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How Time Tracking makes Work from Home easier?

Work from Home was previously unthinkable. But today, it has been made possible because of the many amazing tools that we have available today. These tools help us connect with colleagues and bosses.

They help us organize our data on cloud computing platforms. They let us collaborate with our team members so that we can work on projects collectively while in the comfort of our homes!

All these types of tools have helped us grow the new trend of Telecommuting. And they deserve an undivided discussion. So in this post, we will discuss how time tracking software has made Work from Home easy for telecommuters and freelancers.

How Time Tracking makes Work from Home easier?

Girl working on laptop

It makes employees more Organized

We all are guilty of wasting time. And we all accept that if we become a tad bit diligent about our time and become a little organized about the way we get things done, we can increase our efficiency level to a great extent.

People who use Time monitoring tools and techniques while working claim that they get a lot more out of one day as compared to the time when they did not use it.

These tools let you know how much time you spend on getting a task done and how often you get distracted during your work routine.

This information can help an efficient person get more organized as he would be able to work without being distracted.

It builds trust

One of the major reasons why employers were previously skeptical about hiring remote workers was that they didn’t trust the faraway professionals.

They felt that they cannot truly rely on them for delivering the desired quality work on time. This was a major hurdle for freelancers and the freelance world.

Time Tracking Software is a bridge between the employer and employee no matter how far apart they are. It helps tremendously in trust-building.

It makes the payment system fair

Paying the employee fairly is something that is really tricky in the world of distributed teams. Most remote workers charge by the hour and this is exactly where it gets tricky.

Did my employees actually work during those hours? Is the padding the hours or it actually took this long to get the task done? Is the person I hired really behind all the work or is he getting it done from someone else?

All these questions loom in the mind of an employer, especially when he is looking at the invoices and making payments to the remote employees.

The software delivers correct statistics related to the work done. Some smart software even goes as far as remote employee monitoring and lets the employer capture the screen activity of the employees.

This way the evidence of work done is acquired and the payments are made accordingly. Therefore, transparency is maintained.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU: INFOGRAPHIC: GUILTY OF WASTING TIME AT WORK? WE ALL ARE!

It keeps the employers informed

When the employee is not right in front of the employer, it becomes hard to be well informed about all the aspects of the project.

This is where Time Tracking Software comes in handy. Most software has elaborate reports that shed the light on how the time was spent and how much work has been done.

The breakdown of time and activities delivers useful insights to the employers and the managers about the progress on the project so When people are empowered with the right kind of information, they can make strong and useful decisions to forward their business.

And when the businessmen and employers are satisfied with the performance and input of the employee, it ensures a smooth flow of work for the people who work from home.

It helps the employees stay focused

Time Tracking Software is brutally honest. They let the user know how they have been spending their time. The detailed breakdown of activities shows how much time we have spent on work and how much of it was wasted.

The total time taken to get a task done tells the user if he has been managing time properly or if he is getting distracted time and again.

Clever users have been able to weed out activities and distractions that slow down the work process. People who work from home have especially found it very useful.

There are a lot of distractions at home like family and personal activities. But the software that tracks time has the power of making people more focused towards work!

Conclusion

Among all the wonderful tools that have made remote work reality of the modern corporate world, Time monitoring Software wins the race as it helps the employers and the employees on a deeper level. It builds trust between the two and trust is the most important component of a relationship!

Read More: How Artificial Intelligence is changing the World

How Time Tracking helps Project Management Process

Project Management is a fairly new concept. Prior to the 20th century, builders and architects managed the projects themselves. Project Management acquired a status of a dedicated job only after the 20th century.

It was when the businesses become more and more complex and a person with great management skills was needed to overlook the business endeavors. In the 1950s, Project Management was recognized as a field of academia.

So we can say that the Project Management Process has come a long way. But the field is still evolving, more so than ever. And the reason for this is the advent of new technologies and innovative tools like Time Tracking Software and Customer Relationship Management Software.

It has been estimated that Time Tracking is $200 million business and still growing. These figures suggest that Time Tracking has been embraced by the Corporate World. Let’s dwell into the reasons how Time Tracking helps the Project Management Process.

