Running a successful business is all about knowing how to guide your employees. When the members of your team are easily distracted or take too long with simple tasks, then it might be time to focus on improving time management. Every now and again it can be a good idea to assess how your staff uses available time throughout the workday and pinpoint areas where adjustments need to be made. To help you get started, consider some of these suggestions. A little research can point you in the right direction of a more efficient work environment.

Goals Matter

In some cases, employees might be falling behind or using time in unwise ways because you are not creating the right parameters for them to work in. If you don’t provide hard deadlines, for example, then you can’t be surprised when employees take their sweet time finishing things up. This is why setting concrete goals can be a huge help to improving the way time is used around the office. When the members of your team need to complete an assignment by a specific date, it can create the motivation required for success.

Creating goals for the team can also help your business in several additional ways. Should people fall behind on the proposed deadlines, then it will provide you with insight on what went wrong and how you should go about the next assignment. What’s more, it can create a feeling of accomplishment among your employees when goals are met. There is nothing that bonds a team more than a shared sense of pride over all of the hard work has been dedicated to a particular project. 

Use an App

Exploring digital options is another excellent way to see results from your mission to improve time management. These days, there are a number of excellent apps available for you to download right to your laptop, tablet, or phone. Have the members of your team download a program that allows them the chance to better monitor the way they spend their hours and see how it can help. A mobile clock can make all the difference when it comes to assisting your staff with tracking how they use their time. 

Organization Helps

Another common reason members of your team might be doing poorly at time-sensitive tasks is due to a lack of organization. The way an employee keeps track of records and data will have a direct impact on the speed and quality of the completed work. When you see a desk stacked with random papers and a computer screen with dozens of randomly assorted folders, it could be time to discuss the importance of organization. Creating a neat and ordered system makes it much easier for an employee to think and find what he or she needs at any given time.

To encourage better organizational skills, take a day each month where members of your team can go through their desks and other storage areas to clear away anything that is no longer needed. Often, unimportant papers get shoved into drawers because no one knows what to do with them. As the one in charge, creating a time dedicated to shredding old docs can do wonders for keeping your office ordered and your employees functioning to the best of their abilities.

Delegation

Finally, poor time management can also come down to employees with overloaded schedules. When one or two people always get tasked with the brunt of the work, it means that these individuals don’t actually have additional time for more assignments. Monitor delegation and ensure the work is being spread evenly among the members of your staff to help everyone best manage their schedules.

In order for you to get the most out of the men and women who work for you, it is important to encourage exceptional time management skills. Give yourself time to learn different ways to inspire change in your team members and see what will work best for your business.