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How to Introduce a Time Tracker to Your Team and Get Buy-In

How to Introduce a Time Tracker to Your Team and Get Buy-In

  • Phil Forbes
  • December 17, 2024
  • 8 min read
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I once had a coworker who managed a marketing agency in a previous role.

He decided to try out time tracking for the creative team as he had a gut feeling that the team spent too long on things that didn’t matter.

Of course, there was some kickback.

That’s because time tracking software is a sensitive topic amongst some employees. No matter how unobtrusive the tools are, there’s a good chance you’ll have to do a bit of convincing to get buy-in and prove you’re not ‘spying’, or at least not micromanaging.

Here’s how you can get their buy in and make time tracking a genuine game-changer in your company.

Try best time management app!

Free time tracking & easy attendance, project profitability analysis and precise billing.

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Why Do Some Employees Dislike Time Tracking?

Many employees dislike a time tracking system as it puts their work habits, priorities, output and productivity under the microscope.

That’s how many employees perceive time tracking systems – but in reality, it’s not like that at all.

A recent study shows that remote teams are 73% more effective, but only if they’re managed properly. Tracking time is critical to that, but so is addressing employees concerns.

The idea of tracking time often feels like someone’s checking to see if you’re slacking off, and that can really kill morale.

Therefore it’s critical to introduce time tracking sensitively and appropriately.

How Do You Convince Your Employees That Time Tracking Isn’t Micromanaging?

The best way to get buy in from employees about time tracking software is to roll it out for a short trial period.

Instead of forcing the issue, my colleague, the manager, proposed,

Let’s just try it for one sprint and see what happens.

Reluctantly, the team agreed to develop a simple time tracking process.

By the end of the week, the designer who’d been the most vocal about their concerns admitted they’d been spending too much time on tasks that didn’t move things forward.

Without any push from management, they adjusted their workflow.

The seniors in the team quickly saw the benefits of these time tracking tools. Senior managers could now find more efficiencies.

One of the junior team members even said something like, “This actually helped me get more done. I feel less stressed.”

The main takeaway: That shift from pushback to buy-in came entirely from the team seeing the value for themselves.

How Can A Good Time Tracking Tool Help Buy In?

A good time tracking tool can make all the difference when trying to get buy-in from your team. The key is to address the concerns upfront. Show how the tool can work in their favour and set realistic expectations.

an infographic about time tracking software assets

Take TimeCamp as an example of such time tracking software. Features like real time visibility mean employees only see their own records, meaning they know what their superiors see.

TimeCamp can also help get employee buy in with:

  • Non-intrusive tracking: Logs websites and apps but skips sensitive stuff like passwords or private info.

  • GDPR compliant: Fully aligned with data protection rules, so privacy concerns are covered.

  • Transparent reporting: Clear reports focus on increased productivity, not micromanaging.

  • Idle time detection: Helps track breaks without making anyone feel monitored.

  • Mobile flexibility: Employees can track time on the go, giving them control over their workflow.

  • No unnecessary complexity: The tool runs in the background, so it doesn’t disrupt daily routines.

  • Proven results: Employees can see where their time goes, helping them prioritize tasks and reduce stress.

  • Customizable setup: This lets users tweak settings to fit their personal style, making adoption smoother.

Another trick, or rather tactic, is patience.

Trying to force a tool on people can backfire fast.

By highlighting how time tracking can eliminate wasted effort and make work smoother, team members excel and can see the benefits for themselves.

Get to know where your time goes with TimeCamp!

Track time in projects and tasks, create reports, and bill your clients in just one tool.

Sign up for free

What Are The Key Benefits Of Implementing Time Tracking Into My Company Workflow?

By being able to track how long it takes people to do certain tasks, managers can plan pipelines better, handle budgets and resources more efficiently, and generally prioritize better.

 See how Bluerank did this using TimeCamp, managing to recover 32 hours per month.

Some massive benefits that managers, marketers, and project management specialists have from using time tracking apps include:

Track project profitability – Track hours and the resources that are going into your projects.

  • Monitor billable hours and expenses.