But before that let’s look see the benefits of Time Tracking Software.

  1. Complete statistics about how long your employees worked.
  2. tells you how much time it took to get the projects done.
  3. Detailed breakdown of time spent on all the tasks.
  4. You can keep the track of employees activities.

 

Ways in which Time Tracking helps Project Management Process

Better estimates

We have seen that Time Tracking gathers deep insights into how the resources (time, human resources, money, infrastructure) are spent. This information is like gold for Project Managers. These statistics become the input data when it comes to estimation.

For example, you have a new software project at hand. You know from the previous experience and knowledge, which you acquired through Time Tracking, that it would take your Graphics Design Team two months to deliver this project. Keeping in mind this guess, you can make financial estimates and decision that are profitable for the organization.

Meet the Deadlines

Business Case Studies suggests that Organizations fail to meet the deadlines due to the following reasons:

  • Poor Time Management
  • Lack of Accountability
  • Insufficient planning
  • Bad organization skills

Meeting deadlines is of great significance in the Project Management Process. In today’s world, the competition is cut-throat. If a company fails to deliver the project on deadline, it can dangerously harm in the Corporate arena. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to deliver projects on time and the managers make great efforts to achieve this.

Thanks to the technological innovation, Time Tracking has helped the Project Managers to a great extent.

As discussed above, many useful insights are brought forward by a good Time Tracking Software. The management of the projects becomes seamless due to the insights and information delivered by the Time Tracking Software. And this leads to meeting deadlines and delivering projects timely.

Manage Work Better

It is a lot easier for managers to manage the employees and the tasks if they are on top of the day to day activities and productivity of their team members.

The managers who are well aware can identify the Hurdles that are stopping the team from getting on with their work. They can see the shortcomings of the teams. These diagnoses can help move towards a cure and solution.

A management team in touch with the realities of the team is very powerful and can take the business forward at a supersonic pace.

Save employees from the Stress

Statistics suggest that the workforce of the modern era is the most stress of all times. Of Course, this stems from the insane competition and the pressure to keep up with the world. The burnout costs as much as $20 billion to the Australian economy each year.

The reality is that stressed and burnt out employees are pretty much useless. It is the agenda of modern Project Managers to keep the employees sane and happy. And Time Tracking Software has helped managers and bosses a lot in identifying the limits of work that is

Save projects from derailing

When you know your team well, your deadlines are realistic and the work is managed diligently, your projects will not be derailed. You would be able to foresee a hurdle and resolve it before it turns into a serious crisis.

Similarly, you would be able to redirect the project towards a better path by keeping track of the progress and productivity.

Conclusion

Modern technological tools are reshaping all the aspects of our lives. And Project Management Process is not spared either. The tech-savvy managers use all the tools at their disposal to make the process efficient and more profitable!

Infographic: Guilty of wasting Time at work? We all are!

We all are guilty of wasting time at work. Some of us are more than others. But I am sure that none of us can claim to be an angel with no fouls. Wasting time at work is a universal problem that plagues all the organizations around the world. And it results in a loss of billions of dollars! Lots have been spent on research and innovation to minimize the time wasted at work and to come up with tools that help employees in staying more focused.

Why are Employees Wasting Time at Work

It is innate human nature to be lazy and to lose interest after a certain amount of time. But sometimes the circumstances make people more prone to wasting time. These circumstances could be handled and controlled. And in turn, the time wasted at work could be minimized.

Some of the problems that push employees towards wasting more time are the following:

  1. A work environment where there is no break culture makes employees waste time. Employees need to take breaks during work hours and rejuvenate their minds. But if the environment doesn’t allow, they would find backdoors to relax.
  2. If the employees are not happy, they will become a lot less focused. They will feel angry and have harbored resentments. They will be passive aggressive and will waste time as a revenge.
    Slack employee monitoring policies could also result in loss of focus. It gives the employees the liberty to make use of the time as they like. And more often than not, this could result in wasting of time.
  3. Unnecessary meetings and informal socialization at the workplace can result in a lot of wasted time. Water cooler gossip is a common reason why a lot of time is wasted at work.

