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A Closer Look At Time Tracking for Employees

Posted by

rstapholz on May 27, 2021

A Closer Look At Time Tracking for Employees

Do you need to track your employees to ensure greater productivity? Here are some tips to do so with TrackTime24.

Ensure your employees are aware of time tracking

You should talk to your employees about time tracking and let them understand how important it is. You should explain how it works and how you expect them to work. Every time you get a new employee, you should talk to them about time tracking and explain the tool to them. For example, if your employees have to use the mobile app and check-in every day then make sure you let them know.

You should also inform them about the expected length of their breaks and what is allowed on the job. You should also show them how to fix any entries if they made mistakes. By teaching your employees these things it will lower mistakes, improve information as well as ensure time theft doesn’t occur.

Automation

Next, as opposed to manual time tracking via paper-based timesheets, it is better to do so automatically. By having an automatic system it will be a lot simpler for all your employees to record their work and time worked. This will make it a lot better for HR or your administrator. With automatic timesheets, you will always have complete accuracy and no rounding would be necessary.

There are many platforms that you can use such as Hourly that provides time tracking for employees once they have started your work. You’ll be able to create automated lunch and break times and these times will always be in your reports. You can even create particular rules that will make sure your employees are productive and they actually work the amount of time you’re paying them for.

Better time tracking for managers

Tracking time can be difficult for some of your staff as well as your supervisors and managers. Managers will have to regularly collect the reports and timecards from all of your staff as well as check them to determine issues and accuracy levels. This is especially important since they will have to ensure that the worked hours are accurate since these are billable hours. Even though this may appear to be a simple task, it can take up numerous hours on a weekly and monthly basis. It will take even more time if the employees don’t correctly track their time or report accurately.

When you use a time tracking software such as Hourly, this will make time tracking a lot simpler for both employees and managers. Managers don’t need to manually do reports since the software can produce the reports automatically. With the help of this software, they’ll be able to easily find missing details and fix any issues.

Collect accurate data on hours worked

Unfortunately, it is quite easy to oversimplify time tracking and make the data useless. One example of this is if employees only clock in when they start their shift and clock out when they leave. This is very basic information.

According to federal law, you will have to not only track work hours but also lunch and break times. You also need to track over time. This will ensure that your staff is paid for their overtime work and the company as a whole can make better use of its time and reduce spending unnecessarily on overtime. It is also possible to track particular job sites, projects, etc.

Hourly can help you to better record all of these details. It can then be used to create reports based on the data which will enable you to make much better choices.

Use the features

The great thing about Hourly and other time tracking software is that it has lots of features and you don’t need to be a tech in order to make use of them. The software has lots of useful features that are simple to understand and can help your company to be more efficient and make the best use of your employees. With Hourly you’ll be able to do the following:

Always be aware of real-time work. When you log into the Hourly application, you’ll be able to immediately see who is currently working and any employees that aren’t on the job or at particular worksites.

Geofence. This software will let you know if any of your employees aren’t physically located at the sites they are supposed to be at throughout the workday. This will save you money

Create alerts. You can even create specific alerts that let you know when any of your employees move to another location or if they start working overtime.

Manage time tracking, worker’s compensation, and payroll

These are all highly related and you can now combine them into one particular solution. This will lower the amount of time you work on these things as well as increase your company’s compliance with documentation and labor laws. Currently, only Hourly offers a fully incorporated solution that allows you to handle time tracking, payroll, and compensation within one software application.

You can use this software to run payroll, make paydays a lot easier as well as handle these tasks for both employees and freelancers. When you integrate these things it will ensure that your company, as well as all your staff, are fully covered if any issue or accident occurs. You can rest easy knowing that your company and employee data are secured. With time tracking you’ll be able to easily streamline one of the core functions of your Human Resource department.

Use the data you collect

After you’ve implemented time tracking and it’s properly configured you can start to actually use the data you’ve gathered. So for example, if you use hourly, you’d be able to more easily determine how much work and labor would be needed for new jobs or projects. You’d also be able to figure out how much time new projects would take to be completed. It would be easy to figure out areas where you have more resources than necessary so you can cut down and save the company money.

