Top 5 Tips for Improving Time Management and Attendance

In every office, there are days when everything seems to be flowing smoothly. Productivity and attendance are up and everyone is working together like a well-oiled machine. For some offices, this is a rare occurrence, but it can be the norm with some time management and attendance guidelines for employees and management.

Value Time

As a manager, make it a habit to value your time as well as the time of your employees. Set the example that time is important and productivity will come. When management teams respect employee time, employees are more likely to also value their time and less likely to waste time or dawdle.

At the beginning of the work day as you walk to your office or desk, make it a point to greet every person you come in contact with, showing appreciation that they are dedicating their time to your company. Keep time set aside for greetings limited to that walk through the office, unless you have important issues to discuss with specific employees.

Start working and organizing your day within five minutes of arriving at the office. Unless absolutely necessary, do not start your day with your email inbox. This can be a time suck and can ruin any productivity and creativity with which you started the day. Instead, check your email around midmorning.

Create Systems

Streamline your work with systems and batching throughout the whole office. With a set system, employees know what to expect when it comes to time management and what is required. This takes the anxiety and guesswork out of the task, leaving employees feeling confident and accomplished. Without that stressful, “What do I do next?” thought, employees are able to plan their days and work productively.

Of those systems, the most important is batching. Show employees how to batch similar tasks together into specific time blocks. For example, all mailing can be done at the same time. Have the employee set a basket aside with everything that needs to be mailed out. At a set time, or when the basket is full, tackle that task. Addressing, sealing and stamping envelopes as mail pieces pop up can disrupt the flow of other tasks when done throughout the day, but can be quickly handled when done at once.

Take Breaks

Encourage employees to take productivity breaks between tasks. No one can work 8 hours straight without needing to give the brain a chance to rest. By allowing time for breaks, you will minimize time wasted when employees lose focus.

Great examples of breaks that help to regain focus include walking around the office, taking a few steps outside to enjoy natural light, or eating a healthy snack to refresh the physical health as well.

Schedule a couple of breaks for email throughout the day. This will discourage the habit of immediately responding to an email just because it came through. Breaking the habit of immediate response can be difficult. Try turning on an inbox pause or quieting email notifications to help maintain focus.

Encourage Attendance

The office will always work more efficiently with a higher attendance rate. When employees are absent it interrupts the flow and requires others to pick up the slack. Encouraging attendance starts with a positive attitude and valuing your employees’ time.

First, it is important to have a clear policy on absences, both planned and unexpected. When employees know what to expect, they are more likely to be absent only when it is absolutely necessary.

Whenever an employee is absent, whether planned or unexpected, issue a greeting after the absence. Welcome him or her back and inform the employee that his or her presence was missed. Often, setting up a reward or recognition for positive attendance can make a difference. This can show appreciation and respect for an employee’s time and dedication to the company.

Use an Engaging System

Manually tracking time and attendance is another time suck. Instead, employ a solution that is easy to use and handles this task for you and other supervisors in your organization. One option is iSolved Time, iSolved's solution to time management and attendance problems for small-to-mid-sized companies. It’s a comprehensive human capital management solution that also handles payroll, benefits and HR, in addition to time tracking.

This platform is easy to use but includes flexible features that minimize the time management spends on monitoring and tracking employee’s hours. iSolved Time includes multiple ways for employees to clock in and out including traditional time clocks, a mobile app and self-service.

A system also helps to minimize accidental mistakes and time theft that can lead to significant labor board fines. Calculation errors are eliminated with the policies that are applied uniformly across the workforce. Other benefits include the management of pay policies, tracking time off and overtime, Affordable Care Act compliance, easy creation of schedules, comparing time worked versus scheduled hours, and much more.

With the right tools and practices, your company could be running at its most efficient with its highest employee satisfaction. When you respect and value the time of all employees, they respect attendance policies and arrive to work focused. Creating systems and batching similar tasks help to minimize the amount of time that is wasted.

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