Even an excellent manager encounters problems, especially when his career is going up. New office, secretary, leadership plan, and subordinates who are to bring this plan to life.
Before a promotion, the situation is simple: the manager is in the same office with subordinates and therefore is always up to date with what is happening during the day. The problem of control and monitoring is not pressing while the manager, figuratively speaking, knows all the employees by name. But after a promotion, magnitude and number of tasks grows, as the number of subordinates. Performance of tasks needs to be controlled with the utmost care. It becomes very difficult to optimize processes and make the work of the employees transparent without using a time tracker.
Why do you need a time tracker?
Obviously, employees perform much better when they are concentrated and not distracted. No manager wants have idlers or gamers as subordinates. It also happens that employees resort to hand-waving only because business processes and workloads are not regulated. In this case, it is useful to monitor employees and use a time tracker to correct the imbalance and improve performance.
How to monitor employees and benefit from a time tracker at work?
You could, of course, send your subordinates to time management training, instruct them about becoming more responsible and disciplined, or even restrict Internet access. But it is easier and more reliable to entrust the task of raising the productivity to the the time tracker. Without looking over employee’s shoulder, the software will provide the manager with complete and objective picture of any workday for a specific employee, a department, or the company as a whole.
What exactly will the implementation of the time tracker achieve?
The reports of the software will show the manager, which employees work hard and result-oriented and who is underloaded and idle. Today it is not uncommon for idlers to ask for a raise. The time tracker will help you to know exactly who earned a promotion. Objective acknowledgement and bonuses will stimulate and motivate both workaholics and idlers. It is likely that the subordinates themselves will want to monitor their own computer activity and track time to be aware of their problems. If the budget for bonuses is too limited, there are alternative means of encouragement and motivation:
- additional days off and reduced working hours for high-performers;
- extended lunch break or vacation (depending on the resources of the company);
- preferential and paid trips to conferences and trade shows;
- official recognition of distinguished employees;
- personal endorsement and recognition by the management of the employee’s contribution in development of the company.
Some employees are more motivated by acknowledgement of their contribution then by material incentives. But this approach will work with an objective assessment of the work of employees, which is difficult to achieve without the time tracker. It is particularly important to understand for newly-appointed managers where there is a great temptation to rely on personal knowledge and good relations with former colleagues, now subordinates. Remember that a strong and well-coordinated team is a guarantee of the effective work of the entire organization.