When you use a time tracking solution it won’t just automate time tracking but give you extremely valuable insights that will make your company more effective and more successful. As you get more data over time, you’ll be able to have better analysis and therefore, be able to make better decisions. This includes accurately answering questions related to the labor required per project, costs, time, etc. which will give your company a competitive advantage.

Using Project Management in Disaster Management

Posted by

presspass on January 8, 2021

Variety

Join me April 15/21, at 9am EST!

Project Management is a skill set that is used in many situations, even when we don’t think it’s needed. Dr. Desiree Beekharry talk to us about how Project Management is used during times of Natural Disasters and how it’s various aspects are used to help with Disaster Management practices overall. We’ll discuss the similarities and differences between traditional Project Management approaches and Natural Disaster Management concepts, while identifying the challenges and complexities with both. Dr. Beekharry will also provide insight on how Disaster Management and Project Management professionals need to be Agile in their approach to responding to disasters and outlines some of the challenges that can be encountered.

Having promoted the benefits of Project Management skills for years in our Disaster/Business Continuity industry, I found Dr. Beekharry’s talk to be very educational.

Don’t miss it!

Business Continuity Planning: A Project Management Approach

Posted by

presspass on February 11, 2019

Variety

Business Continuity Planning: A Project Management Approach

Join us on June 27, 2019 as we talk about Business Continuity Management and how to use Project Management in our program planning and management. We speak with authors and BCM & Project Management experts Ralph K. Kliem and Gregg Ritchie. Enjoy!

Transformational Time & Project Management Tips

Posted by

Editor on April 4, 2018

Empowerment

Transformational Time & Project Management Tips

By Ariel & Shya Kane

We have a client who asked us how she can improve her relationship with time and accomplish the things she wants to do in her life – work, projects in her apartment, errands and creative projects, as well as socializing – without feeling that she is wasting or running out of time. These are five suggestions we offered that supported her, and will support you, in easily and effortlessly managing your time and being effective and productive in your life.

1. There is time for everything that needs to be done…and there will always be things left to do.

What are you devoting your time to each day? We bet you think about what you want to do and whether or not you like the tasks at hand. Hint: Thinking about whether you want to do something or not is just a waste of time. Thinking about whether you like it or not is also a waste of time. Many people drag their feet going about what they are going to do anyway and then get no satisfaction from the activities they engage in as a result. A whole-hearted engagement in whatever you are doing will bring with it satisfaction as a by-product. And at the end of the day, there will always be more to do than can be done. We are often delighted by what we accomplish in a day and respectful of the fact that “tomorrow is another day” and that we will be rested and rejuvenated to begin again.

2. Honesty is key.

If you actually want to take control of your relationship with time, don’t tell yourself that you are going to do something that you have no intention of doing. There are things that you don’t want to do that you tell yourself that you “should” do. There are also things that you pretend to want to do that you don’t actually plan on doing or want to do at all.

For example, many times people have the idea that they would be better if…they lose weight, balance their checkbooks, exercise more, do creative things, etc. But that doesn’t mean that they are actually going to do any of those things. This list is simply something held in reserve so that you never give yourself a break and as a constant reminder that you need to change or fix something about yourself. This list is comprised of things that are not actually “in the works,” they are things that you are resisting doing – and by now anyone who is familiar with our approach knows that: What you resist persists, grows stronger, takes longer (or never gets done) and dominates your life. As an alternative, try this:

When you are hanging out – do that.
When you are doing a project – do that.

If you want to have control in your life, then do what you are doing in the current moment, rather than think about what you ought to be doing. Otherwise there is no actual rest because when you are doing nothing you think you should be doing something. If you actually rest then you are likely to find yourself energized to do things rather than talking to yourself about doing them.

3. Procrastination is a sophisticated word for “no”.
Don’t fix it – pay attention.

There is a false idea about independence that was formed in most of our minds around age two when we realized that we could disagree or say “no.” According to this immature notion we think that we are being independent by saying no to anything we are asked to do. In fact, for many of us, we registered in our undeveloped minds that we were powerful, got attention and had the world chasing us around, by doing the opposite of what was asked for and “Poof,” a life strategy is born. Over time we sophisticate this “no” to requests made of us and then when we say no to our own desires, we call it “procrastination”.