How to Minimise Waste of Time

There is a lot that the management can do to minimize the waste of time. The most common issues in the workplace that cause time wastage can be easily addressed by the management.

  1. Make your employees happy. Find out why they feel inclined towards non-work related activities. Small acts on the part of the organization make employees happy. For example, a pay raise, good food, a leisure trip—all these efforts can make your employees much more loyal to the organization. And they will tend to be more productive at work.
  2. Take into consideration the human psychological and physical limitations while cultivating the work environment. If you have a culture that is flexible and understands the employee psychology, the employees would become much more productive.
  3. Use the right tools to make your team more productive. By using applications like Time Tracking and Employee Monitoring Software, you can boost the focus of your team and push them towards achieving maximum productivity.


Conclusion

Managers can save a tremendous amount of time by using the right employee management strategies. And in turn, an insane amount of money as well.

Increase Employee Productivity at work | Effective ways to make big changes

Do you know that studies tell us, the happiest people in the world are consistently very productive?

We are in the era of cut-throat competition. There is no time to slow down or take a break. All these things are more than true for the Corporate World.

Businesses do not want to compromise on progress and productivity at all.
But the irony is that being lazy and unproductive, at least for a small chunk of time, is the reality of most employees around the world. What makes us more productive in the workplace is definitely a hard nut to crack!

There are a number of automated tools available in the market either for communication or collaboration or employee task monitoring. But before we move on, let’s define employee productivity.

Defining Employee Productivity

Business Dictionary defines Productivity as ‘A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs.’

So we can say that increasing employee productivity would mean achieving higher outputs with the same resources or accomplishing more from limited available inputs at our disposal.

Achieving higher productivity is directly proportional to the increased productivity of human resources at hand. Motivating employees to increase their productivity is quite a challenge. Implement the following strategies to increase productivity in the workplace.

Four Quadrants of Eisenhower’s Matrix

The key to becoming more productive is prioritizing the tasks and getting them done at the right time. But how do you know which ones should be done before the others?

Eisenhower’s Matrix is the shrewdest tool to categorize and schedule the tasks. By using this method, you would find yourself impeccably organized and never in a deadline crisis.

Eisenhower’s matrix was conceived by Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States of America (1953-1961). He was a leader at the dawn of the Cold War and hence was busy all the time. To prioritize his tasks, he came up with the Urgent/Important Matrix.

An urgent task is the one that requires swift action. A failure to provide immediate attention to the task can result in adverse outcomes.

An important task is one that is inevitable for smooth performance and functioning. Neglecting important tasks can have short and long-term disadvantages.

Discovering Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Urgent and Important
    Urgent and Important tasks are the ones that are either left to be dealt with at the last moment. Or they are the ones that come up out of the blue. Customer Support is also an Urgent and Important task because Customer Satisfaction is the top priority of many businesses.
  • Urgent and Unimportant
    Urgent and unimportant tasks are the ones that require quick attention and swift action. They are the means to an end. So missing out on them and not doing them on time can cause distress and even loss in the long run. For example, replying to emails, data entry, maintaining records.
  • Non-urgent and Important
    These tasks are not urgent and sometimes get overlooked. But they are tremendously important for the smooth running of a business.

    If your employees are not properly managed your projects can be derailed.Some examples are the Research, Analysis, Project Management, HR management, etc.

  • Non-urgent and Unimportant
    These tasks are neither urgent nor important. They are just a building block of the Corporate Culture that we know today. These tasks often leach valuable time and productivity. Eliminating these tasks can give a boost to productivity. For example, water cooler gossip, office grapevine and other activities that employees use to waste time.

Thank you, Mr. President, for making it easier for us. We owe you!

Some of the best productivity tools for you:

Employee Productivity Tracker

These three magical words are a treat for the managers and bosses. These tools bring out deep insights into the progress and productivity of the employees. There are some tools that retrieve flawless statistics about the time spent on work-related and non-work related activities.

The use of Time Tracking tools has proved to make the employees more focused and boost productivity.

