What are we doing so? What mistakes do we make? How to control time and keep up with all the cases? So, here are the top 6 time control errors:

1. Prioritization is important

To Do-list is a useful and important tool. It helps to make a plan for the day, sometimes even to distribute tasks in time. However, if priorities are not placed in the cases, you can perform unimportant tasks and at the same time not have time to do something extremely important.

Managers who practice time control do not tire of recalling: always set a clear goal for the team and, in accordance with it, prioritize. Most managers use the rule: 80% of the time – priority tasks, 20% – secondary.

2. To indulge procrastination – a big mistake

This error can be a consequence of the previous one. It was quite common to postpone a difficult task, delaying its decision as long as possible. An important and difficult matter, as a rule, requires considerable effort. If you do small tasks – you can much easier spend a working day.

The main disadvantage here is not even in harm from delaying the task (although if you control the time, you can calculate the monetary expression of the loss of precious hours). The main harm is that as a result, the task, which will bring a significant result, will not be accomplished.

3. Evaluate your abilities correctly

Competent project time tracking software helps to soberly estimate how many hours or minutes this or that task will take. Often people think that it takes at most 10 minutes to complete it, and in fact it turns out to be 3-4 times more.

In order to better plan the working day, you can use special project time tracking software. It shows how much time you spend on certain cases, displays the average value for the selected period, and at the same time shows where you spend time inefficiently.

4. Level the distractions

Another point in which you will need project time tracking software. What distracts us from work more often? That’s right, mail, the Internet, social media sites. Systems like the one mentioned in the previous paragraph will help identify the main “devourers of time”. Then everything is in your hands: block notifications, pop-ups or, if necessary, access to these resources.

A great way to control time is to schedule incoming messages to be checked for a specific time. Then it won’t be tempting to check the mail every 3-5 minutes.

5. Time control is not a superfluous occupation

And again about the control of time and its calculation. Time management ideologists, before using its practice, are strongly encouraged to analyze: what, in fact, is your day spent on?
There are simple and complex ways to control time.

Complicated: a few days (usually 7 or 14) to measure the time to solve work assignments. Simple: install special project time tracking software, which will do all the work for you. The main purpose of this calculation is to analyze your day, identify errors and, on the contrary, best practices.

6. Multitasking is a myth

We want to do everything at once, manage to solve several tasks simultaneously and even more. However, there is scientific evidence that multitasking does not exist. In fact, this is a throwing between several cases, a low concentration on each of them and a high probability of errors.

The work of the personnel is monitored through various means and techniques. In general, it can be divided into internal and external impact. The external impact further stimulates the work of personnel through difficult tasks, helping to avoid manipulation by the staff and showing the relationship between the employee’s achievements and his remuneration. But it is worth considering that with external control over the work of the staff, the subordinates will strive to improve the final indicators, but not the optimization of the process itself. They will perform, if possible, only what will bring them a concrete benefit, while keeping silent about the mistakes made in the course of the task.

It is for this reason that internal control over the work of staff is considered more effective. In this case, each employee has his own specific goals, errors are identified in the course of the tasks, but when they are detected, radical measures (dismissals, salary cuts, etc.) are not applied, rather the process is corrected, and the quality of the work is taken into account. Such control over the work of the staff is gentle, but no less effective: employees begin to orient themselves towards the common goal and specifically their own, it is no longer sensible to withhold information about misses and mistakes in work. However, mistakes can not be ruled out: the manager may lose the possibility of operational control, and the employee begins to follow only his own interests, forgetting or ignoring the general.

Internal control over the work of staff can be accomplished via employee time tracking system. It shows the productiveness of each employee, providing the manager with the needed information – what websites the employee visits during working hours, how much time he spends on personal activities, how focused he is on work, etc.

