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ActivTrak Notifications Guide

ActivTrak Product Team
published
updated

ActivTrak offers three distinct notification types to help you stay informed about user activity, productivity trends, and compliance issues. Understanding when and how to use Productivity Signals, Compliance Alarms and Insights Subscriptions ensures you get the correct information at the right time to make informed decisions.

Contents

Quick comparison

Productivity Signals Compliance Alarms Insights Subscriptions
Primary purpose Proactive schedule adherence and performance notifications Real-time security and compliance alerts Regular dashboard insights delivery
Best for Schedule adherence, team productivity Security threats, policy violations Performance tracking, trend analysis
Audience Managers,  operations leaders IT Admins Executives, operations leaders
Notification type Single, targeted insight Real-time alert Comprehensive dashboard overview
Evaluation period Type-specific (e.g. last hour, day, week, etc.)  Immediate & ongoing monitoring Dashboard-defined date range
Timing Daily evaluation with timely delivery Immediate when triggered Scheduled delivery (daily, weekly, monthly)
Data
source 		Schedule compliance and productivity metrics Live activity monitoring Dashboard insights and reports
Plan availability All paid plans
(some features require an add-on) 		All paid plans Essentials Plus, Premium/Professional
Delivery channels Email, Teams, Slack, webhooks Email, Teams, Slack, webhooks, pop-ups Email
Delivery preferences Recipient-defined Admin-defined Recipient-defined

Productivity Signals

What are Productivity Signals?

Productivity Signals provide proactive notifications on schedule adherence and productivity performance, helping managers and operational leads take timely action when team members aren't meeting expectations.

Key characteristics
  • Schedule-based: Evaluate against assigned work schedules
  • Digest format: Group multiple users into a single notification
  • Timely delivery: Sent when action can still be taken
  • Manager-focused: Designed for team oversight and quick response
When to use
  • Schedule adherence monitoring
  • Attendance policy compliance
  • Productivity goal tracking (with add-on)
  • Team management oversight
  • Coverage gap identification
Best practices
  • Configure work schedules before enabling signals
  • Start with essential signal types (late start, early end)
  • Use group targeting for relevant teams
  • Consider time zones for distributed teams
  • Review signal logs to measure effectiveness

Compliance Alarms

What are Compliance Alarms?

Compliance Alarms provide immediate notifications when specific activities or events occur, following an IF-THEN structure. They're designed for real-time monitoring of security threats, compliance violations, and policy adherence.

Key characteristics
  • Immediate triggering: Alerts fire as soon as conditions are met
  • Activity-based: Monitor specific user actions, applications, websites, or system events
  • Granular control: Set precise conditions and multiple actions
  • Security-focused: Ideal for preventing and detecting security risks
When to use
  • Detecting security threats (malware, unauthorized access)
  • Monitoring compliance violations (PII access, blocked websites)
  • Preventing data breaches (USB transfers, file sharing)
  • Tracking administrative changes
  • Identifying productivity issues (mouse jigglers, excessive entertainment)
Best practices
  • Start with out-of-the-box alarms and customize as needed
  • Use "Match Any" for most conditions
  • Test email notifications before enabling
  • Set appropriate groups to avoid alarm fatigue
  • Regularly review alarm logs for effectiveness

Insights Subscriptions

What are Subscriptions?

Insights Subscriptions deliver scheduled email reports based on dashboards that utilize Insights, providing regular updates on productivity trends, performance metrics, and team analytics.

Key characteristics
  • Scheduled delivery: Daily, weekly, or monthly cadence
  • Dashboard-based: Built from existing Insights dashboards
  • Filter-dependent: Use dashboard filters to customize data scope
  • Trend-focused: Track patterns and changes over time
When to use
  • Regular performance monitoring
  • Team productivity tracking
  • Compliance reporting
  • Personal insights delivery to employees
  • Executive summaries and dashboards
Best practices
  • Apply filters before creating subscriptions
  • Use descriptive subscription names
  • Include dashboard links for drill-down analysis
  • Regularly audit subscription recipients
  • Export subscription data for governance reviews

Common use case scenarios

IT Security Manager

Goal: Monitor and prevent security threats

Recommended setup

  • Compliance Alarms: PII access, file sharing, adult content, USB transfers
  • Subscriptions: Weekly security incident summary
  • Productivity Signals: Not typically needed for security use cases

HR Manager

Goal: Monitor attendance and productivity compliance

Recommended setup

  • Productivity Signals: Daily attendance infractions, productivity threshold alerts
  • Compliance Alarms: Mouse jiggler detection, job search monitoring
  • Subscriptions: Monthly attendance reports, personal insights for employees

Team Manager

Goal: Oversee team productivity and schedule adherence

Recommended setup

  • Productivity Signals: Schedule adherence notifications, break time monitoring
  • Compliance Alarms: Entertainment site usage during work hours
  • Subscriptions: Weekly team performance dashboards

Remote Work Coordinator

Goal: Ensure remote work policy compliance

Recommended setup

  • Productivity Signals: Schedule adherence for remote workers
  • Compliance Alarms: Blocked website access, unauthorized software
  • Subscriptions: Location insights, work-from-home productivity

Learn more

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