Time and money are all businesses’ most valuable resources. Companies looking to get more stuff done, increase their revenues, and achieve their goals should employ effective time management strategies.
There are many time management techniques at work that managers and HR can try. One of which is the use of an automated employee time tracking system. But how does it work and what are the specific time management benefits related to it?
Read on to find out.
Why is Time Management Essential in the Workplace?
It’s true that time is an infinite resource. But in the world of business, it isn’t. While we all have 24 hours in a day (which reset on the next day), every single minute makes a difference between a successful and a failed business. An hour wasted could mean a million loss for a large company or a few thousand dollars for a small business.
Thus, the importance of time management systems in the workplace cannot be overstated. Employee time management, when done right, can yield many benefits, including:
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Quality work output
There’s one reason why managers hate it when employees cram – it makes them more prone to committing mistakes that lead to poor work outcomes. Delivering quality work takes time. Special projects, for example, are given enough timeframes so that the stakeholders can focus and employ deep work. Without effective time management skills, employees can inefficiently allocate time and effort to certain tasks. They might give more time to unimportant tasks and less time to impactful ones. This leads to poor quality output which is certainly bad for business.
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Improved productivity
Needless to say, one of the major reasons why time management is important is because it promotes productivity. A 2016 report from the US Bureau of Labor shows that employees are becoming less and less productive. Many factors are to blame, such as the heavy use of technology like social media. With effective time management techniques though, productivity in the workplace can be improved and retained.
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Higher success rate
When employees have better time control, they are more productive and efficient at work. This results in higher revenues for the business. Additionally, it leads to a better success rate for the goals set by the company.
One of the best time management strategies used by modern businesses is employee time tracking. Not only does it lead to better productivity, but it also benefits the business in a myriad of ways.
How to Manage Time in the Workplace
Many leaders struggle with how to systemize employees’ time management effectively given the plethora of distractions that confront their day-to-day activities in the workplace. In addition to teaching them organization and prioritization skills, there are strategic performance management strategies that leaders and supervisors can implement to promote employee productivity.
Plan
As with marketing strategies, the best strategies for a time management system start with a concrete plan in place. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to it. When creating a plan on how to deal with time management, managers should first identify the top causes of productivity issues in their team. Through performance monitoring, they will have a clear idea of what causes employees to use their time inefficiently. This way, they can make a targeted approach in teaching their staff how to manage time properly.
Develop a project management process
Different employees may have different ways to approach tasks and projects. Some might be able to complete a project in a short period of time, while others will struggle to keep up with the deadlines. A good approach to efficient task management is to create a universal process to tackle different projects. For example, for each project team, different committees will be created that will be assigned specific tasks. Then, the project lead will take care of reviewing the tasks of the committees until the project has been successfully completed.
Use time management systems
Gone are the days when time and attendance systems are all tracked with pen and paper. While there are still companies that make use of manual employee time tracking, this strategy is not only ineffective and time-consuming but most of all, expensive. That is why more and more businesses are making use of paid and free time tracking software. Aside from making a log of the time spent by the employees at work, such time management systems help managers identify insights concerning employee turnover, secure employee information, and improve workforce management, among others.
Ditch multitasking
A lot of employees try to get more things done by multitasking. Unfortunately, the opposite happens. Worst, multitasking only leads to poor work outcomes. Even science has confirmed it – working on two or more tasks at the same time is impossible. Managers should discourage multitasking among their staff. Rather, focus on promoting deep work and eliminating distractions at work.
Set measurable goals
Some employees could be managing their time well but are still unable to deliver because of the unrealistic goals set by their managers. Setting measurable goals is essential for both leaders/business owners and employees and is considered one of the most effective time management systems. It helps track progress and measure the success of a task or project. To encourage employees to manage their time properly, they should know their goals and what is expected of them. This is a great way to ensure that employees are not only being productive with their time but also focused on helping the company reach its goals.
Delegate
Business owners should learn how to delegate tasks so they can focus on the bigger picture. Effective delegation also empowers employees and motivates them because it gives them a sense of pride knowing that they are being entrusted with an important task.
Benefits of an Employee Time Management System
Here are five ways an employee time tracking system can benefit every business owner:
Accurate time and attendance tracking
Aside from the fact that manual employee time tracking is a laborious process, it usually leads to errors. Automatic tracking eliminates human errors, inconsistencies with data, and discrepancies which all result in issues with payroll processing and poor data analysis.
Improved staff productivity
Since they know that their time is being tracked, employees are more motivated to make every second count. For the HR team, automating employee time and attendance tracking, using a proper time management system, means less work for them, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.
Better employee engagement
Making use of performance management tools that help businesses track and evaluate the work and development of their staff leads to increased employee satisfaction.
Payroll abuse and time fraud prevention.
By using an effective time management system, managers can easily identify behaviors like skipping shifts, buddy punching, and absenteeism, among others. At the same time, since employees know that they are being tracked, there is most likely performance improvement in the long run.
Higher employee morale
When there is a time tracking software, honest employees feel more secure knowing that slackers will not be able to play around with the system, thus, performance management is fair and square. Furthermore, it makes them feel empowered as they get more control over their schedules with self-service features like filing vacation requests.
Implementing an employee management system is one of the best workforce management solutions that every business owner can embark on to improve time management among their staff. There are tools and systems that are designed for tracking and monitoring productivity and attendance which all help with employee time management.