You don’t have to make a resolution to stop procrastinating – simply bring awareness to how often you say “no” to yourself and to all of the requests made upon you by life. When your bed is unmade, for instance, it is as if there is a request for you to make it, or to do the dishes, or answer the phone. Become aware of the resistance, hesitation, “don’t wannas” and see how often this is a part of your daily internal conversation. “No” is not a bad thing. It just is. With awareness (a non-judgmental seeing or noticing of how you operate) you can see what YOU want to do rather than be dictated by the life strategy of a two-year-old.

4. What is your current way of relating to time saving you from?

Often “problems” are solutions in disguise. Procrastination may actually be saving you from something you consider confronting or acting as a buffer between you and possible rejection, for instance. For example, you may say that you want more time to “socialize.” It is possible that the endless list of to-dos can keep you from having to get up online on a dating site or get out there and date. Or perhaps you have a creative project on your desk. Then day-to-day minutia that seems to eat your time each day can save you from having to get started. Right now, your incompletions define your life. If you lost them, you wouldn’t know who you are. Your comfort zone INCLUDES all of the things that you find uncomfortable. If you had no problems, nothing wrong, nothing that is holding you back…hmmm…then what?

5. Start small… and keep going.

You don’t have to look far to shift from a conversation about your life to living it in real time. Just lift your eyes from this article and look around. We bet you will see something to be done or something that begs for attention. You don’t have to do something big, start small: Bring a cup to the sink, dust a surface, make that call, file that item…and then keep going. Direct action, direct result. No problem. Complete those things in your life that are incomplete such as projects or organizing your closet. A simple way to approach many things is to repair or get rid of anything that is broken or have it fixed. Stop putting off what you know you are going to do anyway – like Nike says – Just do it!

Join Ariel & Shya for Transformational Time & Project Management in NYC

Dates: Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29, 2018
Time: 9:45am – 6pm both days
Fee: $649 (partial scholarships available)
Location: Skyline Hotel, 725 Tenth Ave. at 49th Street, Penthouse Ballroom, NYC

Since 1987, internationally acclaimed authors, seminar leaders, radio show hosts and business consultants Ariel and Shya Kane have acted as guides, leading people through the swamp of the mind into the clarity and brilliance of the moment. Find out more about the Kanes, their seminars in NYC, in the UK, Germany and Costa Rica, the Say YES to Your Life! Meetups their work has inspired, their Being Here radio show or join their email newsletter. Also get information about their award-winning books. Their newest book, Practical Enlightenment, is now available on Amazon.com.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA): Tips and Slips When Performing a BIA.

Posted by

Editor on February 15, 2018

Variety

Business Impact Analysis (BIA): Tips and Slips When Performing a BIA.

Continuity or Disaster Recovery Program is ensuring the quality of planning and execution of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). The BIA is the foundation upon which a strong program is build. Leveraging information contained within his book “Business Impact Analysis: Building the Foundation for a Strong Business Continuity Program”, Alex Fullick will take us through some of the trips and slips that many BCM/DR practitioners encounter when performing a BIA and what the impact of these slips have on the program.

The Life-Changing Magic of Slowing Down By Ariel & Shya Kane

Posted by

Editor on April 25, 2017

So Much To Do, So Little Time! By Ariel & Shya Kane

Posted by

Editor on April 10, 2017

Categories

So Much To Do, So Little Time!
By Ariel & Shya Kane

We recently received a phone call from one of our clients. She was frantic. She couldn’t get it all done. There were so many deadlines. There was so much to produce, and there was so little time. We had a conversation with her and within 10 minutes, she gave up feeling overwhelmed, had gotten back to work and by the end of the day informed us that all of the things that she thought were impossible to get done in time for the deadlines had been completed impeccably and in fact, she had even accomplished more than she dreamt was possible. So we figured we would share with our readers the basic principles and ideas that will support you in being productive and energized when you find yourself “being overwhelmed.”

When looking at how to be centered and productive in demanding circumstances, our three Principles of Instantaneous Transformation are a perfect framework to discover how to easily accomplish those tasks you are faced with.