Pomodoro: Fancy yet effective

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management trick put forward by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique is based on the scientifically proven fact that the human mind and body cannot generate high-quality performance for a long period of time. The gist of the technique is to work in small chunks of time with small frequent breaks in-between.

If managers take into account human limitations and implement a ‘Go, take a break’ culture, employees can become much more productive and happy.

Block Applications

Most of us are guilty of being addicted to some sort of mobile application. And this is one of the most common reasons for low productivity. If you block the applications that make you lose focus, for the work hours, you can save a lot of productive time.

There are some applications that allow usage only for a preset amount of time. For example, you can set Facebook usage time to be 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the application will be blocked.

Conclusion

The research and innovation to – date are enough to make us very productive. We just need to implement the tricks and tools!  If you’re not taking advantage of any productivity tracking software whether you are working a full-time job or remotely, even traditional ones, you’re very likely missing out an opportunity to stay focused and organized.

Wondering whether you’re not productive enough? The answer to your question lies right here.

The Rise of Remote Working (Infographic)

A few decades ago, no one would have considered working from home as something practical. Working from home was pretty much limited to cottage industries and women who were stay-at-home moms and worked on the side to generate an extra income. But anyone with serious career aspirations would never have considered remote working even in his wildest dreams!

But today, the world is a different place! The advancement of technology and the dependable connectivity and networking services have made possible the unthinkable. Today, remote jobs from home are not only practical but are also becoming the first choice of contemporary professionals and especially the millennials.

Why people enjoy Remote Working

Due to the following reasons, more and more people are opting for remote working options and making the rise of the remote work a reality.

  • Remote jobs from home save time. The time spent on traveling to and from the formal workplace is saved. Moreover, while in an office, colleagues spend a lot of time on water-cooler gossips and extended meeting periods. While working from home, this time is saved.
  • Remote work saves money. The freelancers and telecommuters do not feel the need to spend an excessive amount of money on maintaining up-to-date wardrobe. They also save the money that is spent on commuting to the office. The employers also benefit from Remote working options as they do not have to pay the overhead costs of having in-house workers. Also, from the employer’s perspective, the employee is only paid for the work that he has delivered. Therefore, the employer saves money as well.
  • Remote workers find it desirable to work from the comfort of their home office. They like being the boss and master of their own schedule. With the option of working from home, the employees can schedule the day according to their own personal needs. A night owl and a day lark can work without disrupting their natural tendencies.
  • Telecommuters cherish the ability to work from home as it allows them to have a balanced life, without spending long hours in the workplace. Many women opt for work from home options when they start having children. This enables them to stay in touch with work while having a fulfilling personal life.

 

How Remote Work became a Reality

Remote Working has become possible due to the following reasons.

  • The availability of the internet and its improving quality. Just a couple decades ago, the internet quality at most places around the world was not dependable. Fiber optic faults under the sea made the internet unreliable. But now, the situation is very different. Stable internet connection is a reality at most places in the world.
  • The innovation of networking applications and their availability to the users at low cost. For example, Time Tracking Software like StaffTimerApp has enhanced the trust of employers in their distributed teams.
  • The increasing demand for knowledge worker and less focus on physical availability and more on getting good quality work done. Today, professionals like software developers and computer scientists can work from anywhere and are always in demand!

Conclusion

The Rise of Remote Work has become a reality of the modern workplace. It is predicted that more than half of the workers in the USA will be working remotely. This is due to the democratization of amazing technology that makes collaborations for the remote teams easier!

How Time Tracking can transform the Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture, Corporate Culture, Business Culture, Workplace Culture; these words are interchangeably used by professionals all the time.

The scholars of industrial psychology keenly observe the Corporate World to follow the new trends and behaviors in the field influenced by the ever-changing technologies. The experts of Human-Computer Interaction say that Time Tracking can positively influence the Organizational Culture!

What is Organizational Culture

The Business Dictionary defines Organizational Culture as ‘the values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization’.

Organizational Culture is the collection of shared beliefs, customs, attitudes, values, and written and unwritten rules. It is developed over the course of an organization’s life and it keeps on evolving and changing all the time.

