So, wait: how does a time off tracker make project managing easier?
Hear me out.
Good companies encourage their employees to fire away with new ideas.
Great companies make them happen.
What stands between brilliant suggestion and their execution?
A plan.
The latest book on time management might be jam packed with insight; your career mentor could be encouraging you to step up and take the lead. Human resource managers tend to dole out spreadsheets, as if they were cups of non-alcoholic punch at the office Christmas party…as if Excel is everyone’s first choice…
But how do you integrate new ideas into your company? How do you apply those new things to the most challenging part of work: people and teams?
Set Failing Metrics
This may sound a little odd, but in addition to measuring the success of the project it’s important to create indicators that something is veering off. Have you ever worked on a client project only to realize the budget has been significantly surpassed? Or that you won’t be able to deliver a project on-time due to poor management? These things pass unnoticed as you work—but quickly rear its ugly head when it’s too late. According to Harvard Business Review, creating metrics before the launch gives “foresight into what’s going wrong as it’s happening. The key thing here is to focus on goals that really matter”. Break down your goal into steps and place “failing metrics”. This gives you sufficient time to get back on track before the deadline.
Delineate Clear Roles and Tasks
Before the start of every phase, a manager must set out the expectations of each team member. The team member must have a deliverable at the end of each phase. To accomplish the deliverable, certain tasks must be done. Make it clear what people are doing. Give milestones. Host meetings that give team members action items. This must be a priority, says Cindy Calvin, a marketing project manager for Veterans United Home Loans.
Identify and share status updates in real-time
Team members must have a system that provides rapid input and any changing status on tasks they’re working on. For the efficiency of the project, this gives managers the ability in future planning. It also prevents the economic sucker-punch, the Cost of Delay.
What is the Cost of Delay?
It’s the calculation that compares the cost of doing something now versus doing it later. It measures the impact of time on a company’s goal. When a task or project phase is delayed or not completed, it costs the company every day that it is not there.
Therefore, knowing how to effectively manage the team giving the results is imperative.
When it comes to a time off tracker or arranging paid time off (PTO) for team members, managers have got to get it right. The process must be stream-lined, fast and easy to use.
The opposite of time-consuming spreadsheets.
A fully-automated, cloud-based system like absence.io supports project managers in delivering high-impact deliverables—without missing a beat. Simple economics: the best time off tracker means more money in a company’s pocket.
Go ahead, politely decline the spreadsheet punch.
It’s not really getting the job done…
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