Managing employee time to his own advantage is an art that every entrepreneur or a supervisor must know. Time is a scarce and precious commodity in the running of a business. It is important to focus on the purpose and keep the right approach to maintain a stress-free atmosphere and increase productivity and efficiency.
The skill lies in placing everyone in their correct spot so as to create a perfect fit. Make sure you have placed less experienced employees with the experienced ones so as to maintain a balance in the team. It will also prove a learning curve for both so that nothing disrupts a project or the working of a team.
1) Delegation
One way to manage employee time is to encourage delegation. It is impossible for any single person to complete the whole task in a very less amount of time. The process of delegation saves a lot of precious time for the upper-level executives. Encourage top brass to delegate their work to other members so that they can engage employees in the work process.
Giving responsibilities to juniors promote a feeling of trust and involvement within a group. Employees will gain exposure and better opportunities to learn skills. It will harness the leadership qualities and will ultimately prove a boon for the company. A group will now work quickly to complete the project successfully.
2) Match tasks to skills
Want to save precious time then simply manage employee time. You are aware of the strengths and weakness of the employees along with their skills and knowledge.
In order to increase the effectiveness match the tasks with the right individual who possesses the best skills and know-how to do it perfectly. Several tasks are tailor-made for a particular person. Assign him the job so that it can be completed in the minimum time and with maximum efficiency. This will save a lot of employee time and he can complete some other work in that allotted frame.
3) Effective communication
Effective communication is the key to successful ventures. Be concise and clear in your communication skills if you want to manage employee time. Precise instructions will remove any chance of misunderstandings and will encourage better communication process. Encourage weekly, monthly and fortnightly meetings to felicitate personal contact.
Face-to-face communication is best for any personal or important information but it is not possible each and every time. Use technology to your advantage and send messages, calls, and emails to let your employee know about your directives. When the communication is clear the employees will follow the instructions quickly and precisely and it will eventually save a lot of time.
4) Give the employees clear goals
You can achieve those goals easily of which you are an integral part. Define your vision and goals to your employees in clear, precise and informative way. Make them a part of your company and tell them explicitly what you expect from them. One way to manage employee time is by giving targets and goals so that they can achieve it in very less amount of time. When the assignment is clear and specific it becomes realistic and attainable in a timely manner.
5) Incentives and recognition
If you give someone a reason to do better than he will definitely do so. It is a case with every employee. When they start feeling that their efforts are being appreciated they will be motivated to do better and in less time. Everyone knows the value of time and a deadline. An employee will work efficiently to achieve better productivity if he gains the recognition for which he has been waiting for. If you want to manage employee time then give him the credit and appreciation which he deserves.
Praise him personally and in front of other staff so that he feels energized. Giving bonus, gifts, paid leave, free lunch/dinner, and certificates is another way to show your appreciation. What will happen after that is that the employee will start gaining confidence and it will be reflected in his workings which will be completed in less amount of time.
6) Cut out the unnecessary workload
If you want to manage employee time then you will have to take the initiative to save his time. Start small. For instance, if you see that an employee is busy with an important project save his time by taking away smaller and unnecessary tasks from him so as to give him more time to consider on his project. For instance, let go of the daily report in favor of a weekly one as it will save his daily time considerably. For smaller tasks, you can allow him a help so that he does not lose focus of the bigger project.
7) Offer training and development opportunities
Start training programs that will enhance the existing skills of an employee. It will help him to learn and gain knowledge for more work productivity in fewer time frames. Giving proper guidance to its employees helps an employer to manage employee time. He will now have the know-how to work quickly and efficiently and thus save valuable company time.
Besides training and skills also encourage the overall development of an employee. Mentoring, delegating, seminars, workshops, events, courses and coaching are great ways to encourage a sense of responsibility amongst the workforce. An advanced team of employees will prove beneficial to the organization as it will work towards increased productivity and competence.
8) Flexibility in times of need
Punctuality is the norm of the day in a professional environment. Entering the office at the dot is an expected thing and leaving after office hours is what a boss expects from his employees. All these things are well and good in normal times but in case of emergency, the top brass needs to be a bit of adjusting.
If an employee is not feeling well and is unable to travel to the office do not force him to do so. Yes, it can be an emergency as the project needs to run on that same day. Give your employee the flexibility to work from home so that the work can be accomplished without any hassles. If you do not offer him that option then he will simply take a sick leave and it is your organization which will miss the deadline. Hence flexibility is an important criterion to look for if you want to manage employee time.
9) Feedback
Feedback is such a small word but packs a punch. If you do not know your mistakes how are you going to rectify it? One way to manage employee time is by increasing his value. Ask for feedback from every employee about each and everyone that he comes in contact with in his workplace.
The performance reviews along with feedback is a clear mirror which will let you know about everyone in your workplace. This will get you in-depth knowledge about everyone’s mindset and also about their thinking process about others. Any grievances should be dealt with immediately and tactfully. When you solve individual problems you are encouraging the workforce to do better for the company and it will ultimately save company time and resources.
10) Eliminate distractions
If you want to seriously manage employee time then the most important thing that you should do is eliminate distractions from his vicinity. Do you know which equipment occupies the number one spot in terms of distractions? Yes, it is the mobile phone which rings after every few minutes disturbing his concentration and workflow.
Set up a mobile desk and allow an employee to handle it. You can start a precedent by submitting your own mobile at that workstation and encouraging other employees to do so. All professional calls will be routed to the office phone. Employees will get back the devices at the time of leaving the office. This will certainly save a lot of precious time.
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