What can HR do to improve time management in the workplace?

Have you ever wondered how people get productive and manage to do a lot of work done, while many of us merely finish our day-to-day tasks? They get the same hours we get in a day. Are they talented or special?

Well, the answer is no, they are not talented or special, it all comes down to their effective time management. It is one valuable skill everyone should learn.

I think we all have heard this proverb “Time and tide wait for none” –which states the fact that both time and tide are eternal and do not wait for anyone. In this technology-driven growing world, it is of utmost importance that we manage time in the most efficient manner.

Therefore, time management is the ability to use one’s time effectively.

Similarly at the workplace too, time management is one such factor that determines the company’s growth, efficiency and profit.

However, failing to manage time or poor time management skills at work can result in:

·   Missing deadlines and appointments

·   Procrastination

·   Lack of focus

·   Inefficient workflow  

·   Low work quality

·   Unwanted stress

·   Strained workplace relationships

·   Financial penalties

·   Work and life imbalance

Why is time management important at the workplace?

There are numerous benefits that come along with effective time management like:

Accomplishing work on time

When you allocate an uninterrupted time period for work, you eventually finish it within the deadline and in this way, you can manage your workload more effectively. Therefore, you can easily deliver your work on time.

Enables you to perform better

Managing your work time effectively, by focussing on work content and dropping unnecessary tasks, you can make yourself more productive and efficient at the workplace. Your overall productivity goes up and helps you perform better.

Reduced stress

As we discussed earlier, poor management of time can lead to missing deadlines and cumulating workloads, which in turn can cause stress. Hence, proper time management helps in accomplishing deadlines thereby reducing stress and anxiety.

Improved work-life balance  

Having time management skills not only benefit you in your workplace but will also have an impact outside your work. If you keep all the things under control professionally, you will have more time and effort for your relations, family and personal life. This overall improves your quality of life.

More time on leisure and interest

Who does not enjoy leisure time and recreation? With good time management, you gain access to more free time during your day. This time can be spent on leisure or on any skill/activity which you loved to learn but weren’t able to. You know, actually having interest in something apart from work will make you more organized. The CEO of IHS Markit said in one of his interviews that he would prefer a person who has interest in something irrelevant to work, as this quality would make that person better at managing time and organized.

‍

During the era of the hybrid working model, it is of utmost importance to manage time and set priorities and boundaries. Long working or working without a proper schedule is directly correlated to stress, anxiety, and heart ailments. Therefore, instead of working late, stop logging those extra hours by setting the right expectations, prioritizing your responsibilities and minimizing distractions.

‍

Employee Traits

In corporate companies, HRs play a crucial role in assisting and developing time management skills among their employees. In order to hone this skill in their employees, HRs must first encompass a few traits in their employees which will lead them to manage time more efficiently. These traits are:

‍

What can HR do to improve time management in the workplace?

There are many ways through which HRs can improve time management at the workplace:

Having a flexible work schedule

Employees do not like working in a rigid system. They like to work at their convenience. HRs must respect this aspect and ensure to provide ways to employees to get their work done.

Proper planning

Planning and time management go hand in hand with each other. This does not necessarily mean sticking to a routine schedule, but HRs should make sure that employees make a smart decision on the tasks given to them and finish them before the deadline. Brian Tracy, one of the best-selling authors once said, “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent Return on Energy.”

Discuss time management strategies

HRs can discuss with managers of teams for customized team strategies and solutions for more effective work. They can also send mails to employees on tips and techniques on how to manage time and be more efficient at the workplace.

Some of the valuable tips HRs can give to their employees are:

- Advise employees not to multi-task on their work, as it is one of the biggest time-wasting activities and you end up achieving nothing out of it.

- Instruct employees to look into the things which cause them distraction from work schedule and to cut off all the distractions which will cost valuable work hours.

- Urge the employees to take regular breaks during their work. You can suggest them to for a quick stretch, relax, 10 minutes yoga etc.

‍

Also read: Role of HR in Workplace Culture 

‍

Provide time management tools

HRs may provide and encourage employees to opt for time management tool applications so that they can effectively utilize their time and enhance their productivity. Some of the time management tools are:

Height.app

‍Height is a very modernized application that can be used for teams’ collaboration. Addressing tasks to employees, giving them deadlines, prioritizing and tracking employee work is much easier with the help of this application.

Calendar

Who doesn’t need a calendar? This application here is quite advanced from the traditional calendar. It’s the only tool in the market that has both calendaring and scheduling needs in one. This makes employee’s day easy by organizing and scheduling day-to-day events at one place with a simple click.

Trello

‍Trello application allows you to mark your daily tasks using bullet points. One can collaborate with the team or organize daily tasks for the team and project into bullet helpful bullets. Deadlines, priority orders, notes and files can be attached for further reference.

Monitask

This is the best time tracking, task management and productivity monitoring application which was created for companies that employ a remote workforce. In Monitask employers can see how much time was spent by employees on various projects and activities. Some of its key highlights include generating online timesheets for employees, accurate time tracking, capturing screenshots of employee's work at assigned time intervals, real-time dashboard features and low cost.

DeskTime

‍DeskTime is a highly recommended application tool. It is a desktop and mobile tracking software. This is a practical tool to get the best out of the time spent during work. This app can be integrated into other project managing applications like Trello, Jira, Asana, Gitlab and also with Google Calendar for time tracking and effective workflow management. Some of Desktime’s highlights are automated online project and task tracking, productivity calculation, reporting and data exports and management tools integration.

Wait, I have one more tool which can help you get organized at a personal level! We all are humans and we too need tools that can help us get organized and reach our personal goals. This tool can be used by basically anyone from CEOs of the company to their employees.

Lio

This is one app for all your data. With Lio, you can make lists of all your business data like accounting, CRM, operations, staff and personal data. With a user-friendly UX design, you can pretty much do everything with simple clicks. This application is available on android, iOS and the web.

‍

Also read: Best Talent Acquisition Strategies and Tools