Productivity Tracker
– Simple & Effective

Employee productivity tracking is the process of monitoring and analyzing employee activity to identify areas for improvement and increase productivity. It uses tracking tools to track employee performance, time spent on tasks, and other metrics to gain insights into employee behavior.

Employee productivity tracking tools are essential for businesses to optimize their workforce, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

What is a productivity tracker?

An employee productivity tracker, or productivity tracking software, is an online tracking tool that registers the time employees spend on tasks and/or activities during work hours. They successfully replace tracking productivity manually in Google Docs or Google Sheets. Most productivity trackers offer time-data-based, detailed reports that provide actionable insights on improving individual and team productivity.

However, productivity tracking software is also suitable for non-professional individuals open to boosting productivity by analyzing their performance numbers.

What are the four most common types of productivity software?

Productivity monitoring tools (in terms of time and project management) vary depending on their comprehensiveness and core functionality.

We can divide the employee productivity tracking tools market into four main categories:

1. Employee monitoring software with project time tracking and attendance features (CF: time tracking)

2. HR suites with employee productivity monitoring features and other perks like shift scheduling (CF: employee activity tracking)

3. Daily productivity tracking tools for individuals, available mostly for mobile devices (CF: focus sessions)

4. Task management tools that organize the team's workload and save time on internal and external communication (CF: task management and collaboration)

Are productivity tracking tools free?

Personal productivity trackers and time tracking tools are often entirely free or offer a free plan with essential productivity monitoring features.

TimeCamp, the best employee monitoring software, is free forever for basic time tracking; the free plan includes unlimited projects and unlimited users. You can try all its features without charge for 14 days.

How does employee monitoring software support security?

Employee monitoring software like an automated time tracker can help businesses detect and prevent insider threats, data breaches, and other security risks. It monitors employee activity, allowing managers to respond quickly to potential security incidents.

Employee monitoring software can also help businesses comply with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Key features to consider when choosing the right employee productivity tracking software

The in-office and remote employee monitoring software you choose to track employee productivity must suit your company's workflow and never vice versa. Below, you'll find a checklist of productivity tracking essentials - use it to guide you through the purchase decision process.

• Automated time tracking and task management - ease the pain of timesheet filling and submitting, also organize the team's workload according to current or long-term priorities,

• Real-time employee monitoring and reporting capabilities - track employee activity on the go and generate a detailed report full of data essential for employee engagement and productivity analysis,

• Customizable dashboards and analytics - choose an employee productivity monitoring software with a user-friendly interface and lots of customization options to ensure your team the best employee monitoring experience,

• Integration with existing HR and payroll systems - use an employee productivity tracker to register work hours and attendance automatically and to create accurate payroll lists,

• Scalability and flexibility to accommodate growing businesses - purchase a tool that provides full support, regardless of whether you need a monitoring employee productivity feature for 5 or 5000 members.

What are the best practices for implementing employee productivity tracking tools?

Communicate with in-office and remote workforce

Clearly explain the purpose and benefits of employee productivity tracking

Whether it's a simple time tracking tool or a comprehensive productivity tracking software, new tools always require a proper introduction among employees.

A wise team or project manager should explain:

• Why did the company decide to monitor employees with productivity monitoring software,

• What kind of employee productivity tracker did they decide to implement,

• And how the tool mentioned earlier will affect their workflow in short and long-term perspectives.

Introduce a new time tracker to your team during a special meeting scheduled in advance. Don't forget to send a link to your remote workers to ensure they're provided with exactly the same information as the in-office team.

Address employee concerns and questions (what data it collects)

Once a new employee monitoring software introduction meeting ends, it doesn't mean the case is closed. Online productivity monitoring still raises concerns regarding data sensitivity, which translates to important questions you should address as a manager. That's why explaining that productivity tracking tools are not just what your employees think about it is a must.

For example, during the TimeCamp implementation process, your employees (especially the remote workforce) may ask what kind of data our automated time tracking tool for desktop collects. The correct answer is that TimeCamp apps track work hours and (optionally) user activity, such as browser window names, but they don't provide intrusive employee monitoring methods like keystroke logging.

Provide training and support at all stages of using the software

A successful implementation of employee productivity tracking tools requires showing the in-office and remote workers firsthand how the work productivity tracker works. These days, software providers offer various product knowledge training sessions to support their clients in their first days of using a new tool. They also allow companies to request paid in-person, instructor-led training sessions during contract negotiations.

Besides, most productivity tracking software comes with free product knowledge resources such as handy help centers with product explainers written by experts, video or interactive demos, chat with support team agents, or slides and presentations.

Set clear goals and expectations

Establish clear goals and expectations for employee productivity

Monitoring employee productivity is meant to help teams and individuals achieve measurable improvement. That's why implementing a productivity tracking system without setting any numbers-related objectives is just a waste of time and makes the entire process an art for art's sake.

Define the goals for productivity time tracking usage based on analyzing your company's current situation. You probably can tell more or less what's wrong, but setting goals based on guessing is counterproductive. Instead, securing numerical data with time tracking reports allows you to assess the current status and define realistic goals.

Communicate these goals and expectations to employees

Use the defined goals to establish the right productivity tracking metrics for in-office and remote work. However, they shouldn't be used only for analytics purposes; instead, make sure each and every employee is familiar with them because staying on the same page is crucial for team productivity improvement.

Communicate the objectives clearly by:

• Issuing shareable handbooks that describe in detail what you expect from your employees and sharing it among existing employees and new team members during the onboarding process,

• Preparing a step-by-step guide on how to use productivity monitoring software to report progress,

• Establishing proper data access levels in your company's automated time tracking software to let employees do regular performance self-checks.

Regularly review and adjust goals and expectations as needed

Purchasing and implementing productivity tracking software is the first step to improvement, but the job is not done here. Generate rich-data time tracking reports and do regular assessments. This way, you can notice and address the flaws before they seriously harm your team's productivity and performance.

Monitor and Analyze Data

Regularly review and analyze employee productivity data

Use your employee monitoring software to the fullest to identify the areas of improvement on the go. Establish a metrics system that captures what you want to measure (for example, task completion rate for project management productivity or efficiency ratings). Use time tracking reports and real-time dashboards to provide you with data essential to measure productivity and execute the progress of goals achievement.

Identify trends and patterns that can inform strategic decisions

Businesses like yours can gain valuable insights into employee behavior and improve overall productivity by choosing the right employee productivity tracking tool and implementing best practices. To make it work, trend analytics should be conducted regularly and by using a structured process.

However, companies that track employee productivity often face challenges that may require rearranging the pattern identification and analytics process. The most common are changes in employee retention, data interpretation complexities, and improper productivity tracking software usage. You can easily fix the last one by changing your employee time tracker to TimeCamp.

Use data to optimize workflows and improve employee productivity

With data delivered by TimeCamp productivity tracking software, you're all set to improve productivity and performance of your team. Workflows optimized based on hard time tracking data will positively affect various company operations, such as project management, customer acquisition and retention, sales, HR, etc.