Our first principle is: Anything you resist will persist and take longer. So, if there is something in the task in front of you that is either challenging or of a creative nature or you are uncertain how to accomplish it, then the resistance to that task will not allow you to complete it. More about this later.

The second principle is: No two things can occupy the same space at the same time. So, if you are complaining to yourself about having to do a project or task, then in that time that you are complaining about having to do it you cannot be doing the task. Again, no two things can occupy the same space at the same time and if you are complaining, that is what you are doing in that time frame.

When looking at life through the second principle, that no two things can occupy the same space at the same time, it becomes very apparent that you are only capable of doing what you are doing in any given moment. Therefore, if you feel overwhelmed, it is of no benefit to look at everything you have to do and try to figure out how to do it all. What is useful is to pick one item or specific task and do that to the best of your ability. What you will find is that by completing that task, you are energized to take on another piece of the project.

The third principle is: Anything you allow to be the way it is will complete itself or will take pressure off of you. In other words, anything that you allow to be the way it is will allow you to be. So how this applies to being “overwhelmed” is if you just do one piece of the project at a time and not resist the rest of the project that is left to be done, then the pressure of the rest of the project will not impose itself on you.

It has been our experience that if you choose the thing that you are most drawn to do, it is a good starting place. Do the thing that you want to do first. And when you complete that look at your tasks and find the piece that you want to do next and give up the conversation about whether or not you want to do it, at all. The time you spend in that conversation eats your productivity.

It is not about getting it over with. It is about doing complete work because when you do complete work you become energized and feel as if you are accomplishing something. When you are trying to get somewhere, i.e. the “end” of the project, you are locked in the first principle by resisting where you are. And anything you resist persists and takes longer. Here are some tips that our client found very useful in the process of getting her work done. First, we coached her to drop the conversation about whether or not it was possible to get it all done. Worrying about the outcome was simply eating her time and energy. It is akin to driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. It is not a smooth ride, you get lousy gas mileage and you burn out. Worrying is actually a way to stall or procrastinate rather than being productive.

Making an actual list of all the things that needed to be done took the tasks out of her mental computer and freed her up to devote all of her energy to the task at hand. The list let her relax so she wouldn’t need to worry about forgetting something.

Next, our friend had to be willing to suspend her judgments against herself that she was not already finished with her projects. This is another time-waster. You can either kick yourself for not having gotten things done sooner or you can get to work. Once she started working, she worked with consistency, not judging what piece of the project she was completing but simply completing one thing and then the next and then the next. People often lose a lot of time and energy wondering if it they are doing the “right” project when all of the tasks on the list are to be done. She had to trust herself that she wasn’t just doing the easy parts and then would take a break. She worked with consistency, completing a big or small task in the same rhythm and then moving on to the next thing without self-recrimination for not having it done sooner or without congratulating herself for what she was accomplishing. As a result the job was completed far sooner than she imagined was possible and at the end of the day she felt well and truly satisfied.

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Since 1987, internationally acclaimed authors, seminar leaders, radio show hosts and business consultants Ariel and Shya Kane have acted as guides, leading people through the swamp of the mind into the clarity and brilliance of the moment. Find out more about the Kanes, their seminars in NYC, in the UK, Germany and Costa Rica, the Say YES to Your Life! Meetups their work has inspired, their Being Here radio show or join their email newsletter. Also get information about their award-winning books. Their newest book, Practical Enlightenment, is now available on Amazon.com.

More Here!

Grandma’s Pocketbook by Ariel Kane

Posted by

Editor on May 6, 2016

7th Wave

Grandmaâs Pocketbook
by Ariel Kane

I grew up in Gresham, Oregon, which at the time was a rather sleepy farming community where the children picked berries as a summer job and went to Rexall Drug store for ice cream floats with the money they earned. Our house was a two story white structure on the edge of the woods with a separate garage and a little playhouse that was perfect for my sisters and me.

On the top floor of our house, off my sister Cathyâs bedroom, under the eaves was an attic space where my folks stored Christmas decorations, luggage and things that were out of season. One of the treasures that was kept in the attic was my Grandmotherâs purse. Grandma, my motherâs mother, had died long before I was born. Ila May Powell was born in 1906 and lived much of her life near Portland, Oregon until her death in 1957. She had met my Grandpa, Larry Halif Cermack, and after they eloped she eventually went on to have 8 Kids â my mom being the oldest.