Organizational culture is considered valid by the employees of the company and hence it is practiced and reinforced time and again.

The Organizational Culture is reflected by:

Organizational Norms: The generally accepted way the employees work, behave, socialize inside and outside of the organization. Norms are formed due to informal socialization and formal practices that are prevalent in the organization. The disposition of employees towards business affairs and extra-curricular affairs forms are collectively called the norms.

Hierarchal Structure: The hierarchy of employees and the distribution of power is an important determinant of Organizational Culture. Organizations range from democratic to authoritarian in nature. Some organizations are also a victim of micromanagement which essentially kills the creativity of the employees.

Group Cohesiveness: Group Cohesiveness is the degree to which an individual feels being a part of a certain group. Organizations with strong cohesiveness feel more passionate about the collective goals of the organization. This is because they feel connected and in sync with the whole organization.

Time Tracking can transform the Organizational Culture

The scientific breakthroughs are changing the way we lived our lives. They are also changing the Corporate World. Keeping the track of time is not a new concept but the democratization of digital Employee Tracking tools is definitely a fairly new trend. And this trend transforms the organizational culture in the following ways.

Establish a Reward System

Time Tracking Software brings forth insights about the employees. It lets the employers know about the team members who are working hard towards achieving the goals of the company. When employers get to know that the employees truly own the organization and work on the projects as their own, they feel inclined towards rewarding them. The system of rewards motivates the individuals towards working even harder, suggests B. F. Skinner’s rat-pellet experiment.

The organizational culture of rewards is established.

Become more Deadline oriented

The use of an Employee Time Tracking Software helps the managers in becoming more sensitive about Time Management. The correct statistics for the work done on the projects and the honest analysis of the capabilities of the employees inform the employers and managers about the capacity of the human resources at hand. These statistics enable the managers in setting up realistic and practical deadlines. When the deadlines are reflective of the work capacity, the culture of the following deadlines is established in the company.

No stress and burn-out

As stated above, Time Tracking Software lets managers set up realistic and achievable deadlines. This is quite an underrated and overlooked the advantage of tracking the time because its implications are farfetched.

Due to good Time Management, employees are saved from working long hours. They are not overworked and stressed about meeting the deadlines in haste. And in the long run, they are protected from anxiety and burnout.

Hence, Tracking of Time, if done in the right manner, can ensure the psychological health of the employees and maintain a progressive work environment.

Enhanced Productivity

Applications for tracking the time let the managers motivate and guide the teams in the right direction. They can quickly assess which work practices are producing worthwhile results and which ones are futile in nature. With this empowering knowledge, managers can redirect the energy of the team towards becoming more productive. The results are enhanced productivity for the organization.

Improved Trust

It is natural for employers to feel skeptical about the activities of the employees. This is one of the reasons why Time Tracking Software is deployed in the first place. The outcomes can, however, be ironical.

Using Employee Monitoring Software lets you know that your employees are truly diligent and efficient. This way a feeling of trust is established. When managers trust the employees, they delegate a lot of responsibilities to the team members. This gives the employees a chance to exercise their voice and opinion to the best of their knowledge. Laissez-Faire culture is established.

And it has been proven scientifically that this type of culture is the best fit for an organization that aims to touch the sky.

Conclusion

It is not simple to effectively use Employee Monitoring software. But if you’re able to convince your team about using it, you can truly transform your organizational culture for the better!

How to Persuade Employees to Track Time

It has been observed that employees do not like the practice of Time Tracking. This sentiment is pretty much universal all around the world. But the trends in the Corporate World suggest that the market for Tracking and Monitoring Software is growing.

This is because Time Monitoring is embraced by many organizations. And there are dozens of diverse tools available for Tracking Time. This is due to the undeniable fact that Time Tracking is, indeed, beneficial for the businesses.

But to track time, employees must be convinced that this is done in order to achieve the collective goals of the organization and not to spy on them.

