Benefits of time sheets:- In project management, time is a valuable element that needs to be accurately measured and managed effectively to avoid problems. For successful project management, the timesheet is an indispensable tool. Useful for project managers as well as its employees, it allows a better follow-up of the project by offering a visibility on the workload of each member of the project team, on the costs and therefore on the profitability of the project.
What is a Timesheets?
The time sheet is presented in the form of a table in which each employee fills the time he or she spends on a task. This allows the project leader to see the workload of each team member, the remaining time for each activity and to compare the planned efforts with the actual efforts.
The timesheet thus allows a better distribution of the required efforts and avoids the surprises associated with unrealistic deadlines. The information is available in real time as soon as it is entered, allowing the project team to better respect the deadlines and the budget.
Benefits of Time sheets in Managing your Projects
Discover the different benefits of using the timesheet when managing your projects.
- Identify the time required for Each task
The timesheet allows you to identify the time it takes to complete an activity. This is not always easy to determine because several collaborators can work on the same task. With the timesheet, each worker enters the hours worked on each task and the sum of the hours is automatically calculated. You therefore know the total time required to complete all the tasks of the project.
With this information, you become better at planning. This allows you to plan, manage and control your project and its activities more effectively. In addition, knowing the time it takes to complete the various tasks will help you greatly in planning your next projects.
- Knowing the Workload of your Collaborators
The timesheet is an excellent way to identify the availability of project team members. You know exactly what task is assigned to which employee, and you know the amount of time already spent on the task and the time remaining before it expires.
Some of your colleagues are complaining about weeks of 50 hours or more? Alleviate their workload by asking more available colleagues to help them.
If your team continues to work overtime despite its productivity and organization, it means that the workload is too large or too poorly distributed. It is then necessary to recruit additional labor to help you realize the project on time. The time sheets are proof of this work overload and justify your request to your managers.
- Establish the Actual Cost of the Project
It is important to know the different costs associated with your project in order to know what it really costs and whether it is cost effective. Among the various costs, one distinguishes in particular the material expenses, the expenses of suppliers and the cost of the internal labor. This last category is the most difficult to follow because your employees do not necessarily work 100% on your project during the day. They can also be mobilized on other projects, receive training or carry out administrative tasks. Hence the importance of capturing the hours actually spent working on the progress of your project. So you can know what your project costs in real time, from the time spent, and this at any time during the course of the project.
- Compare Planned Efforts with Actual Efforts
The Timesheet is the perfect tool to compare your planning with reality. Since each member of the team captures the real time worked on the different tasks of the project, you know if you’re starting estimates were correct or not. You can then analyze the observed deviations and determine the causes. This allows you to learn and be more efficient in planning and estimating the duration of different activities during your next projects.
- Anticipating Delays
As mentioned above, thanks to the timesheet, you follow and analyze the time spent on each of the tasks of your project. You know when a task is approaching its deadline and what its level of accomplishment is. In this way, you can anticipate delays by distributing urgent tasks on collaborators who are more available. The timesheet allows you to efficiently manage your resources and act to avoid delays.
- Increase the Concentration and Productivity of the team
The purpose of the timesheet is not to scrutinize the work of your colleagues. However, knowing that their hours are counted increases their concentration on the work to be done and reduces distractions. It is also a good way to encourage them to meet deadlines and deadlines.
The timesheet also allows your team to better manage its working time and thus be more efficient and productive. Another benefit: some of your employees will want to increase their performance and develop new skills to improve the time spent on each activity.
In Summary
The benefits of using the timesheet daily are many. Each team member is responsible for his / her hours worked and the project leader has a visibility on the costs, activities and profitability of the project. Above all, avoid using time sheets to monitor your employees, which would be detrimental to the establishment of an environment of trust.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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