What are Time Logs? How Can They Improve a Company’s Efficiency?

They say that time is the most important and valuable resource a business has. And if your people don’t know how to utilize it correctly, it will significantly affect productivity and performance.

As an entrepreneur, keeping an accurate account of time is extremely important to your business's success. So, do you know how much time your employees spend on their jobs? How well do they make use of the time you give them? If you’re having a difficult time managing your employee’s time, a time log can help.

What are Time Logs?

Time logs are written records that show employee activities as they are tracked. It’s a comprehensive system that documents the chronological order of an employee's work time.

Time logs digitize the whole time tracking process by recording when employees start and end their shifts. Applications such as Troop messenger offer Audit Log facilities to the company's admin to check the employee time log to understand the employee's work behavior better. Time logs are often used for analysis and optimization. They’re also used to calculate billing and are an important part of an organization's payroll system.

Because of the complexity of workflows for many modern businesses, they need a tool that can help them oversee everyone and ensure that projects move forward without unnecessary delays. Time logs help both project managers and business owners in this regard.

Why is Time Logs Crucial For Your Business?

Time tracking has become a huge thing for many businesses that operate in remote settings. And with COVID-19 forcing many businesses to run remotely, time logs have become a mandatory part of every job.

Whether you’re a small business or a huge enterprise with several thousands of workers, keeping track of your staff’s time is essential for success. There are many reasons why time logs can be important tools for your business. Here are some of the primary reasons why many companies incorporate time logs in their systems:

• Project management - A time log can help you make smart decisions on how you should run your projects. It can give you insights into pricing, project timelines, and employee schedules. If you don’t know how much time a project takes to finish, how can you accurately set a deadline for it?
• Time management - Once time is tracked, everyone in the company can get an accurate sense of how things are accomplished in the workplace. There’s less risk of missing deadlines or overdoing meetings. Time is properly managed, and there are few workflow problems that arise.
• Productivity - Time logs boost productivity by eliminating time-wasting tasks at work that don’t give your company profitability. It gives your business a sneak peek into how your people spend time at work.
• Accountability - Time logs provide your team with a sense of urgency and accountability. It also helps employees gain better insights into how much they spend on a task and how much time they waste. A time log can keep them accountable and responsible for their tasks at work. Employees who know that they’re underperforming will strive better at their jobs.
• Insights through data - Knowing how much time teams spend on certain tasks makes it easy to plan for improvements. It’s important to use data from time logs to create a better process for the whole team.
• Visualization tools - Time logs include visual elements such as graphs and charts that allow you to compare data from a certain date or from one employee to another.
• Creating work records - Time tracking provides everyone in the company with a summary of what they worked on a certain day or week. Instead of manually written reports, time logs provide accurate data about how much a person worked on a project. Knowing this will allow you to make better and more accurate estimates for similar projects in the future. This can prove to be beneficial when you work with customers or clients who might ask for detailed records of your work process. Time logs can be used as customer service tool examples in this scenario.

How Do Time Logs Identify Problems in Workflow?

Problems in workflow arise when there isn’t enough information about the projects, employee issues, and budget. Time logs help by tracking time and giving businesses valuable insights on how to create realistic schedules for the team. It’s imperative that businesses know how long a task should take to finish and how many people in the team can work on the project. This will ensure that the company’s budget is properly distributed and put to good use.

Time log gathers enough data so that business owners can learn more about their operations themselves. Gone are the days when data was simply written and reported by managers. Today, data is digitized and reported in real-time.

Here’s an example of how time logs can identify problems in a company workflow. For example, a business owner might think that their HR staff only spends an hour each day checking emails. However, he soon finds out from the time log that they actually spend at least two hours more. By identifying which tasks take up too much time, employers can strategize and instruct employees on how to manage their time better.

Time logs are the simplest way to streamline employee work schedules and push improvements in areas that need focus. If there’s a task that often takes up your employee’s time, you can create a strategy on how to overcome this challenge. You can also see how much your team is working and if they are working in the time allotted to them. Overall, the use of time logs can make you a better manager.

How Does It Benefit Your Employees?

Time logs are dynamic tools that help employees accurately see how much they spend on a certain task. This simple insight can motivate them to do their work faster and organize their time much better. Time logs also reduce the risk of overworking your employees. Since tasks are given to suit employees’ capabilities and time—they will feel less overwhelmed.

An overworked employee is much more prone to producing poor-quality work. In fact, overwork and employee burnout are the two top causes of employee demotivation. A time tracker can limit the number of hours employees can work in a day. This ensures that employees spend a healthy amount of work each day or week. If you’re a manager and you see an employee consistently logging an unusual number of hours per week, you can coach them to work within the proper hours.

Time logs also allow employees in companies that offer flexible hours to work better. Since employees are in control of their time and schedules, they are happier and more productive. Also, companies have to take into account that flexible work arrangements are preferred by people who work from home.

Another way time logs benefit employees is through self-assessment. Since time logs can also be viewed and seen by employees themselves, they can see which areas they are underperforming. Which tasks do they take the most time to complete, and which projects do they need to work more on? With time logs, data and numbers will speak for themselves.

Another important benefit of time logs is they can be used as proof to examine the history of work or project progress. If managers need to review performance or want a record of progress on a certain task, they can easily view their employee’s time logs.

Tips for Getting Your Employees On Board

For many companies, time tracking has become mandatory. However, not all companies benefit from the advantages of time tracking and the use of a time log. The reason is simple: employees are against it. That’s why it’s never a good idea to force time tracking on employees who don’t like to be closely monitored. A good way to get your employees onboard is to do the following:

• Showcase the benefits of time tracking: Take a session or two to explain the benefits of time logs to your members. In this way, no one feels forced and shocked by the mandated time tracking. Your employees will understand why time logs can be good for them and profitable for your company.
• Train and support: Offer enough training on how to use the time-tracking software. Teach your employees how to submit timesheets and how to review their own time and productivity logs.
• Ask for feedback: Make sure you ask for feedback from your employees. Ask your team if the tracker is making them productive or not. This will ensure that the time tracker works well for them and doesn’t invade their privacy while working.

Boost Business Productivity With Time Logs

The points discussed in this article have outlined how you can get started with using time logs.
Remember, time logs simply emphasize the importance of time and project management. It’s not a solution for poor performance or incompetence in your business.

With valuable insights into how your staff uses time, you can further develop your strategy for building a good workflow for everyone on the team. If indeed time is gold, well, time logs can definitely help you and your team achieve quality performance and sustainable productivity in the long term.