One day when I was young, I remember that my sisters and I were playing in the attic and we came across Grandmaâs pocketbook. It was black with a single strap and had a simple gold clasp at the top. We carried it out to Cathyâs bedroom, climbed up on her bed, sat cross-legged facing each other and we carefully removed the contents one piece at a time. Inside was a comb, a crochet hook, a clean white hanky with tatted lace that she had made herself, a coin purse with a few coins, a pencil and a small, handwritten, shopping list: Butter, eggs, coffee, milk.

Gingerly we removed the list and marveled at the writing thereon. It was wonderful to see something Grandma had held in her hand that she had actually written. All these years later I remember that list. And I also remember something else: Grandma had things left to do on the day that she had died. I have always been touched by that fact in ways that are hard to describe. She had a full life. She did many things. And yet she apparently had things left to be done. The reality that she didnât do these things didnât make her life incomplete, nor did she fail in any way. Somehow the fact that she still had a grocery list on the day that she died has allowed me to be relaxed about the desire to get things finished or over with.

It is so easy during our lives to press to get everything done. Most people feel pressured to complete everything on their list by end of day. Many feel that they have failed if there are tasks yet to be accomplished, goals yet to be achieved. But for me, I have come to realize that no matter what my age, no matter what my health, no matter what the circumstances, I am likely to always have a list. It is a component to being alive. So at the end of each day, I can put away my list and let myself be. If I am taking a day off or going on vacation, I can let go of that list, for it will be there when I return. âFinishingâ something, completing my list of âto dos,â crossing that finish line is not a final destination. Having a list of projects and âto dosâ is simply a part of living life.

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Since 1987, internationally acclaimed authors, seminar leaders, radio show hosts and business consultants Ariel and Shya Kane have acted as guides, leading people through the swamp of the mind into the clarity and brilliance of the moment. Find out more about the Kanes, their seminars in NYC, in the UK, Germany and Costa Rica, the Say YES to Your Life! Meetups their work has inspired, their Being Here radio show or join their email newsletter. Also get information about their four award-winning books. Their newest book, Practical Enlightenment, is now available on Amazon.com.

Presenting Powerfully

Posted by

Editor on February 18, 2016

Business

Rick A. Morris interviews Debbie Lundberg, author of 9 books and the Principal of Presenting Powerfully. Â They will be discussing key skills in presenting yourself powerfully. Â This will not be a discussion about making presentations, rather this is about how each aspect of us: our style, our language, our approach, and our expressions are what becomes our âpackageâ or our presentation of self each day. Â We sometimes forget that other’s impressions of us do not start when we see them, rather it begins when they see usâ¦via email, social media, in a meeting or one-on-oneâ¦even in a parking lot. Â Have some fun with how presentation is perceived and think about ways to increase and optimize your overall impact and brandâ¦and leave armed with ideas, actions, and even attitudinal tools for making the ârightâ presentation for being remembered well!

Tune in every Friday at 2pm PST toÂ The Work/Life Balance

The Social Project Manager

Posted by

Editor on February 5, 2016

Business

Rick A. Morris interviews Peter Taylor about his latest book â The Social Project Manager (Balancing Collaboration with Centralised Control in a Project Driven World)
Social project management is a non-traditional way of organising projects and managing project performance and progress aimed at delivering, at the enterprise level, a common goal for the business but harnessing the performance advantages of a collaborative community. Â Peter is known for his humorous and direct delivery style and has entertained audiences around the world. Â An author of several best-selling books, please join Rick and Peter on what will no doubt be one of the most entertaining hours you can spend learning about project management.

Tune in every Friday at 2pm PST toÂ The Work/Life Balance

Tag Archives

Ensure your employees are aware of time tracking

Automation

Better time tracking for managers

Collect accurate data on hours worked

Use the features

Manage time tracking, worker’s compensation, and payroll

Use the data you collect

Transformational Time & Project Management Tips

Join Ariel & Shya for Transformational Time & Project Management in NYC

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