You know how they say, “you can’t improve what you can’t measure?” It’s a cliché for a reason—because it’s true.

It would be so much easier to simply wing it when it comes to figuring out whether or not your team members are doing well in the office. However, it wouldn’t be very effective. Without knowing what you’re measuring, you won’t know what to change to make things more efficient. 

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You also won’t be able to identify potential problems and implement corrective action. And ultimately, you stunt your team’s growth simply because you wouldn’t even know where to start.

So, what can you do about it? 

Start by implementing the right solutions so you can gather the data needed to gain insight into how your team members are actually performing. There’s a wide selection of digital solutions that you can implement to improve internal communication & processes, with time tracking being one of the most useful solutions you can consider. 

To understand how a time tracking tool can help you with performance assessment and employee reviews, take a look at the following points:

1. A time tracking tool can help you understand how productive an employee is

Productivity is one of the most important factors considered when management is trying to review how well an employee is doing. A time tracking tool can give you a clearer picture of how much time it takes for an individual employee to produce their required daily output, regardless of any industry. For example, how many calls is an agent able to take every hour? Or how many product units can one employee produce? How many sales calls can your team make in a given period of time? Or how many support tickets can your customer service department handle? 

Tracking these metrics regularly shows you if their productivity fluctuates or is consistent and allows you to accurately reward them for a job well done.

2. A time tracking tool can provide insight into employee diligence

A time tracking tool provides more transparency between the employee and the company. It shows them how many hours are clocked in daily, whether or not employees arrive on time for work, and whether they are willing to put in extra hours, if needed.

This kind of data can put the spotlight on employee dedication and diligence. If their records show a high incidence of absenteeism, then it might be a cause for concern. Especially when you factor in the fact that “productivity losses from missed work cost employers $225.8 billion […] each year.”

A time tracking tool can help employers understand the direct and indirect causes of absenteeism as it can open up discussion between employees and their employers. As a business, it helps you measure the real cost of lateness and absenteeism in your organization, and gives you an opportunity to address it.

3. A time tracking tool can highlight an employee’s time management skills

Time management skills for employees are definitely a big plus, especially when they’re expected to run multiple projects simultaneously, across various teams. Time tracking tools help provide better insight into how efficiently employees are able to manage finite resources, including their time, to complete tasks.

For example, if the data shows an employee is putting in a lot of overtime work, it could be a sign that they either have too many things on their plate, or that they’re unable to manage their time wisely. Regardless of the reason, having this kind of insight gives employers an opportunity to address the issue before an employee’s performance begins to affect clients, customers, or output.

What’s the bottom line?

Finding the right tools you can use to measure performance accurately and consistently is the key to being able to ensure that you empower your team and address key challenges.

Reviewing time tracking data in the context of the quality of work your employees deliver can help a business improve their processes and output. Information regarding their attendance, absences, and lateness can provide insight into their diligence, motivation, and dedication to the job. It can also give HR teams an opportunity to quickly address problems if the data shows less than stellar numbers. Ultimately, this can help management make better decisions when it comes to hiring for the company.

Data from time tracking tools, when collected regularly, also allows a business to define a baseline or a standard for their company. If employee performance has shown regular improvement, then perhaps this is proof that the latest HR programs being implemented are actually effective. If it shows regular decline, then it could indicate a need to review ways to better engage and motivate employees.

Finally, always remember that transparency is a great advantage that you should leverage on. You’re gathering important data that could help team members develop and grow within your organization. Be sure that you communicate this to them. Employees need to know what areas they can improve on and what they need to maintain in order to thrive in an organization. Having the right metrics and data to back all this feedback can help them recognize its relevance and make a concrete step towards improvement.

Author Bio

Dean Mathews is the founder and CEO of OnTheClock, an online employee time tracking app that helps over 8,000 companies all around the world track time.

Dean has over 20 years of experience designing and developing business apps. He views software development as a form of art. If the artist creates a masterpiece, many peoples lives are touched and changed for the better.

When he is not perfecting time tracking, Dean enjoys expanding his faith, spending time with family, friends and finding ways to make the world just a little better. You can find Dean on LinkedIn.