The second week of June was National Email Week. For those people “in the know” about wacky holidays, it provided a fun opportunity to send emails and e-cards to friends. Sending messages can be fun but it can add up to wasted time on the job. Time-wasting online by employees can be eliminated by implementing an
electronic time tracking system.
With the potential for email system abuse, companies should review and update Internet and email policies regularly. Studies show that 55-85% of workers admit to personal email use while at work, while less than 50% of companies have policies restricting employee Internet and email usage. With ready-made excuses, like “National Email Week,” fewer people see sending inappropriate messages to friends as a problem. Yet, emails with attachments, such as slideshows or large images, can slow networks or company intranets to a standstill.
Blocking websites and screening email isn’t an option that every company is willing, or able, to take. A less-intrusive alternative would be implementing time tracking software, such as Replicon Inc.’s Web TimeSheet, that requires employees to account for their time by entering data into an electronic timesheet.
Timesheet software allows employers to set up specific activities for employees to log time against. With Web TimeSheet, employers can also choose to have employees clock “in” and “out” of each activity to better track what employees are working on and when. Employees that have to account for the time they spend while on the job are more conscious of how much of their time is spent on personal tasks. Tracking time empowers employees to increase their own productivity while still allowing them the opportunity to engage in personal interests online, during their lunch breaks, or at other approved times.
For time tracking against projects for billing, estimated time to completion can be entered to judge progress in real-time as employees enter data into their own timesheets. This can also assist in ensuring that clients are being billed accurately for time. In addition, time tracking in electronic timesheets streamlines the billing process allowing invoices to be generated and sent to clients quickly.
With dynamic reports, the data collected through timesheet software is easily accessible at meetings. Reports can be used to further encourage employees to stay focused on work-related activities while on the clock. Having graphical data at the ready for staff meetings allows managers to praise or award the employees who have used their time efficiently.
Allowing employees the freedom to take mini breaks between tasks is believed, by some, to increase productivity. Allowing employees the freedom to use company Internet and email freely can have advantages if the privilege is not abused. Requiring employees to account for their time using timesheet software, empowers them, as responsible adults, to budget their time properly. By providing a tool that presents at-a-glance data, managers can easily see how much time is being spent on different activities.