Make Time Tracking a Company Policy

The first step in making Employee Tracking acceptable for your employees is declaring it an official policy of the organisation. State it clearly in the employee handbook. Make it a known fact in the company. Also, let the employees know about the levels of Employee Monitoring that is practiced at the organisation.

Making it a known fact will help the employees accept it quickly. They will also be more careful about their activities. They will spend less time on non-work relaxed activities.

Educate Employees why is it beneficial to track time

Educate your team and employees about the benefits of tracking time. Let them know that this is done in order to benefit the organisation and not to penalize the employees. Share the instances of successful Time Management and how it contributed to the growth of the organisations. Tell your employees that tracking the time helps in the following ways:

  1. It helps in Time Management.
  2. It helps Managers in setting up realistic deadlines and goals. This can save employees from stressful work conditions and burn out that often happens due to excessive workload.
  3. Tracking time can help in financial management. It reveals the work-time dynamics. This information can greatly help in making good financial decisions for the company.
  4. Efficient Tracking can reveal the efforts of hardworking employees and they can be rewarded for their untiring commitment to excellence.
  5. Time Monitoring can lead to sound estimates for future projects. These estimates could be related to employee management, finances or workload.

Declare an acceptable amount of time spent on non-work related activities

 


Businesses and Organisations need to recognise the fact that their employees are human beings and not robots. Human beings can get bored, lazy and demotivated at times.

It is a scientifically proven fact that the human concentration declines after a certain time interval and taking a short break revitalizes the mind. This natural limitation often prompts people towards finding escapes. And in an office setting, surfing the internet becomes the easiest and most accessible form of escape for most employees.

To make tracking time acceptable and ease up the anxiety of the employees, organisations should declare that it is acceptable for employees to take small breaks from time to time to refresh their minds. But an appropriate time limit should be set up. This way the employees won’t fear the Time Tracking applications because they know that their infrequent non-work related activities are officially permitted and will not be penalized.

Develop a relationship of Trust

Trust is the most important element for any relationship to work out. Corporate relationships devoid of trust do not go a long way. The employers should inculcate the feeling that the employees are valued and their efforts are trusted. They are not spied on because of any mistrust. But the purpose of Track time is to help the organisation collectively.

Do not micromanage

Employees can get really annoyed if the bosses start micromanaging as an indirect result of Employee Monitoring.

The managers and supervisors need to give freedom to the employees so that they can work independently. When management becomes one-sided and employees are directed to follow the bosses to the letter, their productivity and creativity decline. This way the employees’ potential is not used to the fullest.

Hence, managers and bosses need to draw a line between Micromanagement and Employee Monitoring. They should let the employees do their craft to the best of their knowledge and ability. If Time Tracking leads the employers towards Micromanagement, it can be detrimental for the health and progress of the organisation.

Conclusion

Tracking the time of your employees is a great practice. But it will only yield great profits if done in the right way.

Why Programmers don’t like Time Tracking Software

Programming and Software Development is one of the harder jobs in the world. The professionals of these fields are knowledge workers and their job often is to think, innovate and produce while using the knowledge and experience that they have acquired over the years.

In today’s fast paced world, all businesses want to make the best use of the time at their disposal, same goes for Software Development firms. Lets see how people deal with Time Tracking Software.

Time Tracking Software in Software Development

Time Tracking is used quite a lot in the field of Software Development. Bosses use the software to know how much of the work is done and how much of it is wasted. But more often than not, developers and programmers are not very fond of tracking time and can live without it.

Why programmers don’t like it:

Following are some of the reasons why developers don’t like it.

