5 Important Time Management Strategies for Employees

If we were able to put a tiny, automated on/off switch inside every employee's head, and run checks on how many hours of the day they are focusing on work for, the results would probably astonish both employers and employees! Even if Facebook is blocked from work computers, there are high levels of supervision and employees must leave their phones somewhere away from their workstation, there is plenty of unproductive time at work … and most businesses don't have anything close to this strictly controlled atmosphere. Nor would they want to! Today we are looking at simple, proactive solutions to the productivity dilemma (including telephone time clocking), plugging some obvious holes so that brain breaks are no longer company-killers.

Activity logs

These are as close as we can get to having that magical automated on/off switch inside the brain. Logging the amount of time spent on each activity, not just for the entire day at work, helps identify slow spots and difficulties. When we have to write down how much time was spent on something, we are much more accountable for it. Manual systems can work well, but automated systems, like a micro-version of telephone time clocking, are the ideal solution.

Telephone Time Clocking

According to rounding rules at both federal and state levels, rounding might be permitting your employees to be paid for up to fifteen minutes a day when they aren’t even on the work premises. Implement systems like telephone time clocking to plug this obvious productivity hole.

Prioritization

Effective managers use this tool all the time -- get the most important thing done first. If your employees don't have all the information necessary to decide what tasks on their list are the most important, managers should be helping them decide. This can be done at weekly, daily or monthly meetings.

Managing Interruptions

Interruptions can be even more devastating to a company budget than manual time cards and their daily fifteen minute inaccuracies. We havetelephone time clocking as a set process to manage the signing in dilemma -- but no set rule for dealing with interruptions. It simply has to become a part of company culture that employees interrupt each other as little as possible. Questions can be left at a central spot rather than asked as they come up, for example.

United States Timecard Laws

In a highly developed society, you'll find that legislation and regulation in many areas is increased. Business is an area of society that is hard hit with regulation, and people can study business law for years and still not have a comprehensive understanding … and that is only the legal system for one country! You may not realize the extent of laws that relate to timecard provisioning and use in the United States. Today we are looking at the laws themselves, and how telephone time clocking can help employers comply with their obligations with a minimum of fuss, effort and financial investment.

Federal versus state laws

We are looking at federal laws with regard to timekeeping for employees today; however, many states have laws that are stricter than those imposed at the federal level. You must always go by the stricter principle, so check with a local employment law expert to ensure that you are complying the relevant standard.

Types of timekeeping

Almost any type of timekeeping is permitted under federal law, as long as it is an ACCURATE representation of the time worked by a particular employee. So, even the most low-tech methods, like pen and paper are allowed. Of course, you will have process and operational considerations when you choose a method of timekeeping -- low-tech isn’t necessarily best. Telephone time clocking is one of the most accurate, indisputable methods available. Methods may include:

• Pen and paper
• Timecard punch machine
• Electronic badge readers
• Scanners
• Telephone time clocking

Who are the laws directed at?

Employees that are entitled to overtime pay are the target of most timekeeping laws in the U.S. However, employees that are exempt from being owed overtime still need to keep accurate time records for sick pay and leave purposes.

Who is responsible for the accuracy of the records?

Given the fact that low-tech methods of timekeeping are perfectly lawful and it isn't reasonable to ask a manager to record every employee coming and going, it is the employee's responsibility to make sure timecards are accurate. Unfortunately, there are too many ways in which they can be inaccurate by just a little bit … costing corporations a lot of money!

Rounding

According to federal law rounding on time cards is allowed, as long as it doesn’t unduly benefit the employer and it balances out over time. The problem with this policy is that there is no way to know (without extensive monitoring) in a manual timecard system whether it actually does balance out. Telephone time clocks overcome this difficulty for employers.