Some companies that have tried remote work during the pandemic are now eager for their employees to return to their roost. But just because we see our offices and worksites bustling with people again doesn’t mean we’ll have a better picture of employee performance, engagement or benefits.
New tools and processes employed to manage telecommuters, such as Time Doctor, provide deep insight into the behavior and output of teams that field managers don’t have the time or ability to observe.
Extending the use of such systems to employees in the office is exactly what many organizations need to transform their employee value proposition, increase their productivity and operate more profitably. This is what we are doing.
Performance in the office is not optimal, do you know why?
Bringing your team together physically isn’t a panacea for workplace challenges. Talent shortages across in-demand skill sets, record low levels of engagement and motivation, and mounting stress and burnout cannot be solved.
In fact, as workers around the world seek flexible arrangements, it can become even more difficult to retain top talent and foster a positive and productive culture when we return to the office.
Of course, there are good reasons for onsite work. The organization is prepared to leverage existing resources and facilities, manage access to equipment/devices, enforce standards and safety protocols, coordinate collaboration, and enhance culture through face-to-face interactions, etc. You may feel event.
but it doesn’t matter where Your team works — a deeper, more systematic approach allows you to understand how they spend their work to optimize productivity and performance.
More data gives you a competitive edge, and employee data in the office is no exception
There is a mistaken belief that using software to monitor the activities of teams working in physical offices is overkill. Especially when you have real-time visibility into what’s going on, which means frontline manager care.
Some common lies organizations tell themselves about managing face-to-face teams include:
- Managers can more easily identify and address issues in the field.
- You can tell who’s working hard by who’s at their desk and how late they stay
- Leaders can objectively get a feel for performance without having reliable data to back it up
The problem is that most managers have too many direct reports, not enough time to understand and lead, and little professional development or data to lead with confidence. is.of Creative Leadership Center says Many managers feel overwhelmed from the very beginning of leadership positions, contributing to the fact that up to 50% of managers are ineffective.
When it comes to knowledge work, which is done primarily digitally, it’s a mistake to think that just because you can see someone sitting at their desk, you’ll have a better view of their performance.
Managers roaming the halls can see at a glance how much time their employees are spending on various tasks within their project management software, or see their overall most productive periods of the day or week. It cannot be comprehended. You need consistent measurements across your team that provide solid data.
Employee monitoring of onsite employees is a more reliable way to ensure both managers and individual employees understand what is happening on the job.
A clear example of how employee monitoring can improve productivity in the office
A growing customer service outsourcing company with locations in the United States and the Philippines wanted to deepen its competitive advantage by maximizing the skills and enthusiasm of its employees with state-of-the-art office space. Adopted Doctor.
BPO believed that employee monitoring and attendance tracking would reinforce the company’s strong culture of integrity and help identify knowledge/process gaps and inefficiencies.
And it worked. Teams in the office have become more accountable, aligned with processes, and more productive — Up to 25% more productivity in some casesWith a detailed understanding of how employees use their time and various tools and apps, the company is able to stream processes and deliver targeted training to upskilled employees. It’s been a huge success.
BPO managers can spend more time on innovative leadership initiatives rather than micromanaging. That’s because there are quick, reliable online tools to make sure people are attending, focused on important tasks, and taking proper breaks.
What Time Doctor’s Office Can Measure
Time Doctor provides metrics that are not easily collected by simply being in the same building as your employees. Time Doctor allows you to accurately track time spent on the various activities, tasks, and apps that make up each employee’s workday. It also reveals work and behavioral patterns that provide a holistic view of productivity, performance, compliance and health.
Using Time Doctor to monitor employees in your office allows you to:
- Digitally capture and verify team attendance and logins
- Understand the mix of tasks and projects in each employee’s workload
- Measure the time required for different tasks on different project types
- Ensure accuracy of payroll and client billing processes
- Benchmark the performance and output you can expect for a particular role
- Identify abuse of specific apps and sites
- Know which apps and websites are really improving your performance and productivity
- Accurately track inactivity and rest periods
- Identify compliance risks related to overwork and missing breaks
- Prevent burnout early by identifying unhealthy routines and workloads
- Better understand internal workarounds and process issues
- Get reliable benchmark data on your productivity to improve over time
An obvious use case is to know how much time an employee actually spends scrolling through social media feeds (i.e. employees not in a marketing role). But clarifying the extent of time wasting is just the tip of the iceberg. Savings can be made across the company through more strategic scheduling, operations, purchasing, resource sourcing and training.
For example, Time Doctor’s Web & App Usage Report can help you see if the software you’re subscribing to is underutilized or not optimally used. This can significantly reduce IT costs and provide more targeted coaching and training to help people use tools more effectively.
A hybrid and agile future: time and activity tracking improve every workspace
it might Most organizations combine remote and onsite work A McKinsey survey of executives shows that in some form or another over the next few years, McKinsey believes that organizations profiting from the productivity gains of a hybrid approach will adapt their processes and processes to this new work paradigm. I found the organization to be continuously fine-tuning its management style.
Time Doctor is a system that supports growth by helping you:
- Adopt more automated, data-driven talent management as part of a large-scale digital transformation.
- Lead more objectively, adapt more easily to changing circumstances, and lay the foundation for an inclusive, empowered and innovative workforce.
- Benchmark productivity and performance over time and create a comprehensive, easy-to-review repository of daily insights to guide improvement.
Have a consistent and scalable approach to measuring and managing productivity, performance, culture and well-being no matter where people work Just makes good business sense.
Extend oversight of employees deployed for remote work across teams within the office as they recognize that they must continue to evolve their business models and management approaches to remain competitive. further future-proof your organization.
Amy Owens is a product marketing enthusiast and passionate about writing content that communicates product features, values, and benefits.