  1. Many Time Trackers require the user to input entries again and again during the course of the day. Most software engineers and developers are too preoccupied with their tasks to make these entries. Many a times, they forget doing it.
  2. Even if the developers do not forget about making the entry, they feel annoyed about it. It breaks the natural flow of their work. They get annoyed every time they have to pause and redirect their mental energy towards making an entry in the Time Monitoring Software.
  3. Developers often misunderstand the purpose of Time Trackers. And sometimes the purpose of Time Tracking in Software Development is also misunderstood. The work day of a developer involves writing the code, analysing, thinking, debugging, some more debugging, meeting with team members, discussions, research, maintaining documents etc. Not all of these tasks explicitly end up producing the desired results. But all of these tasks definitely contribute to the production of the desired results. When developers are asked to fill in Time sheets, they often face the guilt of being unproductive. They feel that the time they spent doing the research or finding the right algorithm on Stack Overflow might be held against them as a ‘waste of time’. These negative feelings make tracking the time hard.
  4. Development is a technical and creative endeavour. The developers often feel restricted and inflexible when they are constantly watched. With filling time sheets every hour, the goal becomes producing enough work to satisfy the management. It shifts from producing good quality, creative and innovative software. So a lot of programmers feel that their productivity and creativity is compromised.

Why programmers should do it:

 

 

The practice of tracking the time is not the evil. But if misunderstood and misused, it becomes a nuisance. Following are the reasons, why developers should use track their time.

  1. Tracking the time while working on a project can give insights about how much work is done. It is a great tool for project management in software engineering.
  2. Time Monitoring can help developers stay focused. While looking up ideas online or doing the research, it is quite possible for developers to wonder off into the land of procrastination and internet memes. But if a programmer is aware of the fact that he will be answerable for the time spent, he is less likely to waste unacceptably large chunks of time.
  3. Good tracking practises can help in effective Time Management. When the managers and developers know about the time that it takes to get a task done, they can set up rational deadlines and milestones for themselves and the team. And this can effectively improve the group culture. Rational goals and deadlines save employees from stress of overwork and burn-out. Employees with good mental health are more valuable then the overworked employees.
  4. Meeting deadlines and delivering the projects timely is the linchpin of a successful software business. By tracking the time, the managers and developers can become diligent about producing good quality work and that too on time. Using a Virtual Office Software can improve the way time is spent. Prioritising the tasks according to urgency and importance can greatly help in producing the deliverables at time.

Choose the Right Software for Tracking Time

Time tracking can become a very annoying practise if you do not choose the right software for your business and team. Knowing the company culture and the limitations of your team, make the correct choice so that it gives a boost to your business. Keep the following points in mind, when you want to choose a time tracker for your developers.

Use a tool that automatically tracks time. Something that works in the background would be perfect. For example, StaffTimerApp only requires the user to start the timer and turn it off. During the rest of the duration, it automatically captures the screenshots of the screen and process them to give statistics of work related and non-work related activities. Therefore, the developer wont be bugged over and over again to track time.

Deploy a software product that is simple to use. You do not need a complex and elaborate multipurpose Time Management system for your developers. Most likely, the developers would already have a few tools that they use for Project Management. So, they do not require to master the use of another tool. in such a case, the use of a MVP like StaffTimerApp can be the better choice.

Conclusion

By using the right Time Tracking software in the right way, you can make the life of the employees easier and boost profits of your company.

Top 5 Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams

The upsurge in the market of Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams and employee monitoring tools suggests that long gone are the days when the employers were limited to the local talent pool. Today, companies and businesses do not feel confined to the 50km radius for hiring the employees.

The unfaltering connectivity has made possible for people situated thousands of miles away from each other to connect, collaborate and push towards common goals.

This new trend in the business world is supported by the many wonderful collaboration tools including online time tracking tools that we have at our disposal. These tools are crucial for a distributed team to survive.

Why Distributed Teams need Online Collaboration Tools

  • Lack of Proximity:
    Proximity is of great importance when teams want to work towards and achieve a common goal. People who are close to us inspire us and keep us motivated. And clearly, considering this point, distributed teams are at a disadvantage. Collaboration Tools make up for the lack of proximity and create a more human connection among the teams. While various online time tracking tools, help keep track of on-going projects.
  • Different Time Zones:
    When you are dealing with remote teams, you are dealing with people who come from diverse countries. The morning for one teammate might be the evening for the other. Nobody wants to work the graveyard shift every day. This problem is also solved by the collaboration tools that are available in the market today. Remote contractors work their part and update the online tools for the other teammates to find out whenever they log in to work. Hence, no matter what time zone the team members belong to, they can collaborate and deliver the results using the online tools. On the other, an employer can easily measure productivity through automatic time tracking systems, no matter the time.
  • Communication Gap:
    Good communication is the key to success for a team. If there is a communication gap in the remote team, people might feel disoriented and confused. Fortunately, this is not a problem today. Instant messaging services like Skype and real-time monitoring like Staff Timer App, have brought teams closer and made their voices heard, no matter how far they are from each other.
  • Lack of employee monitoring:
    The employee Monitoring tool is the key trick of ensuring the productivity of your employees and pushing them towards achieving the goals. Previously, remote employers found themselves handicapped when the question of Employee Monitoring came up. The situation has changed drastically. Many online Time Tracking tools and Virtual Office Softwares equip employers with employee monitoring tool capabilities.

