9 benefits of employee time tracking

Small and large businesses alike often rely on time tracking software to provide accurate payroll for their employees. Day-to-day management takes up a lot of time and it can be challenging for managers and owners to keep tabs on when their employees came into work, when they took lunch breaks and when they left at the end of the day.

But really, why track employee time?

Adopting time tracking software is a good way to improve employee productivity and accountability.

Here are some tangible benefits to using time tracking for your business:

1. Improved Production

Employees that submit their working hours are more likely to have better time management skills while performing their duties.

Time tracking helps employees record the progress of their work in fine detail while ignoring the outside distractions that may typically be a hindrance (talking on the phone, browsing the internet, excessive socializing). Multitasking can decrease productivity by up to 45%, which can be detrimental to a company’s success. What time tracking does best for productivity is to highlight which projects at work are taking up too much employee time and it gives managers leeway to decide the risk vs. reward of spending time on each project. Many times, companies will start numerous projects and work on all of them at the same time.

However, too much time spent on one project may not be worth it for the end goal; a tracking tool can help managers identify and eliminate activities that aren’t crucial to progress and thus increase revenue.

2. Increased accountability

A major component of team success is ensuring that each member of your team feels important and invaluable to the projects that you undertake. Members that don’t receive recognition for their work (no matter how big or small) may lack the motivation to put in 100% of their effort. Using time tracking establishes accountability amongst working teams because it informs their employers of important things like which employees completed certain tasks, when the jobs were completed and how much time was put into each job.

Time tracking reinforces accountability within the employees themselves. When time tracking is enforced, employees are more likely to complete jobs with increased efficiency and are more likely to hold themselves accountable for their progress throughout projects. This isn’t used to intimidate, but to reiterate the importance of the job at hand and the need for dedicated, hardworking and honest employees.

Managers can dissect the hours their employees log and pick out trends such as which employee is the most productive. They can then use these analytics to push their team through times of decreased productivity and get the most out of their employees.

Of course, good work should always be recognized. It grants employers the opportunity to step down from a watchdog stance to appreciate and thank their team for their hard work and dedication to staying on task.

Employee morale (see item #9) is an incredibly vital component to a hardworking team environment and investing in time tracking software can highlight accomplishments.

Related article: The importance of productivity tools: 8 benefits

3. Transparency

Managers allocate work for their employees to complete, but they often know very little about the working process. Employee time tracking provides full transparency about the jobs being completed, how long they are taking to get done, and highlight which other tasks are being neglected. The transparency can allow managers to re-examine their employee's workload and provide them with the resources necessary so they can complete their duties quickly and efficiently. Tasks that are taking too much time to execute can be reconsidered by employers and optimized so that they do not disturb the working process. Tracking time allows managers to understand which parts of the project will require more employees and more man hours. It also allows managers to plan ahead and schedule more employees on busier days and fewer employees on days where production is at a standstill.

Employee time tracking also opens a channel of transparency between coworkers. Employees that believe their department is carrying the bulk of the workload, while the other departments slack off and contribute nothing to the projects, will have a better understanding of the bigger picture. Employees can see in real-time which departments are completing tasks. It can also make employees feel that their performance is not going unnoticed when it clearly shows on the software that they are finishing their tasks.

4. Punch your punch-out clock

The traditional way of keeping track of employee time spent at work, also known as timesheets, is expensive and impractical in this day and age. Timesheets and punchout clocks are an ancient way of keeping track of your employee's shifts and can require major adjustments at the end of the pay period. The accuracy that time tracking software provides both large and small companies is extremely valuable.

For companies that rely heavily on freelancers or contractors, employee time keeping can provide accurate data on work tasks completed and the duration of their work.

5. Improved scheduling

The honor system is a great practice in theory; you build trust with your employees to come in on time, take their scheduled breaks, and stay until the end of the working day.

However, it is impractical that each of your employees will report days that they arrive late to work or leave early. Your employees are not bad people, but you deserve the right to know the exact amount of money they are owed.

Using a time tracking solution can save companies thousands of dollars every year by adequately paying out their employees without error.

Related article: Tracking Time in Jira with Tempo Timesheets

6. Ubiquitous computing

Not every company will host all of their working departments in the same building, same city or even in the same country. Many companies have offices and working stations in various places, which makes it nearly impossible to report to the same manager or supervisor about the work you’ve completed.

Time tracking software provides companies with accessibility to every facet of their operation to ensure that work is being completed regardless of location. The major benefit of time tracking software is that it isn’t necessarily exclusive to any electronic device.

As long as the employee/contractor has access to the internet, they can access the program on virtually any device including their cellphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Regardless of your employee’s location, you can now keep track of their working hours and detailed reports about the work they’ve completed.

Related article: How to use time blocking for better time management

7. Increased appeal To buyers

Creating your business takes sacrifice, hard work, and years of planning and strategizing. Not every business owner wants to see out the lifespan of their company as they embark on different journeys and new opportunities. For business owners that plan on selling their companies, using time tracking can be an alluring selling proposition.

For one, leveraging a software establishes your credibility as a company that highly values time management and accuracy. This is a major selling proposition because it allows new ownership time to migrate their own means of time tracking and project management if needed. A time tracker contains detailed records of each employee and the work they perform which can be utilized by new ownership groups to help gauge expectations and outputs from their employees.

8. Prevent scope creep

Scope creeps can be a major disadvantage to any service industry company that did not properly analyze all components of a project. Scope creeps can end up costing you more money and more man hours based on newer requirements and roadblocks that pop up as you begin your work.

With a time management tool you can plan for unforeseen expenses and additional work that you did not expect or see coming before you undertook a project.

9. Improve employee morale

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of employee time tracking benefit is that it can actually reinforce feelings of trust and respect in your employees that can improve their performance and overall productivity.

When time tracking is absent from the working environment it presents a greater chance for micromanagement. Micromanagement can curb an employee’s morale as every aspect of their job is under constant inspection, which can be disheartening as they fear to make any kind of mistake for fear of repercussions.

Employees for your company should view this as an additional channel of communication; it is essential that you frame the implementation of time tracking software as a tool to help develop skills and talents that your employees already possess. Every employee you have as room to improve and with this software you can provide wonderful feedback that will help them grow and develop their potential.

Different employees have different strengths and weaknesses that can help you determine which employees should be given specific projects to ensure maximum productivity.

Is tracking time right for your business? Check out Timesheets to learn more about the benefits or book a demo.