  • Avoid unprofitable projects by identifying cost overruns.

  • Use automated tools to replace outdated spreadsheets.

Boost revenue – Fine-tune employee productivity, lowering expenses and project time.

  • Pinpoint areas for improvement using accurate data.

  • Decide if pricing or workloads need adjustment.

  • Identify whether the team can handle more projects.

Save time on reporting – One task to generate reports for just about any stakeholder.

  • View project progress and employee performance in real-time.

  • Provide instant updates to clients without scheduling meetings.

  • Access time data without relying on third-party involvement.

Streamline attendance tracking – Accurate work time data to track employee time on specific tasks.

  • Automatically log hours worked, breaks, and absences.

  • Use GPS tracking for employees working offsite.

  • Fewer errors and and no need to record entries manually.

With so much potential on the table, by tracking the different tasks that take up employee time, the next step is to ensure your team understands and supports the implementation.

How Can I Communicate A Time Tracking Implementation To My Team?

Communication is key in a lot of areas of life. Communication between managers and specialists is absolutely no exception.

When you initially bring up the topic of a time tracking system with your team, there may be employee concerns.

Consider explaining the benefits from their point of view.

  • Fairer workloads – Putting a number on ‘overworked’ is important for productivity and morale.

  • Clarity on prios – See where your time is going and see if what you’re working on actually matters, or whether you’re constantly just ‘keeping up’.

  • Fewer meetings about meetings – Rather than meeting about why things aren’t done, managers can allocate more time to certain tasks rather than having constant individual catch-ups.

  • Better focus – The office space was so quiet after we launched this software – people had headphones on and were so regularly ‘in the zone’!

  • Smarter planning – Having a set amount of time to do a task meant that there was no last-minute rush and better project management.

  • Fixed times for tasks – “It took you an hour last week, so it’ll only take you 45 minutes this week, right?” That attitude stops entirely when there’s a set chunk of time for a specific task.

  • Improved company culture – If a time tracking tool can better manage a team’s time and increase productivity levels, you build a culture of success within the company.

  • Stronger arguments for a raise – This point was the one that will get a lot of members on my side. When there’s time tracking data behind your productivity, you can make a much more solid case to pay employees what they’re worth.

A team member may also bring up issues with privacy and micromanagement and a time tracking process.

And their concerns are warranted.

For an employee on a salary and delivering results, why do they need to start tracking every minute they work.

💡 What if I didn’t log a task for a 15-minute window?

Talk about these concerns with your team. Time tracking records work hours, so ensure their privacy, and bring their focus back to the ‘why’: To make sure we’re working on what’s important.

What Are The Best Practices for Implementing a Time Tracking Tool?

Rolling out a time-tracking software can feel tricky if your team isn’t entirely on board.

A structured, thoughtful approach that’s transparent can help employees track time and use the software properly. This approach is the basic adequate training that the implementation of most software needs.

After the initial setup of your tracking app, consider the following:

How Do I Onboard My Team To Time Tracking Software?

Start with a simple kick off session or onboarding process to familiarize and motivate employees with time entries.

Get the team into one room or onto a team-wide call if you’re working with a remote team, and walk through the absolute basics of time-tracking practices.

  • How to log hours

  • How easy it is to use timers

  • The importance and value of categorizing tasks

Save the more complex stuff for later. You’ll motivate employees to track time if they see some small, quick wins. Create projects inside time tracking software and keep it simple at first

You’ll need to choose time tracking software that is easily integrated into your workflow. If you’re using TimeCamp, these quick wins can increase productivity even quicker by using our browser extensions and mobile apps.

Next up, share the resources.

TimeCamp’s Knowledge Base has a wealth of information your team members can explore to help them create their first projects.

It’s also critical to the uptake of your time tracking process that you set up a feedback loop as part of your company’s workflows.

Regularly check in to see how employees are adjusting. Educate new team members about your time tracking in the onboarding process.

The final part of onboarding your team is the one that’s most overlooked.

Celebrate wins.

