Time is of the essence. Indeed, this is especially true for businesses who experience the consequences of wasted time as profit lost.
Time management is one of the most important skills to hone in the business world. Thus, it is essential to learn how to prioritize tasks and work efficiently to meet deadlines.
A lack of proper time management can lead to employees working unnecessarily long hours. This can affect employee productivity and morale, as well as the quality of work produced.
And as hands-on as we want to be in our business, technology has come a long way in producing tools that increase efficiency, such as employee time tracking apps that help you focus more on improving and building your business further.
In this article, we will explore just how employee time tracking apps can help your business and your teams. Let’s get started!
Automated and Accurate
Thanks to the use of GPS and other location-tracking technologies, employee time tracking apps are often very accurate. This means that you can feel confident in the data collected by them.
Many of these apps are automated, so data is instantly synced with a central database or accounting software. This kind of automation reduces the time needed to manually input employee hours into a system.
These apps can help your business accuracy in a few ways. First of all, by ensuring that employees are reporting their hours worked accurately. This is especially important for businesses that must adhere to specific work hour restrictions. As well, employee time tracking apps can help you identify patterns in employee behavior.
For example, if you notice an employee is consistently coming in late or leaving early, the app could provide the data that suggests there is an issue. With this information, you can then address the issue with the employee and potentially resolve it.
Improves Communication Between Teams
The success of a business depends on effective communication between its employees and managers. Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and even lawsuits.
Clear and constructive communication between teams helps businesses run more smoothly and efficiently. This could look like sharing information, collaborating on projects, and resolving disputes quickly and effectively.
By tracking the time employees spend on their work, an employer can get a better understanding of how different teams are working and identify any inefficiencies early. All employees have access to a real-time view of what everyone is working on, which helps ensure tasks are being completed on time.
Managers can also use time tracking data to identify areas where employees may need additional training or support.
Increased Overall Productivity
Through the use of employee time tracking apps, employees can be more efficient and accurate, knowing exactly which task each team member has been working on, optimizing their work schedule, and avoiding wasted time.
The app also eliminates guesswork by providing clear data on how long a task took to complete. This information can then calculate project costs and determine profitability.
Employee time tracking apps allow you to see which tasks are taking up the most amount of time, so you can optimize workflow and eliminate unnecessary steps. By recording when employees start and finish working on tasks, the app can minimize the chances of errors because of inaccurate estimates or memory lapses when recording manually.
These apps improve communication within a business and the ability to plan ahead. That is, employees can see how much time they have spent on a project, and better estimate how long future projects will take. Information like this can then be relayed back to managers, who can also use it to plan future work more efficiently.
Avoid Employees Getting Overworked
The current pandemic has caused a major shift in the work landscape and forced many businesses to have employees work from home. While this may seem like a great way to avoid the risk of exposure, it can also lead to overworking.
A CNN article even mentioned how the split between overworking at home and leisure time has been “blurred” which led to employee depression, anxiety, and exhaustion.
In order for employees to be productive when working, they need to be able to track their time accurately. This is where employee time tracking apps come in handy.
By keeping track of how long they are working on specific tasks, employees can make sure that they are taking breaks and not working too much. This maintains employee morale and motivation to work effectively throughout the day.
Another benefit is reducing overtime costs. When employees know exactly how much work they have left to do, they are less likely to stay late or come in early in order to finish up their tasks.
Gotten busier these days? You are not alone. Check out these helpful tips to properly manage your time with a busy schedule.
Greater Transparency and Accountability
One of the most obvious benefits of using an employee time tracking app is that they create transparency and accountability between employees and managers.
With accurate data on how long employees are spending on each task, both parties can clearly understand what is being worked on and where potential bottlenecks are occurring. This clarity can also improve communication within the team and lead to quick conflict resolution.
Accountability is a key factor in identifying employees who are not pulling their weight or working the required hours. This makes operating a business more efficient, accurate, and transparent.
Although monitoring employee accountability through a tracker may seem uninviting to some, when done correctly, it is a practice that can be welcomed and appreciated even by employees.
Improving the overall employee and work culture in the office fosters good employee-manager working relationships, and creates an agreement for the use of certain tools like time trackers to achieve better productivity in the company.
Billable Hours Properly Documented
If you run a business that bills by the hour, employee time tracking apps are indispensable. Billing clients for work is also quick and easy using these apps because they make documenting how much time each task takes super straightforward.
Properly documented billable hours also reduce time theft. Time theft is when employees spend time on tasks that are not billable, such as chatting with co-workers or browsing the internet. These tools make it clear which employees are spending more time on non-billable tasks than they should be, so you can take steps to correct the problem.
Another benefit of time tracking apps is the elimination of potential billing mistakes. When you track employee hours manually, there is always the risk that an error will occur and cause inaccurate billing. However, by using an employee time tracking app, all the data is automatically recorded and there is no room for human error.
Setting New Company Goals
You can set goals using employee time tracking apps that employees can strive for.
For example, managers may set a goal that challenges all customer service representatives to handle at least six calls per hour. You can use the app to track this and see if it is being achieved. If not, you can work with the teams to help them improve their skills so they can reach the desired goal.
Another great advantage to setting new company goals is striving to improve current company operations. For instance, if most of your employees’ time is being spent on administrative tasks, then you may need to hire more assistants in order to reduce the workload on your staff.
Employee time tracking apps make data easily accessible so you can quickly spot these trends and make changes where necessary.
Increased Team Flexibility
Another advantage of this kind of technology is that it increases employees’ willingness to accomplish more. When people know that they are tracking their hours, they may be more likely to take on additional tasks. This can be especially helpful when there is a rush job or unexpected surge in business activity.
By being able to see how long different tasks take employees, you can identify which ones are productive for your business and which need some improvement. Tracking attendance and absences gets you a better understanding of who might slack off or take advantage of sick days.
This leads to better overall management of your staff and can help improve the performance of your business.
Setting Company Standards
Employee time tracking apps can help businesses manage their employees’ time by creating rules and setting company standards for working hours, break times, and lunch periods. The app then tracks the employees’ work hours and sends notifications if they are working outside of the set parameters.
This is a great way to ensure that employees are following the company policies and procedures.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, employee time tracking apps can support your business in a variety of ways. Not only can they help you save money on payroll, but they also improve employee productivity, and ensure proper communication and transparency between teams.
These effective tools can assist managers and owners in better understanding how their team is spending their time, identifying areas where employees could be more productive, and making sure that employees are being paid correctly for the hours they have worked.