There are several time tracking tools on the market, each with its own unique set of features. They aim to help teams monitor how they are making use of their time, which is regarded as a reliable performance metric.
Time tracking, however, is not only useful in seeing hours worked for each team member. It’s also one of the most accurate ways of measuring productivity. Time tracking apps often come with useful features such as scheduling and attendance monitoring, making them indispensable for handling tedious and repetitive tasks, as well as streamlining project management.
In short, the time tracking software that’s currently available to manufacturers makes it easier for them to do their work with higher efficiency, and focus on more relevant tasks. Let’s take a look at what time tracking apps are capable of, as well as how your team can benefit from them.
Easily Keep Track of Team Hours and Time Spent on Tasks
Before time tracking tools, paper-based timesheets were the only way of keeping track of team hours. In fact, many teams are still using this method today.
The main issues with traditional time cards are their tendency to be inaccurate and easily manipulated. Not to mention that it takes a lot of time and effort to stop working and write down all the hours worked by each team member.
Time tracking tools automate the entire process, from clocking in and out to generating timesheets that are significantly more accurate than their paper counterparts. What’s more is that time tracking apps can monitor the activity rates of the team, which helps project managers determine how well the team is performing. As you can imagine, his isn’t possible at all with paper time cards.
When dealing with multiple tasks, it’s sometimes easy to forget how long it took to complete a particular job. With time tracking apps, monitoring the time spent on specific tasks is a matter of a few clicks. Everything else is done by the software.
See Where Field Teams Are Working With GPS Location Tracking
Managing teams is no easy task, let alone field teams who are often on-the-go.
There’s also the matter of finding proof of work and project status, which further complicates things.
Since certain team members such as technicians won’t be sitting in front of computers all day, accurately identifying what they have accomplished for the day is next to impossible.
Luckily, time tracking apps also come with GPS capabilities, which is exactly what mobile teams need.
GPS location monitoring complements time tracking perfectly. These two features combined make tracking field teams’ progress easy and painless.
Essentially, location tracking provides data about where the team has operated, which routes were taken, and the time spent in specific locations. With GPS features, team leaders and managers can get an idea of where everyone is with just a look.
This accuracy is only amplified by geofencing, which is the ability to create job sites and have time tracking start and stop automatically as someone enters or leaves.
Team members don’t even need to clock in and out when they are working on-site. They can focus on the task at hand without having to worry about forgetting to turn on their timers and fail to record valuable hours.
Scheduling and Attendance Tracking Made Simple
According to an article by Chron, both productivity and team morale take a hit when there is poor attendance in a team. This is why both scheduling and attendance tracking are essential to ensuring that the flow of work goes as planned.
But to be able to do both of these effectively, there must be a reliable and easy-to-use scheduling tool.
Scheduling is such an all-around useful feature that it is built into most time tracking solutions available on the market. You can create one-time or recurring shifts which your team can easily view. It allows employees to stay updated with their schedules and shifts without any hassle. It even notifies team members who are late for their shift.
For employers, scheduling tools will automatically notify them if anyone has missed a shift. This makes it easier for them to make quick adjustments if necessary, and stay on top of managing the team.
Next Steps to Improving Productivity
There are several factors that determine how productive you are. There isn’t a specific way to measure productivity, but getting a better understanding of how you use your time is an excellent place to start.
What time tracking does is provide teams with valuable data that they can use as a baseline for their performance and the immediate benefit of being able to maximize their time. Productivity is numerically immeasurable, but time tracking can help you gain insight into how efficiently your team is performing.
With this data, teams can better understand if they are wasting or making good use of time, and identify areas for improvement. They can make better-informed decisions, prioritize the right tasks, and make the most out of every hour with ease.
Peter Gratale is a marketing manager at Hubstaff, which makes time tracking software with GPS location, productivity monitoring, and in-depth reporting for manufacturers.