Best Online Collaboration Tools

 

1. Highrise

Communication with employees can be messy. Communication with clients can be messier. And when the remote employer has to communicate with many employees and many clients, things can get confusing. But Highrise can rescue from all the hassle. Highrise becomes the personal database and online assistant for all the communication. And the employer can control the visibility of the activities by granting access to the employees so that they can assist the employers as well.

The user can also create and track the tasks for the employees through Highrise. It also lets him manage and follow the business deals with the clients.

So if you want to monitor remote teams and you want to be on top of every conversation, use Highrise.

2. Staff Timer App (employee monitoring tool)

Many times in the past, employers felt unsure about hiring telecommuters and remote employees. This is because of the limited employee monitoring capacity while working with remote teams. But now there is a solution.

Employee Time Tracking Software like StaffTimerApp solve all the problems related to remote employee monitoring. It captures screenshots of the employee’s screen after a regular time interval. These screenshots are then processed to calculate the billable and non-billable hours.

Hence, a remote employer does not need to fear being ripped for low quality work. Moreover, the employer can view the real-time progress and productivity of the employees by using the features of Instant Screen Capture and Real-Time Screen Sharing.

3. Basecamp

Working on a project while living away might seem like a bad idea. But it really isn’t. The problem of the communication gap is solved by Basecamp.

Basecamp allows all the team members of a project to engage in collective chats. This way, no one misses out on the important discussion and everything that’s said is on record. Basecamp also gives a common space for saving up the documents. There is no hassle of CCing everyone while sharing the documents.

With this tool, whenever a team member logs in, he can see who did what by when. It also lets the users make interactive To-do lists so that all the projects are under control. So BaseCamp is the ultimate Project Management tool for distributed teams.

4. BeeHopr

The phenomenon of remote work is very thrilling as it opens many doors of opportunities without crossing the physical boundaries. BeeHopr takes this up to another level by building a platform for online business networking. By using BeeHopr, you can meet up like-minded professionals from all around the world.

You can conduct business meetings online without actually leaving your home. You can further your dreams and business goals finding the people who are a great fit for your team.

So if you have a distributed business and you want to find the right employee, use BeeHopr.

5. Slack

Skype was the way to communicate a few years ago. Today, users want much more than the Instant Messaging feature of Skype. Slack provides all that and much more. With Slack, users can have common communication. They can search through the chats for relevant information. Users can create channels relevant to a certain subject.

They can also converse privately. It is a great platform for official communication for a Remote Team. The application is pretty simple to use and has applications for Android and iOS as well. Therefore, users can stay connected no matter where they go.

Conclusion

Using the right tools and mastering their use for collaboration can make the life of a remote team easier and simpler. Using the tools to their full extent can tremendously increase the productivity of the remote teams!

Additional Business and Productivity Trends Resources:

Want to learn more about Business and Productivity trends,

Strategies to Increase Employee Productivity in 2020: 

Employers need to prioritize efficiency. They should let employees make a list of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. By creating a list, they will have a structure and plan to stick to. This will also give them a reason to chase and decrease their chances of getting sidetracked by irrelevant tasks.

10 Ways Managers Can Help Solve Employee Time Management Issues: 

Every employee has their own way of doing work. Some tackle the hardest tasks first and then move on to the easier ones. Others operate in the opposite way. If they’re completing tasks on time then leave them to their preferred pattern.