Monitoring your staff's productivity can be a difficult task, but it's imperative that you have a suitable process in place to ensure your company remains profitable. If you're looking to implement a new time-monitoring system to boost your company's productivity, consider the following tips:

Make It as Easy as Possible

If your company has a convoluted or antiquated process for recording their time on projects, your employees will be less likely to fill out their time sheets on a daily basis. Nobody wants to waste their time dealing with a badly designed software in order to record their time, so it's important to keep the process as straightforward as possible. Not only does a clear, straightforward process make things easier on your employees, but it also makes it easier on your HR department when it comes to creating invoices from these time sheets.

Therefore, if your company is still using software from the 90s, or you still implement a punch-card system, it's time to get your time sheets up-to-date. When designing a system, keep the following things in mind:

  • Choose a software that can be accessed outside of the office so that your employees can catch up with their time sheets even if they are away on business or off on sick leave.

  • Make sure your time sheet system is easy to read; your employees shouldn't have to make reference to a legend or guide in order to bill their productive hours.

  • Use a software that can easily turn time sheets into invoices as this will reduce the amount of time your HR department has to spend putting together documentation for clients.

  • Consider using a web-based software that utilizes cloud technology. This ensures that any problems with your servers will not result in the loss of time sheet data.

Make the Importance of Time Sheets Clear to Your Staff

As the owner of a company, you'll know how important time sheets are for ensuring that the productivity of your workforce is captured and billed appropriately. Unfortunately, your employees may not appreciate just how important time sheets are to your company's accounts, so it's important to relay this message back to them. Rather than playing the stern boss or getting your HR department to chase employees, explain to them exactly why time sheets are necessary and they will be more inclined to remain vigilant about filling their hours in on a daily basis.

You don't have to go into the details of your company's profit and loss account, just make sure that your employees know what's in it for them. If your HR department uses the time sheet systems to print invoices on a Monday morning, let your staff know that failing to fill in time sheets can add on unnecessary time to the billing process, which can cause a bottleneck in your company's finances. If you regularly check time sheet data to monitor the productivity of your staff, let them know that you are keeping an eye on things and their productivity will be reviewed in their next appraisal. Whatever your exact reasons may be, ensuring your staff know how they are affected will help ensure they keep up-to-date with their time sheets.

Make Sure the Procedure Is Followed from the Top Down

One of the quickest ways to ensure your employees follow the time sheet procedure is to follow it yourself. Even though, as the owner, your time may not be billable, it's important you follow the procedure to show your staff you mean what you say. Leading by example is the best way to get your staff's respect, so make sure you use your position to emphasize the importance of time tracking.

You may also consider implementing a company-wide procedure with incentives for staff who stay on top of their time sheets. One company modified their time sheets software to allow staff members a free beer once they'd completed their time sheets on a Friday afternoon. You may not want to promote a drinking culture in your workplace, but giving staff a little extra incentive can be a great way to keep them vigilant with monotonous tasks!  

To look into updating your time and attendance software, speak with a representative from a company like SmartLinx Solutions LLC.

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