Train New Hires on Time Tracking and Promote the Efficient Culture You Always Wanted

At this point, if you are reading about ways to train new hires on-time tracking then you might have decided on implementing a time tracking system within your business. You have researched the market, found the right system and introduced it to your partners (if any). Or, if you are a manager then you might have convinced the decision-making team on the importance of time tracking. Next, a budget is assigned to this initiative and you are ready to start implementing the system. But, after all the hard work and dedication, what do employees do? They simply do not track their time.

Studies suggest that getting people to track their time is the biggest challenge management teams face when adopting a new time tracking system. Moreover, training or motivating already existing employees on new systems (i.e. time tracking) tends to be a lot more difficult than training new hires. For the purpose of keeping it simple, we will talk more on the topic “How to Motivate Your Employees to Track Time” on a later blog post.

Now back to the issue at hand, you have a time tracking system but you’re lacking followers. The best way to onboard more people to your initiative is to head to new hires. 

Why new hires? They have little influence over the business culture.

Although true to some extent, new hires are compliant and sensitive to the manager's demands. As such, starting to train new hires on-time tracking can have a greater impact on the staff as a whole. So, let's see how you can train new hires to track their time on a daily basis.

Start by Explaining

There is a general misconception on-time tracking as a process. Employees are convinced that a time tracking system serves to enforce compliance towards certain criteria, such as work hours. However, in most cases - especially new companies - time tracking is a process whose goal is to improve the efficiency of the business by rewarding employees accurately. Without a proper time tracking system, employees could easily be underpaid or overpaid - both of which have negative consequences on the individual's and organizations' performance.

Underpaid Employees

How often have you heard family and friends complain about how they are consistently being overworked and underpaid? In the absence of evidence, you won't be able to change that opinion. However, when hours are being tracked using a digital time tracker then you can ensure that employees are receiving fair compensation for their work. If you fail to comply with that data that employees will have evidence to go against you and your business. 

Letting new hires know of this benefit can make onboarding a lot easier.

Overpaid Employees

In a business where time is not tracked some employees will get overpaid, while others are going to get underpaid. What do you think will be the impact of such a discrepancy? What if the underpaid employees know that their colleagues are being paid more for a job that takes the same amount of effort and produces the same value? The answer is straightforward: a drop in performance which can cost the business and potentially lead to employee turnover.

The goal is to present the following scenarios to all new hires during their training sessions. Explaining time tracking using specific case studies is much more beneficial than just presenting the theory that surrounds it. The examples we have described are core to your presentation, but they are not the only topics that need to be discussed. Other topics include:

• Accurate overtime pay,

• Paid time off,

• Security resulting from location tracking, 

• Accurate client billing, and more

The list of bullet points should be tailored to your companies needs. As such, be open to options and create a well-established training session for your new hires dedicated to time tracking.

Continue with On-boarding

At this point, you should have gained the attention of a few new hires on your quest. If not, then training wasn't convincing enough. In any case, new hires should have a basic understanding of time tracking as a concept, and how you plan to utilize it within the company. 

The next step is to regularly observe, assist and remind new hires to track their time because although the basics were taught there is a high chance that they will forget about it. Your role as the stakeholder is to ensure that time tracking culture is growing.

Create Reports and Present to All Staff

Time tracking opens a new spectrum of analysis for the accountable individual - be that the business owner or manager. The data obtained from modern time tracking apps can easily be translated into workshops that are designed to guide all the staff through the tracking process. 

Timesheets are a time-consuming endeavor that not everyone enjoys doing. As such, we recommend that you find a suitable time tracking app that automatically generates timesheet reports based on the data inputted from the employees.

These reports or presentations should not be complicated, in fact, they should only include short descriptions of all tasks that need to be recorded using the time tracker. This way you are ensuring that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the way time is kept in the business.

Finish on a Good Note

In the final stages of your training process, you hopefully managed to onboard most of the new hires, as well as a few existing employees. If so then congratulations!

Not everyone has the ability to calmly train new hires on time tracking. It can be tempting to lay down negative consequences on those who do not track their time. But it is proven that delivering a positive experience will have a better impact on the overall perception that employees have towards the time tracking system. There are multiple ways to ensure that employees think positively about time tracking:

Acknowledge Positive Behavior

A simple acknowledgment by the managing staff can go a long way for an employee and his or her motivation to track time. This is especially true for new hires who have yet to know you as their boss. If the acknowledgment doesn't fit your organizational culture, try rewarding those who submit their timesheets in time. Buy them lunch, take them out after work or even get them a gift. Rewards are a sign of appreciation that can positively influence the actions of your employees.

Help Employees Prevent Burnout

Burnout is a big issue across the world, especially in the US where people are accustomed to working more than 40 hours a week. With the help of time tracking applications, you can play a major role in setting a work-life balance for your employees because you will have the data necessary to make informed decisions regarding the matter. We highly encourage that you restrict employees from overworking themselves. The last thing you need is a set of exhausted employees.

Drive Efficiency

Humans have an internal clock that can hardly tell the difference between day and night. Similarly, it is common for employees to get carried away on certain tasks. For example, emails and meetings can be a major time waster if they are not tracked properly. Managing time spent across tasks can easily be done using a time tracking app. Therefore, let your employees know that time tracking is there to help them become more efficient at what they do!

Getting people to adopt a new system can be a hassle. However, if managed properly it can slowly become an experience in which everyone would want to participate. Remember, start by explaining how employees can benefit from tracking their time and try getting as many people on board with the system. Once you have established a strong foundation it is important to establish a mechanism that keeps the system running, be that through acknowledgment or rewards.

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Essentially, most of the work you will be doing on your quest to train new hires on-time tracking will depend on the tool that you use. As a starter, we suggest you try the simple time and location tracker called atto - as it posses only the necessary features you need to train new hires on time tracking.