Time flies, especially when it comes to project management. It is often a struggle for PMs to keep up with the work of each individual team member, resulting in their inability to effectively monitor productivity and adhere to budgets and deadlines. Before they know it, projects become far too expensive and it’s revealed that time isn’t being allocated appropriately. Changes clearly must be made, but is there a solution to this problem? Yes—time tracking.
Now, before you discredit this solution, hear me out. You may be thinking there are too many obstacles to overcome in adopting this system, like acquiring more sophisticated software programs or getting all managers to fully participate. Maybe you’re not convinced because you’re worried about a culture clash or potential backlash from employees that may feel micromanaged. Before jumping to these conclusions, we’re going to let you in on a secret—they’re all relatively easy to overcome. Plus, the benefits far outweigh any initial obstacles.
To read more about how to overcome these common obstacles, like how to explain time tracking to employees, I encourage you to download the whitepaper, Don’t Go Up in Flames: Navigate Time Tracking Acrobatics Within the Enterprise. For now, let’s focus on the end results. Time tracking can benefit your organization in three ways:
- Promoting accountability: Employees create their own proof of how long certain tasks take, allowing them to improve their performance. Having more efficient workers means greater competitiveness and faster time to market.
- Providing insight beyond projects: Measure how things like environment affect productivity, and, in turn, determine possible improvements within the organization.
- Ensuring compliance: Follow mandates that require accurate, up-to-date, auditable record keeping by time tracking against project tasks.
Not to mention, the PMO will be better able to course-correct when estimates and actuals don’t line up, allowing them to ensure projects stay on schedule and budget. This will benefit not only the PMO, but every level of your organization. Your PMO shouldn’t have to continue flying blind by working without a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) system when their lack of visibility is one of the simplest problems to solve. At the end of the day, you can’t manage what you can’t measure, making time tracking not only an asset, but a necessity. Learn all about it in the whitepaper: Don’t Go Up in Flames: Navigate Time Tracking Acrobatics Within the Enterprise. I’d like to hear from you. Have you implemented time tracking among your team? If so, share some of the benefits realized by leaving a comment below.
