Time tracking is an essential activity for almost any business that bills customers or uses external resources.

It ensures that your employees’ time is recognized accurately, and it also helps you make sound decisions about when to hire (or fire) because it tells you what’s happening in the workplace. 

And yet, time tracking is something that many people in the tech industry have a hard time doing, whether because they’re “non-accountant” types or perhaps just by habit.

Whatever the reason, you now have to take steps to ensure that time tracking becomes part of your company’s standard routine.

The following are ways to help transition your team into time tracking.

1. Keep It Anonymous

You’ve probably heard the phrase “what gets measured, gets managed.” That phrase applies to time tracking as well. If you’re going to try and influence your team’s use of time positively, which we recommend, they need to know that everyone is making an effort to improve, and it can’t be at the expense of another person.

So keep the time-sheets anonymous, with only group totals being published weekly even when using time tracking software for employees. The software will help you find and fix any problems that cause employees to fall behind their peers.

2. Show Them How It Benefits Everyone

Early in the time-tracking process, don’t just talk about how it will make your team more efficient or accurate. Your team will be frustrated already because they consider time tracking a nuisance. If you want your team to embrace time tracking with open arms, you need to show them how the new system benefits everyone.

Have a weekly meeting where you discuss which employees are ahead of schedule and why. Showing the benefits will motivate those further behind as they realize what’s possible when they’re on time every day.

Doing so will help you support your employees and improve their performance. With software like Slite, managers can see each member’s weekly progress. This way, employees are clear about the company culture and expectations, which leads to an improved sense of job satisfaction.

3. Keep Employees In-The-Know

If you’ve taken our advice on keeping time tracking anonymous, then it follows that your team needs to know what’s going on with their peers every week as well. If someone’s been ahead all week and then falls behind at the end, they need to know that as soon as possible so that they can take corrective action right away.

And if someone is procrastinating or seems not to be taking their responsibilities seriously, you should make sure they’re aware of the fact as we

Accountability is crucial for employee development. When you keep employees in the know about everyone’s progress, they’re more likely to pick up the slack for their coworkers and work together.

4. Take It A Company Goal

If you want to make sure your team adopts time tracking as a daily habit, then your first step should be to show them that upper management is committed. If your goal is to improve accountability throughout the company, you need to make sure that top-level management knows it.

Every week, you should have a meeting with the CEO and COO where you discuss time tracking as a company goal, leading to improved work culture. Instead of setting quantitative goals like “reduce the time per ticket,” set a qualitative goal like “increased productivity.” Doing so will keep your team accountable for their actions in a way that quantifying things doesn’t.

Time tracking may seem like a tedious task, but it can have a profound effect on your business in the long run.

Not only does it help you stay productive and improve your work-life balance, but it also helps employees become more conscientious of their responsibilities. But to get everyone on board with time tracking, you need to make sure they understand how it benefits them personally.