How to Choose the Right Employee GPS Tracking Solution

2018-09-03

Searching for a reliable employee GPS tracking solution can be a challenging task. While these platforms offer significant operational benefits—such as real-time location visibility, automated timesheets, and improved accountability—they can also raise concerns about employee privacy or turn out to be lacking in critical features if not chosen carefully.

To avoid such pitfalls, it’s crucial to begin with a comprehensive feature analysis. Just like a SWOT analysis, this helps identify must-have functionalities and eliminate unnecessary or intrusive features.

Step 1: Perform a Feature Analysis

Features should be categorized into four groups:

✅ Essential Features

These are non-negotiable. For example:

Geofencing for automatic attendance
Real-time GPS tracking
Route planning for logistics
Two-way communication
Task assignment by location

Each industry has unique needs. A retail business may prioritize location-based check-ins, while a property management company might need driver behavior tracking or enhanced reporting. Work closely with your team to determine which features are essential for your workflow.

🔄 Non-Essential but Useful Features

These features add value but aren’t critical for basic operations:

Payroll integration
Project collaboration tools
Internal file sharing

You can still consider platforms that lack one or two of these, depending on your budget and overall goals.

💡 Potentially Helpful Features

These features aren’t required but may offer long-term efficiency:

Fuel expense tracking
Automatic bookkeeping integration
Fleet-specific tracking modules

They can help enhance your operations without being a core selection factor.

⚠️ Features to Avoid

Some features may hurt employee morale and trust:

Screen monitoring
Automatic desktop screenshots
Overly invasive app activity tracking

Instead of increasing productivity, such tools may create discomfort and reduce employee engagement.

Step 2: Involve Your Team

Engage your entire team—especially the HR department and employees who will use or be monitored by the system. Their input can help determine practical needs:

Delivery drivers might need document scanning
Field employees may need in-app messaging
Admins could require easy report generation

Step 3: Evaluate GPS Tracking Platforms

Once you’ve categorized your needs, compare potential platforms based on:

Feature coverage (essential and non-essential)
Pricing
User interface (UI) and user experience (UX)
Mobile app functionality

Let your employees test the shortlisted apps and provide feedback. Then, select two for pilot testing before committing.

Why Choose the Tracksolid Platform by JimiIoT

Tracksolid is a powerful GPS tracking platform developed by JimiIoT, engineered for flexibility and scalability. Built on secure cloud infrastructure, it supports real-time tracking, fleet management, asset monitoring, and more.

Key benefits include: