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Canadian lender TD tells some employees it will use software to monitor their work
🇸🇬 Singapore /Technology

Canadian lender TD tells some employees it will use software to monitor their work

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Toronto-Dominion Bank informed some employees in its financial crimes and risk management team that it will use software to monitor their work.
  • The software, WorkiQ, will track time spent on browsers, internal chat, and meeting applications to improve workflow management and productivity.
  • TD stated the deployment is standard industry practice and includes privacy safeguards, while employees expressed concerns about consent and privacy.

Toronto-Dominion Bank has informed some employees within its financial crimes and risk management divisions that it will implement software to monitor their work activities, raising questions about workplace privacy and consent.

In various parts of our business, we use automated solutions to improve insights and better allocate resources.

— TD BankThe bank explained its rationale for deploying monitoring software.

The program, identified as WorkiQ, will track the time employees spend on web browsers, internal chat applications, and meeting software. According to a recording of a team call reviewed by Reuters, TD aims to use this data to improve insights and allocate resources more effectively, managing workflows, team capacity, and performance.

This is not AI and not specific to any business or matter, the tool allows managers to more accurately manage workflows, team capacity and performance. Where deployed, colleagues are informed about where they are used and for what purpose.

— TD BankThe bank clarified the nature and purpose of the monitoring tool.

Deanna Pacitti, TD's associate vice president of high-risk investigations, explained on the call that the tool is intended to identify "pain points" and areas where too much time is spent. She assured employees that the software underwent a privacy review and operates in the background. While it will not record conversations during meetings, it will indicate employee activity status. Pacitti also clarified that the tool captures activity in applications like Excel but not the specific content within spreadsheets.

The idea is it's going to show pain points, where do we spend too much time ... We know we have a lot of pain points across our systems.

— Deanna PacittiPacitti, TD's associate vice president, explained the tool's function in identifying inefficiencies.

TD stated that the deployment is "standard practice across the industry" and that "safeguards are in place to protect colleagues' privacy." The bank also noted that the tool is not AI-driven and is not specific to any particular business matter. An internal FAQ document shared with employees suggests WorkiQ aims to restore transparency lost during the pandemic's shift to remote and hybrid work models, addressing questions about internet usage during lunch breaks and expected accounted-for time.

It is running in the background and it did go through privacy review.

— Deanna PacittiPacitti addressed employee concerns about the software's privacy implications.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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