The A-Z Of Time Audit For Employees

Managing time is not something that the human brain is good at. In a corporate environment with many urgent tasks and pressing deadlines, this could become an issue. The process of a time audit for employees can solve this problem and improve employee productivity.

What Is a Time Audit For Employees?

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A time audit is a process that shows you exactly how you spend your time while working. This is done by analyzing and tracking your office hours for a few days or weeks or months, The data would represent how you normally spend your time on a usual working day.

Now, your schedule can be optimized and corrected for maximum efficiency.

You might be worried that this process itself will consume a lot of time, But there are tools available, by which you can streamline the process of time auditing.

An example of such a tool is TimeSheets by TimeTrack; For creating a realistic and sustainable task list, knowing and analyzing time consumption scenario is crucial, and TimeSheets can be a game changer. TimeSheets will help you in recording your time via a timer, you can also create a working time model through Timesheets.

The Purpose of Time Auditing

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So you are interested in time auditing but have a few questions in mind regarding the matter. You might be asking why you should perform an audit. Won’t analyzing your time simply waste more of it?

The answer that I would give is a big NO. Because the purpose of a time inspection is to match how you believe you’re spinning your wheels with how you spend time. It may bring valuable insights into where most of your time goes and assist you in establishing wiser habits surrounding your days, weeks, or months.

By doing this, you’ll be able to more effectively accomplish your personal and professional goals, increase your productivity, and redistribute your time among the things that are most important to you.

Achieve Targets

You can also consider a time audit if you are constantly missing deadlines and are unable to cross off things from your to-do list. Or if you are feeling like you are taking a lot longer to finish certain tasks.

Achieving your targets can be very simple if your time is sorted and properly oriented and channelled.

I said channeled because all of the working potentials of an employee can be wasted and exhausted on unnecessary tasks just because that energy is not channeled properly.

Time audits would allow you to have a proper analysis of how an employee is spending his/her working hours, then if you may find that their schedule is not at par with your vision you can provide them with a scheduled activity calendar.

Make Employees Realize the Value of Time

For a business venture or any kind, the acknowledgment of the value of time is very important, as the saying goes “time is money” and to a certain extent, it actually is.

With the help of a successful time audit, a task that would take two hours due to potential distractions will take much less, giving the employee enough time to spare. They can spend it on daily tasks or any other work-related tasks.

Hence, the process of a time audit would educate your employees about the value of time and will help them maintain a healthy work-life balance while remaining productive.

Make Efficient Use of Time

As we have discussed above, time is important. However, when analyzing your time management, it’s all too easy to get caught up in categorizing tasks according to their importance. But the longer you avoid unnecessary tasks, the faster they add up and turn into necessary tasks.

It’s important to remember that non-essential tasks can never be fully avoided and should not be treated as such. But you can make the process of performing them a whole lot more efficient by consolidating tasks according to their priority while remembering that non-urgent doesn’t equal non-important.

Elevate Productivity

A time audit is a crucial part of increasing your productivity and spending your time wisely

Time audit reveals insights about our productive tasks, as well as time-wasting activities.

A time audit also helps you improve client and team communication, allows gathering accurate data on your daily schedule, and helps optimize your team’s productivity.

A small tip on how you can boost productivity is by getting an accountability partner, and also by performing one task at a time.

Hence, the time auditing process is also crucial for elevating your productivity and efficiency.

What Do You Require to Run a Time Audit For Employees?

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There are some prerequisites that are required to perform a time audit. These include software and other tools which you might need like:

• An exhaustive task list
• A time tracking software
• A calendar
• An attendance notator(optional)

The Do’s and Don’Ts of Time Auditing

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A time audit can be seamless and smooth if performed with proper management and planning. There are some tips and tricks that you should have in mind before initiating the process.

The most important tip would be to mention a proper reason for the execution of the time audit. Because if you don’t say a proper reason for monitoring your employees’ time, they might feel like there is a lack of trust and respect for privacy in the company.

Another thing to note is to use trusted software. Otherwise, you might find yourself in danger of a security breach that might put the sensitive data of your company and employees at risk.

Also, consider using additional tools for tracking your employees’ performance, such as a timesheet, which will allow you to track attendance, legal working hours, breaks, absences, and sick leaves.

How To Do a Time Audit for Employees?

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You can simply follow the steps mentioned below to learn about the process of time auditing.

Draw a Worksheet

The first thing you should do is create a worksheet that consists of how you plan to execute the process of time auditing.

Also, it should contain the tasks, goals, and high-priority activities you want to achieve in the future.

The main thing is to be realistic in your planning and not live up to the fantasy of being the best employee in the world.

Categorize

The next step would be to put your different tasks in different categories according to your priorities.

These classifications may include the following:

• Checking, composing, and sending emails
• Meetup (virtual or physical)
• Telephone conversations with clients
• Traveling
• Setting up goals
• Working on your tasks
• Performing chores
• Rest

Naturally, they may vary based on the sort of employment you have (remote or in-house), whether you have companions or kids, and the position you hold in the company.

Track Time Using Timetrack

The most important part of a time audit is to track your time using proper time-tracking tools.

Time auditing can be executed seamlessly with TimeTrack, which is a professional time tracking tool. It is also available in the form of a time-tracking app.

TimeTrack has many in-built solutions that will come in handy for tracking your time, including manual time entries, browser time clock, app time clock, Chrome extension/ add-ons, or QR code scanners.

With a 14-day free trial subscription, you can try it out for yourself and enter the world of effective time management.

Take Minimal Minutes (If Possible, Even Seconds)

The best way to make the best out of your time is to break your large tasks into smaller parts and then prioritize them so that it becomes easier for you to make a task list and cross all of the tasks according to your plan. You can then track time using TimeTrack’s mobile application called Timeclock.

This prioritization would also reduce the time you need to perform a certain task.

Analyze the Results From the Time Audit Process

You might be shocked by how much time you’re wasting once your audit is completed.

You will be able to observe, for instance, how long you spend each day waiting for a delayed train, responding to emails, or being stuck in traffic.

You’re not alone if you’re unclear about precisely what to analyze while examining the findings. You should separate the categories into “high priority chores” and “time wasters”. Activities when you’re not at your most productive, such as online shopping or monitoring social media, are regarded as time wasters. High-priority chores are those that require a lot of your concentration in order to be completed, including getting ready for meetings or doing research.

You could also prepare a realistic analysis of an average day in one section and a description of your dream day in the other.

For creating a realistic day to-do list a tool like Timeclock can result to be very useful, With the help of Timeclock, you can also record your working hours outside the office. It offers a mobile app called the time clock that is quick and efficient. Just take your phone out, start the timer and the routine of daily tasks can begin. The time clock records the come and goes of all employees. You don’t even have to be online to do this, the time recording is also saved offline. And the great part is, that it offers all this ability through your smartphone.

You can refer to the 101 guide for creating a realistic To-do list, which is a step-by-step guide to crafting a schedule-based task list.