As discussed in our November blog posts, individuals have diverse beliefs about living to work or working to live. Understanding and appreciating these differences helps balance employee productivity and time management for optimal performance.
Tracking hours worked and employee productivity helps improve workforce performance. Creating a productive work environment helps minimize burnout and strengthen employee retention.
Defining Hours Worked
Many employers have employees working 8 hours per day and 5 days per week for 40 hours weekly. Although employees are present during this time, these hours do not account for non-work activities such as talking with coworkers, eating, and checking social media.
Defining Employee Productivity
Employee productivity involves the tangible output an individual produces over a set time:
- Productivity can be expressed as dollars per hour, deliverables completed, or goals and objectives met during a specific period.
- The metric can be calculated at the individual, team, department, and company level.
- The data can be used as a benchmark to determine whether the organization is attaining more or less productivity over time.
- An employer can compare company productivity with industry organizations of the same size or geographic area.
- The baseline metric can be used to design workplace and business process improvements and measure their impact.
Importance of Hours Worked and Employee Productivity
Differentiating between hours worked and employee productivity is important for diverse reasons:
- Working excessive hours per week can increase short-term output but is not sustainable.
- Increasing the hours worked beyond a certain number can reduce productivity.
- Regular breaks are needed to recover from periods of intense focus.
- Because employees do not always work at optimal levels, the number of hours worked does not equal performance.
Emphasizing hours worked, performance, and productivity creates a holistic picture of employee productivity:
- Proper work-life structure helps strengthen employee productivity and reach business goals.
- Understanding the number of hours worked and employee productivity provides a true sense of workforce performance.
- Performance management practices and workforce analytics can track metrics and help develop improvement plans.
- Clear metrics, training, tools, and real-time feedback support productivity, job satisfaction, and employee morale.
Tips to Balance Time Management and Employee Productivity
These tips can help balance time management and employee productivity:
- Define success for each role: Clarify production expectations and definitions of high performance. Include performance metrics for productivity, service, and quality.
- Train managers to manage work rather than employees: Communicate management expectations and methods to coach employees to drive business results. Set production targets, deadlines, and other parameters for productive conversations to help teams manage their workloads. Emphasize balancing employee accountability and autonomy.
- Let the work drive the processes: Processes should support long-term business strategy. Focusing on attaining work outcomes strengthens process clarity. Prioritize quality and productivity over hours worked.
Are You Looking for an Accounting and Finance Employee or a New Job?
Mercer Bradley can help Winnipeg employers hire productive accounting and finance employees. We also help job seekers find exciting roles that fit their goals, skills, and interests. Contact us or visit our job board to let us help fill your needs today!