Whether you’re a team manager or simply a team member, implementing time tracking into your workday can help you truly understand how long projects take and what is keeping them from being more efficient. With more accurate invoicing and payroll and a level of accountability for everyone on the team, projects will become more streamlined. Here’s how to successfully implement time tracking into your workday.
Hold Yourself (And/or Your Team) Accountable
The first component of time tracking is holding the team and yourself accountable. At the end of the day, your team members are responsible for knowing how much time they spent on a project, and for reporting their progress throughout the week.
There are apps to manage your time that can help your team sync up and hold each other accountable while providing more accurate numbers for management. The more accurate your team’s timestamps are, the better off the entire project will be. By holding team members accountable for their own time tracking, you’re encouraging them to perform their best and to be honest about what they’ve been doing all day.
Be Honest
It’s important to hold your team to a standard of integrity as well. All too often, we see remote team members (and even local members) stretching their hours or reporting inaccurate numbers to get those extra few dollars out of a project. Encourage your team to be honest and adhere to a no-tolerance policy for dishonest time tracking. Time tracking software helps greatly with this.
If a team member is dishonest in their time tracking, they may be dishonest in other areas as well. Your team is a reflection of the business and should adhere to a set of values that will reflect your commitment to quality work. Encouraging honesty and integrity is just good business. Employees, clients, and management alike will be more trusting and willing to help someone who is honest even when no one is looking. This level of trust is crucial, especially with remote teams.
Use the Right Tools
Speaking of time tracking software, having the right tools to help manage time and hold your employees accountable can make the process simpler and more accurate. The less time you have to spend verifying employee time stamps or tracking down time cards, the better.
Not to mention, many time tracking apps and software are fully compatible with accounting and team management software, so everything will be synced properly and easily accessed within a single interface. How’s that for convenience?
As with any other job, having the right tools can mean the difference between quality work and poor work. Equip yourself and your time with time-tracking tools that will help encourage integrity and keep projects on track, and you’ll find a more honest and productive team at your disposal.
Be sure to compare features and pricing before choosing the software you’ll use. Do you need a smaller package, but the company you’re looking at doesn’t offer it? Maybe the enterprise option doesn’t contain the features you’d hoped? You’ll want to get the most features for your dollar, so by performing some research and comparing pricing/feature lists, you’re certain to get the best deal for your budget.
Be Punctual
When it comes to time tracking, punctuality is a must. If you’re required to start a project by eight on Monday morning, you need to be ready to go by 7:45. The rule of thumb is, “if you’re not early, you’re late.” Time tracking becomes incredibly confusing when projects are started (or completed) on time, causing everyone on the team extra stress and anxiety; not to mention the wrath of an unhappy client!
Be on time for your commitments and make sure you’re starting your time clock at the appropriate time. Encourage team members to do the same, so everyone is better able to sync up during the workday and no projects are halted due to late members.
Remember Deadlines
Along with punctuality comes remembering deadlines. Deadlines can often creep up on you, especially if you’ve been working hard on several projects at once. It’s important to keep your projects organized and use time tracking software that will remind you when deadlines are approaching.
A missed deadline can quickly become frustrating for everyone involved in the project, and clients aren’t usually happy when they’ve been promised delivery by a certain date, only to find that commitment is not being met. Keeping track of time throughout the day will let you know where you’re losing time and help you generate creative solutions for boosting the day’s efficiency.
There are dozens of time tracking apps and software programs available, and many of them come with free trials so you can pick the right one for your team. Try it out and see exactly why so many teams are utilizing these great tools to make their projects more streamlined and delivered on time, every time.
Conclusion
Time tracking is one of the most important aspects of an effective team. It allows you to better plan future projects, budgets, and gain a better understanding of just how each team member spends their time. Using software or apps to help automate the process can reduce the stress (and workload) involved with tracking everyone’s time. With so many options available, you’ll easily find the right fit for your team so you can start to streamline your projects and creating more accurate invoices.