Always keep in mind that time is of the essence. It is something we all value and are concerned about. We are always racing against the clock at home, on the go, and even at work, trying to make the most of what we have. There must be time for working, sleeping, and thinking. The less we have, the more hurried and uneasy we are. The more we have, the happier we are. We manage what we have for more time, determining how much time we need for specific tasks so that we have just the right amount of time for everything.
Every minute you and your employees spend at work has a direct impact on your company and its bottom line. Most employees dislike filling out their attendance sheets, which is unfortunate given how critical it is for every business to accurately track employee hours. Various studies and surveys have revealed that the most difficult challenge for managers when implementing a time tracking system is getting employees to control their time and productivity.
Using time tracking software is an excellent way to keep track of who is doing what in the team as well as the amount of time spent on each task. Time tracking software, in other words, can significantly boost employee confidence and satisfaction. If you don’t know how to implement time tracking software in your business, time tracking software like Clockly can help.
Communicate the Advantages of Time Tracking:
The advantages of time tracking are numerous: it allows employees to keep track of their tasks as they are completed, reducing the need for them to set timers or struggle to remember tasks, increasing productivity levels by revealing how employees may become distracted, and even assisting them in finding solutions to these problems.
Increased productivity and peace of mind for employees? This alone sounds like a great deal. But wait, there’s more.
Time tracking also promotes transparency, allowing you to hold your employees accountable, and it enables employees to better communicate operational progress and needs to you and fellow employees. With an hours tracker, you can determine a work team’s capacity for future projects, and employees can set clear objectives and alleviate confusion about one another’s project designation.
But do your employees understand this?
Trust is essential for effective collaboration between employees and management. Forcing your employees to track their time without explanation will create a culture of fear and suspicion, which may lead to people “cheating” with their time records. To avoid this, ensure that everyone on your team understands the importance of a time tracking tool – an hours tracker – and the benefits it provides to them, the company, and the customers. Honesty and clear communication will go a long way toward creating a trusting environment in the workplace.
Ensure that you have clear plan guidelines:
To make time tracking work, you’ll need the right tools. Otherwise, your reports will be useless if people do not keep accurate time records. The first step, explaining to your team the importance of time tracking, has been completed, but things will not progress further unless you obtain an hours tracker. Before your team begins registering, go over the proper way to track their time with everyone. As with the first point, explaining why something should be done a certain way will aid in system adoption. It is never inappropriate to explain to your team why they need to do something or how they should go about doing it. It’s no coincidence that one of the advantages of using an hours tracker is improved communication.
Assist each employee with the initial tool configuration:
Depending on the hours’ tracker to be used, the initial configuration may be extremely simple and require little guidance; however, keep in mind that if you want your employees to keep a record of their times using the hour’s tracker you have chosen to implement, it is critical that they feel surrounded by middle managers in case of any doubt or assistance they require. This will make it easier for them to contact you as soon as possible.
Also, keep in mind that the fewer barriers that exist between the user and the hour’s tracker, the more likely it is that they will successfully adopt it. Employees will not use something if they do not understand it. This is why they require assistance: to fully comprehend the properties of the hour’s tracker in order to make proper and efficient use of it.
Display the Reports on the Meeting Room TV:
Sharing reports with your team is a great way to build trust unless time records must be kept private. Display tracking data on a television in your office or meeting room if you have one. People can see the impact of their work in real-time this way, and they may even come up with new and more efficient ways of doing things.
The only thing to remember here is to be cautious about what information you disclose, as mere disclosure may have a negative impact on some of your employees. If you are dissatisfied with a specific employee’s work habits, do not use the data in public. Keep personal information private. Remember that trust is difficult to establish and easy to destroy.
Consider the Employees’ Point of View:
Your employees are the most knowledgeable people in your company. Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean everything you say is correct. It is more prudent to listen to your employees. Not because they are always correct, but because they deal with the most delicate issues on a daily basis, their input is extremely valuable for making good decisions and making adjustments. They are the experts when it comes to working, and you should trust and respect them enough to value their opinions when they are expressed.
Provide Reward for Effort:
The use of incentives is a powerful tool for changing people’s behavior. The key concept here is what psychologists call “positive reinforcement”: rewarding someone for exhibiting the desired behavior makes it easier to get them to repeat that behavior in the future.
When people believe that their progress is linked to specific rewards, they are more likely to adopt a new habit. If you do not have the financial resources to pay these types of bonuses to employees based on their time records, you can use other types of benefits, such as paid time off, telecommuting one day per week, or other intangible benefits. Whatever you do, make sure that these incentives are in line with what your employees want. If your employee’s reward for using an hours tracker is something they don’t care about, you’re less likely to get them to adopt new habits.
When an employee requests legitimate schedule changes, assist them in completing the task:
Unless we are dealing with a worker who has made a habit of systematically abusing schedule changes, our job should be to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the employee’s requests for changes. Never forget that, as long as it does not negatively impact work quality, anything that contributes to creating a good work environment will result in benefits and productivity for the company.
Conclusion:
Time is a commercial metric just as important as any other, and it is critical to persuade your team that recording time is a productive activity rather than a routine and pointless task. If they continue to believe the latter, they will be less likely to track their time at work. Perceiving time tracking as a productive activity that yields positive results provides a boost, encouraging employees to do it rather than ignoring it.
Employees, as previously stated, dislike having to fill out attendance sheets. Various studies and surveys have revealed that the most difficult challenge for managers when implementing a time recording system is getting employees to control their time and productivity.
You must begin working to ensure that your employees record their time at work. Investing in an hours tracker will benefit not only you but also your employees and the company as a whole. Get Clockly and begin your free trial today.
