The Timesheet Deathnell

In most cultures, time is regarded as a fundamental quantity, i.e. time is not itself defined from other fundamental qualities such as space or mass, rather it is itself defined by the units it is measured in, which for us would typically be seconds, that quantity know by almost every child as he/she counts off the rumble of distant thunder, 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds etc. I say most cultures because of course some view time in a completely different way, such as the native aborigines of Australia who believe time to be two parallel streams of activity, the daily objective reality of time and dreamtime, a spiritual cycle more real than our current perceived reality.

However, for the most of us, and most specifically in a business context, time is viewed the passage from one moment to the next and it is this relentless progress of time, in a continued linear fashion, that shapes our very existence, and its importance cannot be overstated. From a humble rock, weathered by eons of rain wind and frost to Planck Time, considered the finest granularity of time there is with a single second equivalent to 1.8551043 Planck times, we cannot escape this fundamental quantity. Simply put we cannot stop time, and must therefore accept that time is an inherent part of our existence, how ever bold or feeble that may be.

And because time is so fundamental, its use determines much of our daily routine, be that begging in a storefront or wielding the cheque book of a multimillion dollar corporation, an inescapable consequence of our ever expanding material universe.

So how important is time in the context of business? Well, as resources continue to dwindle at an ever increasing rate, and as our own lives speed up with the trappings of modern technology, the careful, mindful use of time plays an ever increasing role to our civilization to a point that where the correct management of time becomes paramount for the success or failure of any business enterprise.

First, let us understand that the amount of work done in a given time is called effort or labour productivity. So for example if it takes one person one hour to dig a hole, then the effort will be 1 person hour. If another person joins in at the start, then our productivity will double as it should in theory take half the amount of time to dig a hole of the same dimensions. Of course this is only an approximation, as additional time may be lost as each man fight for space as they dig, or time may be saved as they operate with synergy, perhaps operating in series or in relay to dig the hole. Regardless, the point is that each and every business should keep abreast of the time metric to measure the productivity of their staff and their production of widgets or services.

At MetriQ we believe we have achieved some measure of success in helping businesses around the world, save time, most especially through the replacement of time sheets.

Time Sheets: Originally developed so that an employee can account to his/her employer the amount of time spent doing a particular job. While fine for the latter part of the industrial revolution, with the coming of age of the computer, digitizing the timesheet into a software product has done little to change the way in which this most valuable of metrics has been collected. Not only is the technology dated, but timesheets are also prone to a number of obvious errors.

Timesheet Illusions

1. Rounding errors: Timesheets typically have a start/end date-time column or have entries required for pre-booked 15 minute sessions. Neither of these are a reflection of how a job is actually completed. In fact if you come right down to it, you can pretty much assert that not a single job ever completed took exactly 10 minutes (see Plancks time above). So if a job starts at 10:00:00 am and is finish at 10:26:04, then the time sheet entry will most likely read 10 to 10:30:00. Which when consolidated will read 30 minutes. So what happens to the other 3 minutes 56 seconds?
\r 2. Forgetting: If you have ever filled in time sheets, youll know how easy it is, even after years of practice, to forget to fill in your time sheet. Then you have to rely on memory, and thats as good as sticking your finger in the air and giving a brute force estimation.
\r 3. Interruptions: If you get interrupted by a coworker or perhaps the phone goes while you are working. Do you add time to your timesheet?
\r 4. Concentration: Your working away on a task that requires your full attention and when you next look at the clock, you realize youve missed the last 4 timesheet entries.
\r 5. Mundane: The actual process of filling out a timesheet is mundane and repetitive. Very few people could actually put their hand in the air and say I enjoy doing this. And yet we persist with this archaic methodology.
\r 6. Time to Complete: Perhaps the biggest villain in the collection of this time metric would be the very fact it takes time to complete a timesheet, and this, is the biggest cost factor to a business using this outdated metric collection agent. Consider a company of 750 staff. If each are meant to fill in their timesheets every 15 minutes, and it takes them juts 30 seconds per entry, then if the average cost of an employee is just $100 (includes their salary, office space and overheads), then that business is loosing about $5 million dollars a year. Such a waste.

And if you really want to be impressed consider this. In the United States, current estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the current workforce is 145,794,000. If we assume that just 1% of all employees keep timesheets, at a cost of six thousand dollars a year, this equates to 8.5 billion dollars in lost income, just completing the humble timesheet.

Timesheet Revolution

At MetriQ we have spent years developing an alternative to the timesheet that requires no human interaction at all. The user simply clicks on the software they wish to use, and the MetriQ software will begin timing the use of that software. As the user flips to another software product, MetriQ again begins timing for that new software package and so in continues, such that at the end of the working day each and every second has been accounted for, even those that were interrupted by phone calls or going to the bathroom.

In other words, we believe that a computer should be smart enough to know exactly how long its been use, by who, on what and for whom, and without ever being told.

It is also our belief that the days of the timesheet are numbered and rapidly coming to a close as alternative technology emerges, and the value of each second wasted becomes more apparent.

If you would like to learn more about MetriQ and how it can help you save time and money in your business, then try the software for yourself. Its easy to install, easy to use, and with a reputation that is second to none in the business of Intelligent Business Timing. Download a free trial version from http://www.metriq.biz

Tom Applegate is a private business consultant based in Auckland New Zealand. He has a wide range of business experience and for the past 5 years has made a commitment to spread the word about the imminent demise of the humble timesheet, with various offerings as to how or what can be used as a replacement.

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