In a world where nearly every click, call, and calendar entry can be tracked, it’s easy to confuse measurement with control. But just because we can quantify behaviour doesn’t mean we should do it blindly - especially when it comes to people.
HR metrics and engagement analytics should empower, not police. They should spark conversation, not fear. At Ulla® HR Engagement, we believe that understanding how people work isn’t about watching them - it’s about supporting them.
🧠 A thin line between insight and intrusion
In 2025, employee monitoring has reached a new level. From chat activity logs to location tracking via workplace apps, the potential for overreach has grown - and so has employee concern.
A recent Business Insider investigation revealed that companies are increasingly using tools to monitor behaviour, raising red flags about workplace trust and autonomy. Meanwhile, Microsoft is testing location tracking in Teams, prompting pushback from workers who fear being watched instead of supported.
That’s not engagement - that’s surveillance.
🤝 Real engagement metrics start with empathy
What makes a meeting feel useful? What makes a team dynamic feel balanced? These are the kinds of questions HR leaders are asking - and the answers require more than timestamps and trackers.
Ulla® HR Engagement is built to provide respectful analytics based on real conversations, not backend activity logs. It works with what your team is already doing - joining meetings, sharing ideas, collaborating in real-time - and turns that into visibility around patterns like:
- Meeting overload or imbalance
- Underheard voices or silent fatigue
- High collaboration and clarity zones
Crucially, it’s never about “catching” someone. It’s about helping leaders see what’s working, where support might be needed, and how to build healthier teams - with context, not control.
📊 Compliance isn’t just legal - it’s cultural
With the EU AI Act and UK guidance on Responsible AI in Recruitment, the regulatory shift is clear: AI in HR must be transparent, explainable, fair, and human-centred. And the same goes for internal tools.
Modern employees - especially in hybrid and global teams - are becoming more vocal about data rights. A 2025 survey by FM Magazine found that 21% of employees view monitoring as a privacy violation, and 43% believe it should vary by role or sector. Trust, in this context, is a business metric.
💡 Use the data - to start a dialogue
Engagement analytics should act as mirrors, not microscopes. A spike in speaking time? Maybe someone’s dominating - or maybe they were leading a key initiative. A silent attendee? Maybe they’re disengaged - or maybe they’re just reflecting.
The point isn’t to judge. The point is to ask.
- “Is this team dynamic healthy?”
- “Does everyone feel heard?”
- “Are we designing meetings that energise, not drain?”
Data doesn’t answer these alone. But it helps ask better questions.
🔍 The risk of replacing trust with tech
As AI chatbots take over small tasks and async tools become the norm, loneliness at work is becoming a measurable risk. In a recent Axios article, experts warned that AI is starting to replace not just workflows, but human contact - with clear psychological effects. The more data we collect, the more intentional we must be in how we use it.
🌱 What responsible use looks like
Here’s how to work with engagement metrics without crossing the line:
✅ Consent-first: Be clear on what is tracked and why.
✅ No individual “scoring”: Show patterns, not performance grades.
✅ Context always matters: Use data as a prompt for discussion, not decisions.
✅ Human in the loop: Don’t let AI decide who’s struggling - let it signal where to check in.
✅ Keep trust at the core: If people feel observed, they disengage. If they feel supported, they grow.
Data can change behaviour - but only if it builds trust
Engagement isn’t about clicks or compliance. It’s about connection. When you work with metrics empathetically, you create space for better leadership, better feedback, and better teams.
🟢 Use data to understand - not to surveil.
🟢 Use AI to highlight patterns - not to punish.
🟢 Use metrics to open conversations - not to close doors.