You’ve put a load of work in to get your employees to track time, so if someone finds a shortcut or a ‘quick win’, share it and celebrate with the team. A positive attitude can transform time tracking and really help motivate employees.

How Do I Avoid Making Time Tracking Feel Invasive?

The time tracking process can feel invasive at the onset.

Focus on the process, not punishment. Show your team that time entries are there to help find efficiency, not point fingers and find ‘slackers. Time tracking is about understanding what works and what doesn’t.

Use data to improve processes and show results without blaming. Use the time entries to cut back on repetitive tasks or redistribute workloads.

Ultimately, remember this: Respect privacy, and you’ll motivate employees rather than hinder them.

How Can I Track Employee Work Hours With TimeCamp Without Invading Their Privacy?

Creating a respectful and transparent environment in any workplace is essential. Adding time tracking to your team may challenge that in their eyes, but ultimately, it’s about balancing accountability and trust.

TimeCamp’s features make it possible to monitor activity while ensuring the privacy of the individual.

What Data Is Visible To Employees?

All data relevant to that individual team member is visible. Clarity about time tracking data helps ease privacy and get that buy-in.

Employees see their own:

  • Logged hours

  • Tasks

  • Reports & summaries

Managers have access to that same time tracking data, as well as aggregated data. This summed data helps identify trends or inefficiencies while keeping the private data of the individual safe.

How Does the Desktop App Protect Privacy?

TimeCamp’s desktop app focuses on collecting work-related insights without touching sensitive information. It logs website and application names to categorize time spent on tasks but doesn’t look at messaging apps, passwords, or other personal data.

Idle time is detected and excluded automatically.

Is TimeCamp Privacy Compliant?

Absolutely yes! TimeCamp adheres to global privacy regulations, including GDPR, meaning secure data handling. The customization options of our time tracker allow users to control what is tracked, offering flexibility and assurance that their personal data remains exactly that – personal.

What Habits Encourage Consistent and Accurate Time Tracking?

Once your team members have found those quick wins and you start tracking employee time correctly, it’s easy to slip into habits where your effective time tracking app just…gets forgotten about.

You can avoid that by doing the following:

  • Keep the process simple. Use features like TimeCamp’s one-click tracking to make it quick and effortless (and unobtrusive) to start and stop data entry and timers. You’ll get more accurate estimates of how long a team member takes to do a specific task.

  • Normalize note-taking by encouraging team members to log quick explanations. If something blows out and takes longer, or is done quicker, get them to note that down. Make sure the note-taking process doesn’t make employees feel obliged to justify the time it takes for any new projects to progress.

  • Use reports to build more trust. TimeCamp can generate a weekly report and send it to employees and managers alike. As a manager, you can then share the team’s report with everyone with key points as to where the team’s time is really going.

  • Transparency creates ownership. When people feel like they own their progress, the time tracking process will be normal.

Conclusion

Tracking team member’s time can easily go from a hassle to part of any team’s day-to-day. It becomes second nature by setting clear guidelines and creating projects with detailed reporting in mind.

What’s often surprising is how time tracking transforms how teams work together. With some clear rules in place, tracking work hours becomes less ‘keeping tabs’ on people and more of a desire to improve processes.

If you’re ready to see the difference time tracking can make, try TimeCamp for free. Sign up for a trial and take the first step to transform how your team tracks time and gets things done.

Try best time management app!

Free time tracking & easy attendance, project profitability analysis and precise billing.

Try for free!

Extra sources:

https://asana.com/resources/anatomy-of-work

https://weworkremotely.com/how-to-build-a-strong-culture-with-a-remote-team-8-ideas

https://www.inc.com/roy-canivel/are-teams-more-productive-when-they-work-remotely-or-in-office-a-new-study-says-its-a-tie.html

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Phil Forbes Phil writes, edits, and manages words (and writers) across multiple languages, keeping projects on track, under budget, and on point. With a knack for making content actually useful, he’s driven by how words can shape businesses. Remote teams? Non-existent budgets? Preposterous ideas? Phil’s been there, done that, and probably made a spreadsheet about it.

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