Automation HR How to Optimize Time Management as You Work From Home Cameron Moneo Dec 28, 2020 8 mins read Let’s be honest—the shift to work-from-home hasn’t been all bad. For one thing, the commutes have gotten a lot shorter. Along with the newfound perks, however, there are many potential pitfalls to working remotely, particularly in how we manage our time amid the comforts (or distractions) of home. For HR teams suddenly dealing with an all-remote workforce, having an optimized time management system for employees has never been more essential. Monitoring employee engagement and productivity levels is a constant and ever-evolving challenge for HR teams. Ironically, aspects of the time management process—for instance, employee timesheets—can themselves be needlessly time-consuming. Below, we’ll discuss how automation can assist in streamlining time management, freeing everyone to make the best use of time and money when both these resources are in limited supply. Challenges for HR Teams During COVID Efficient time management is something we’ve all struggled with—god knows I could have written this sentence in a timelier fashion (though I had to check that basketball score, believe me). The COVID-19 push to remote work has resulted in time management obstacles many of us weren’t prepared for. According to an April 2020 Qualtrics survey, 32.5% of respondents reported being less productive since the start of the pandemic—ranging from having trouble concentrating to deliberately putting off more complex tasks. This same survey showed alarming increases in employee stress and anxiety levels, raising serious red flags about the overall decline in employees’ collective mental health post-COVID. “The more organized a company’s time management system is, the less burdened HR teams will feel, and the more confident they will be to identify company weak points and map a course through uncertain times.“ Facing these concerns, HR teams (in the B2B, B2C and SaaS spheres) are pressed to pay even closer attention to employee wellbeing, in addition to re-evaluating how time and money are being spent. This emphasizes the need for a clear time management system, one that connects isolated employees to teams, helps them to plan better, and heightens their engagement and sense of control over tasks. The more organized a company’s time management system is—with access to incisive data on work hours and employee progress–the less burdened HR teams will feel, and the more confident they will be to identify company weak points and map a course through uncertain times. Why Time Management Matters More Now and in 2021 We’re on the verge of the New Year (so long, 2020! It was weird knowin’ ya), but remote work is with us for the foreseeable future. HR teams must continue to respond to and resolve the complications of a dispersed workforce. With reliable time management processes there to assist (many of which can be automated, as we’ll see), HR teams should be ready to enter 2021 on the right foot. Here are just some of the ways time management tools can positively impact employee happiness and productivity, company spending, and workload distribution: Better communication Managing time effectively means communicating better. Without a shared office space, remote teams may struggle with one of two communication issues: they might be communicating too little, leaving costly gaps in connectedness, or too much, overscheduling non-productive meetings. Time management tools can draw attention to these problem areas, and facilitate balanced communications and more opportune check-ins. More transparency With better communication comes more transparency between individuals and teams. This goes beyond capturing an at-a-glance view of employee progress. A time management system can also flag over-productivity and thus prevent burnout—a very real risk when employees work from home and may feel compelled to log more hours than they would at the office. More accurate budgeting The insights gleaned from time management also provide a clearer idea of how best to spend budget. Non-essential and non-productive work, as well as recurring bottlenecks in processes, are some of the budgetary strains that time management aims to mitigate. With resources invested more wisely based on time-management insights, deliverables are produced faster. Greater bandwidth for HR teams Time management tools take care of valuable oversight and data-collection tasks, while leaving HR teams more time to address larger issues affecting employees. Such issues might include the widespread repercussions of COVID-19, and the consequent move to remote work, on employee wellbeing. A time management system should free up bandwidth for HR teams, allowing them to focus more attention on such matters as employee recognition, unity and workplace culture. Improved time management can boost morale and help teams feel connected. (Photo credit: Lukas Blazek) In sum, improved time management can help to boost employee morale (a key concern for HR teams during COVID-19) and give a sharper picture of how time and money should be allocated—both indispensable steps in conquering the challenges of remote work. Now for the best part: All the benefits of time management are a click away with Hybrid Automation solutions like Wrk! How to Streamline Time Management With Wrk If your bandwidth is stretched thin, every step taken to improve your company’s processes can feel like another drain on resources. Well, rest assured that automation is worth your time. Consider how an automation platform can enhance the following core aspects of time management. Generating timesheets Look, nobody loves filling out timesheets. Employees often complain about the tedious and (wouldn’t you know it) time-consuming nature of this task. Yet timesheets are crucial when it comes to invoicing clients, and monitoring employee workload. In the latter case, timesheets can help curtail the aforementioned risk of burnout by indicating when an employee has logged excessive hours of work. Good news: timesheets are easily automated. Just as automation can assist in generating timesheet data, a fully optimized WrkFlow can be triggered when a timesheet upload occurs, instantly collecting login/log off times for employees from the company intranet. With processes this simple, will employees perhaps…grow to love the timesheet? Regular check-ins In remote work, a dropped connection between individuals and teams can spell a dip in productivity, not to mention feed into already existing feelings of isolation brought on by remote working. Sooner than acting as a veiled micro-managing strategy, regular check-ins can be a way to keep all members of a team clicking and accounted for, despite the distances between them. “Improved time management can help to boost employee morale and give a sharper picture of how time and money should be allocated—both indispensable steps in conquering the challenges of remote work.” Automation removes the repetitive connotation from “regular” check-ins. Let one-click Wrk Actions™ send automated emails to book meetings, saving your energy to derive the most value from your check-ins with team members. Aligning employee tasks with department goals Time management tools can help to compare how employee tasks and progress are lining up with department expectations. These insights are essential to measuring productivity and planning or adjusting budgets. When employee tasks fall short of goals, there may be time-management data to demonstrate where employees are being tied up in non-essential work, or how a project timeline proved unrealistic. Automation can deliver the comparative data that allow HR teams to re-evaluate how budgeting matches up (or doesn’t) with employee results. Afforded this time for re-evaluation, HR teams can plan ways to engage employees in more deep, quality work. There’s no time like the present to pivot to the ease and cost-efficiency of automation. With a platform like Wrk’s, you can enhance your time management now, so you can save precious time (and money) in the future. Prioritizing Time Management Work-from-home has given your HR team plenty of reason to prioritize time management—whether because of fall-offs in productivity and communication, or trends in employee mental health. Fortunately, Wrk offers powerful, flexible, and stress-free solutions for managing your time better today. Curious how else Wrk can assist your HR team? Visit our Wrkflows page today! Feature Image Photo Credit: Manny Pantoja Share This Article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email