The main mistakes in the control of the work of staff:

1. Control is carried out sporadically: from case to case, which, of course, leads to disorientation of employees, and this contributes to the appearance of more errors.
2. Total control over the work of personnel, which does not allow employees to make even a step freely, of course, will kill any independence and initiative. When the manager is observing the results from employee time tracking system, he should not control the work of the employee too much.
3. Hidden control in some cases is prohibited by law, but in any case harms the relationship in the company: it degrades both employees and the employer. When using employee time tracking program the employer must inform the employee about the use of this software.
4. Particularly close monitoring of the work of employees of one particular department. This is extremely demotivating the selected observation site and undermining the basis for interaction between subordinates and the leader.
5. Imaginary or conditional control, when the manager is deliberately lazy or afraid to control his subordinates, so as not to lose their location or spoil their personal relations with employees.
6. Control, the reason for which was distrust of the team, would worsen the psychological climate and aggravate the situation even more.
7. When there is no feedback in the control of the work of the staff, it is difficult to understand its effectiveness, to evaluate it and to find possible ways to improve control.
8. Surface control over the work of staff will never give a full picture of what is happening and will not bring appreciable benefits.
9. Disorienting control introduces the employee into a state of ambiguity, bias and significantly worsens his productivity index.

Monitoring the work of the staff has never been a simple task, but one thing is clear: the ways to make it really useful for the company, for employees, and for the head are many, it is only necessary to approach this issue consciously and solve it competently.

According to experts, all employees who need control can be divided into 7 types:

1. Temporaries. For such employees, your company is only a place where you can not wait out the best period in life. They are not aimed at the result, they are ready to take, but not to give, and they need to monitored with employee time tracking app in order to learn how focused they are on work.

What to do? Implement employee time tracking in the organization. It will show whether an employee is working or is just waiting for work day to end. You can also look at a resume or work record book: temporary employees often change jobs and, as a rule, fall in love with “beautiful” posts.

2. The average. Employees of this category will be only happy to control personnel in the organization. They do not make independent decisions, do not go to conflicts and try to be “good” for everyone. Silence failures, loudly talk about success, and do not take risks, even if they promise the profits of the organization.

What to do? Recognize at the interview stage. Whether the candidate is happy with the employee time tracking in the organization, consider several characteristic cases, talk about the reasons for switching to another job – the average worker, and here he will shift responsibility to past colleagues, and not analyze the situation.

3. Chatterboxes. It’s not for nothing that such workers are called “a find for a spy.” Employee time tracking with such employees is simply necessary; otherwise insider information can easily fall into the wrong hands. The chatterers do not realize that they can disclose a commercial secret to a competitor; they like to embellish and show off.

What to do? Monitor employee records in social networks, conduct educational conversations, emphasize that outsiders can not be told.

4. Accountants. Some workers work on the principle of “I am underestimated, I will work without straining.” They are convinced that the payment of their labor is too low, they do not sabotage the tasks, but they do not fulfill them in a qualitative way.

What to do? It requires employee time tracking app: the head can not constantly monitor the employee, but in another way it is very difficult to catch him red-handed.

5. Poor and unhappy. Constant complaints are a way of life for these workers. They are the most tired, they have the most difficult work, the bosses do not appreciate, the colleagues do not understand. Such workers constantly make mistakes and justify them with illnesses, lack of help, what colleagues have failed, and so on.

What to do? To prevent the failure of deadlines – implement the control of personnel in the company. This will help to build a clear plan and visually see the dynamics of the activities of such employees. Including, the statistics can become the reason for dismissal of the worker.

6. One for all! At first glance, such an employee seems to be indispensable: a lot of tasks, solutions and works are “tied” on him. But in fact, such employees do not think about the development of the company, but about closing all the work on themselves.

What to do? Give the employee students, trainees, deputy. Under the “sauce” of transferring experience you will prepare a replacement for him, for an emergency.

7. The Siddlers – one of the most common types of employees and those with whom the control of personnel is vital. These workers – give the company only their time, while doing personal affairs. These employees are always happy to talk, smoke, while usually disciplined. The control of the personnel from the point of view of discipline here will not help. It is important to analyze the work, compare the results with similar positions in partner companies.

What to do? Implement the control of personnel in the organization, inform employees about it, abolish all fixed salaries and “tie” up salaries on the implementation of the plan or other performance indicators.