 14.2 KB

In the image above, the blue highlighted area indicates where the user is logged in. The dark blue represents inactive time and the lighter blue represents active time.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I can show you Spector 360.

8 Spice ups
11

I have had similar requests, and my answer is always that it isn’t a problem IT can solve. Good luck!

3 Spice ups
12

better idea than my previous, in task manager, there is a trigger for inactivity.

You can use it to launch the script every 15minute of inactivity, like that you’ll see when the employee is not working for 15 minutes.

1 Spice up
13

Have you thought about physical seat monitoring? We are doing some testing for a few companies that monitor activities of their employees… just a side thought.

14

Legal minefield, that is way to close to invasion of privacy.

(IIRC people snooping webcams have gone to jail for it.)

I agree with the above posters, attendance should be verified by HR.

There are plenty of non technological ways to determine if someone is at their desk. Normally it would involve someone from HR getting off their 4$$ and going to look!

5 Spice ups
15

It is a Human Resources problem. But that doesn’t mean that it is a problem that IT can’t help solve. Billing is a function of accounting, but that doesn’t mean that IT can’t help make the task more efficient.

8 Spice ups
16

It is only a problem IT can help solve if requested to do so by HR, not this person’s manager.

3 Spice ups
17

Old school – physical time clock. :slight_smile:

8 Spice ups
18

If her manager doesn’t see any productivity from her after 3, her manager needs to take it up with HR and meet with her to discuss work ethic. Then her manager and HR will need to monitor the situation for improvement. I don’t see IT being able to help with this without crossing the line. It would be no different than if she worked in the mail room and didn’t use a computer at all… After 3pm no more mail is getting sorted, HR and management will have to figure out why.

1 Spice up
19

I agree with Rockn, If the inactivty report that your running doesn’t match when she is or isn’t there…that’s HR to decide to investigate her work hours.

20

I say it frequently… there is no technical solution for a behavioral problem. The answer lies in management asserting their expectations.

If I were her manager, I’d start conducting company meetings that included her and schedule them for 4pm. :slight_smile:

9 Spice ups