Just about everyone in the working world knows that employees absolutely hate completing timesheets. Due to this, most managers and supervisors constantly have issues trying to get employees to fill out and submit these sheets and do so accurately. So, we will now look at 10 ways that will enable you to motivate your employees to accurately fill out these sheets and submit them when required.
Should Be As Simple As Possible
You should strive to have extremely simple timesheets that only take a maximum of 10 minutes to fill out every day or some great software to do so.Tracktime24 is a hassle-free solution and will fit your business whether it’s an SME or a lot larger.
Remember, when employees have to fill out sheets that take 30 minutes or longer, they get extremely irritated and this also results in significantly less working time.
Make It Easy
Unfortunately, lots of companies have a very complex time tracking system. So, it is highly recommended that you make your system much simpler or even automate it in order to motivate people to bring in their timesheets on schedule.
Make It Clear On What’s In It For Your Employees
It is essential that you explain the necessity for the timesheets and explain how they work and how they will and won’t be used. It is essential that you thoroughly explain these sheets to all of your employees. In the event that your timesheets help to reduce multi-tasking, certain problems etc, then you need to let all your employees know that. You should also explain how it helps with the billing, improves the flow of cash in the organization and how it will help the company to take on more workload which will result in higher salaries. By doing this, you will get them on board and they will be more likely to make the process much easier and run smoothly.
Time Tracking Flexibility
You should not make your time sheets exact and the time tracked down to every minute. If you do, then it will result in your employees wasting time at work, constantly looking at the clock etc.
Limit Items Being Tracked
In order to prevent an excess of information, you should only track a certain number of items. This means that you will have to create sections that include a list of items. For example, one possible item to be tracked can be called “internal” which would include tasks such as conference calls, office meetings, training etc. This will make it much simpler for both yourself and your employees.
Automate
Get rid of as many manual processes as you can. This will result in hours being saved when it comes to administrative work for all your timesheets. It will also reduce the number of errors as well as save time for the manager or approver. By having more automated processes, this will save time and ensure that the timesheet can be easily accessed by all of your employees, whether they are at work, home or elsewhere. This is especially useful for online systems.
Have Reminders (Automated)
Automated reminders will ensure that all employees are reminded to fill out and submit their timesheets and reduce late submissions significantly.
Avoid Penalizing
It is very difficult to get your employees to accurately report the time they don’t spend on projects, especially if there are penalizations for spending too much time in these areas. Instead, you should encourage them to accurately report time spent on projects and other tasks so that you can easily identify problems and then fix them. This may even help you to find essential items that should actually be tracked that currently isn’t.
Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
It is essential that you don’t go over the timesheets with a fine-tooth comb since some projects will require more time than others. Once your employees are delivering as required, then you definitely shouldn’t nitpick.
Don’t Implement A System Based On Rewards & Penalties
There are companies that make sure timesheets are filled out and submitted on time by executing penalties for late sheets such as postponing payment etc. Even though this will make your employees submit on time, this will actually hurt your business and create a negative and distrustful company culture between yourself, your managers and employees.
