How to make Time Management a priority for your employees

It is common and human for any employee to wish for an easy day.

 After all, life’s pleasantries lie in some social networking, contemplation, breaks and of course, work. Today, the use of internet based social media programs have made it an instant hit more for connecting with friends and family than customers and clients. Here is an extract from the Pew Research Centre’s report of September 2014 that seems like telling statement:

“In a new survey conducted in September 2014, the Pew Research Center finds that Facebook’s large base of users continues to be very active. Fully 70% engage with the site daily (and 45% do so several times a day), a significant increase from the 63% who did so in 2013”.

Could we presume that this 45% who access Facebook several times a day are using it as a business tool for the company’s Facebook page management and promotion?  For this question to be addressed properly, firstly, is the company aware that there are specialized web services, online marketing and customized research by which the business could enhance their online brand presence whilst  prioritizing employee time effectively?

Apart from the business owner, it would be indeed difficult to find that deeply committed individual who bounces in to work and starts the day with invigorating enthusiasm. Under normal circumstances, people may have bursts of energy, or may even be the plodders. The eternal perplexing question is how to make time management a “priority” for your employees. Here are a few tips that could prove useful.

Bring to the fore their natural motivational tendencies

We bring to our present lives, some throwback of our childhood years when we were told to do things. Thus, guidance, clear directions on the expectations of the task and how you want it completed gives an employee an outline on how to plan the assignment and basically, judge the time it would take. This is a natural motivator. What would kill this natural motivation would be to keep checking the project progress, shoot down a suggestion because it is not in line with your thinking or frown if you see your employee taking a break.

Let them see the bigger picture

No sooner the employee see where the puzzle fits, natural interest is built and the project takes a human face. It becomes a natural priority because the employee senses the faith placed in them and the employer appreciates the questions asked of the “why’s” and “wherefore’s” of the assignment no matter now mundane that particular component of the job may be. What would kill the interest would be any form of resentment to the questions asked or a “you don’t need to worry about that….” attitude.

Not all employees are alike

It is folly to classify all employees as “think alike’s” although as the opening paragraphs suggest, plenty of common traits exist. The best employee might have never got the point that work starts at 9.00 am, much to the ire of the rest, but the slow starter could be the one who bursts into productivity in the latter part of the day and goes on long after the rest have left. Others may have that burst of energy in the early part of the day. Understanding each employee and giving in to their personal time management style allows flexibility for employees to naturally prioritize their time. Guiding the employee to use the priority matrix would be all that is needed;

To use or not to use the action list

Some say no, some say yes, but lists do have their values whether on paper or through specialized apps. Setting up a workflow map with the actions and deadlines helps employees to prioritize sufficiently to sneak in a few personal distractions (a necessary evil). As long as everyone knows the project actions and the role of each individual, with a broad outline of tasks and timelines, it’s hard to act up.

Show them the easier way to prioritize their time

Technology is there to be mastered and used to our best advantage – not the technology that everyone has become a slave to, but the right tools that enable time to be captured and whipped into submission. There are plenty of tools and apps that organize information, allow teams to set goals on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, track previous information and share information. Cloud storage allows data to be stored in pools that are accessible across multiple servers and also integrates well with other apps. With the rapid advancement of technology, these apps are not necessarily costly and they certainly cut out the toil. The whole purpose of a good time management software is that it translates complex technology into real life situations that deal with time and project management issues on the run.

Created : September 10th, 2015