6 Proven Strategies to Improve Employee Time Management

Employee Time Management January 11, 2023

Priyanka Bhadani

Writer

Every company's success hinges on workers completing their requirements on time. Businesses have quotas to meet, leads to close, and products to ship to customers. If workers can't complete their tasks promptly, then the company can't achieve operational effectiveness or profitability.

Employees are also impacted by their inability to manage time effectively. Poor time managers tend to be less productive, more anxious, have a poor work life balance, and have difficulty achieving career goals.

Therefore, it is in the best interest of both the organization and the worker to learn and implement several employee time strategies that help improve time management.

6 Actionable Ways to Improve Employee Time Management

Because most employee tasks are intertwined with other colleagues' requirements, poor time management is a domino effect. If one employee is late turning in his/her work, the next employees' time will be impacted, and so on. As a result, a company will have a much harder time achieving its objectives and maintaining a competitive edge.

It isn't always possible to decrease a workload or force a coworker to be a better organizer. However, workers can control their response to a stressful situation through effective time tracking and improved planning. Here are the top solutions to optimize time management skills in the workplace -

1. Pinpoint the Root Cause

A great way to minimize poor time management is to pinpoint the source of the problem. Management should speak with the employee to see what bottlenecks are causing difficulties in project management before making any assumptions.

The supervisor can ask which projects are taking the longest, how the worker spends the day, and which time management tracking tools, if any, are being used. He should reiterate the worker's strengths and then highlight the important tasks to help the employee stay focused on what is critical to the company.

Employees should identify which distractions are causing lapses in productivity and then identify ways to minimize or eliminate them. A time log can also be a way for management to assess the alignment of worker time with critical tasks to discern where problems are occurring.

Employees can use the log as a method to track time and map out their day more effectively in the future.

2. Clarify Priorities

Management can ensure employees meet requirements on time by clearly explaining the top priorities. These should be repeated to make certain those priorities are stored at the forefront of everyone's to-do lists or time management software.

Creating schedules for projects, setting due dates, and utilizing KPIs to track performance are other effective methods to clarify priorities. Management should make sure to address these requirements with new hires to ensure they start on the right foot.

3. Find Help or Offer It

Too many employees feel overwhelmed in their work time but are afraid to ask for help because they don't want to be viewed as weak. Management should take the initiative by letting workers know they are available to help improve their task management and resolve bottlenecks.

More passive methods may include regular check-ins, placing workers in teams to help hold everyone accountable, or scheduling one-on-one meetings to discuss time management strategies. Employees can also talk to colleagues that manage their time well to ask for any suggestions or best practices.

4. Coach Employees

Managers should act as role models by demonstrating how to manage time. Being on time for meetings, honoring commitments, and responding quickly to messages are all ways to subtlety model what is expected.

Leaders can also assess worker behavior to pinpoint any time management problems, and then provide ideas for improvement. Setting firm requirements can help employees address problem areas and resolve them.

5. Teach New Time Management Techniques

Time management training educates workers on how to allocate and collocate resources to optimize organization. Training can help employees plan and calculate how long it takes to finish tasks, prioritize key requirements, and avoid procrastination.

Training should also educate on the importance of maintaining a clean work environment to improve organization skills. Communication skills are also a part of time management training, as employees should provide regular updates using the correct mediums to convey the status of projects.

6. Use Positive Reinforcement

Many employees leave their jobs because hard work was never fully recognized. Positive reinforcement and rewarding those who perform well are the most effective ways to motivate team members.

Supervisors should make certain to recognize these employees in meetings or in company-wide emails to inspire everyone to strive for their goals. Bonuses, promotions, or raises are also great incentives to ensure employees become better time managers.

Key Takeaways

In conclusion, here are the top strategies to improve employee time management

Management should pinpoint the root cause of time management problems and then work with employees to resolve them. Working with employees to ensure they prioritize requirements is also another effective time management technique.
Employees should feel comfortable asking for help if they struggle to manage their time properly. Management can make themselves available to help staffers make time management improvements.
Time management training can help workers prioritize tasks, avoid procrastination, and assess how long it takes to complete projects. It can also help employees keep a clean work environment so they can find the information they need when they need it. Utilizing tracking software or other time management tools can help to organize resources as well.
Positive reinforcement is one of the best time management strategies to motivate everyone to meet key objectives and improve workplace morale. Employees who have a better work life balance and feel appreciated tend to perform better as well.