How successful is the idea of ​​introducing time trackers to employees?

Question

Time Management

Investors insist on the introduction of time trackers to each employee of the development department. We don't mind, but there are fears - whether they will understand that only about 4 hours are effective for a programmer in a working day. Plus, the programmer spends part of the time thinking about solving the problem. He spends part of his time on documentation, on forums.

Another thing is when you are a freelancer and sell your watch to a customer at a good hourly rate. Then it is clear - you give him your most productive hours and this must be confirmed through the time tracking program.

Plus, we have such collaborators whose duties also include correspondence with customers, discussing difficult issues by phone. This also takes time. How to take this into account in time trackers?

The analyst also spends part of his time on checking tasks, part on formulating tasks. He doesn't come up with this either. First you need to think a lot, look at other sites before making a decision. How is this to be taken into account?

In general, advise what nuances need to be discussed with investors so that both parties are satisfied? We are talking about the constant employment of remote workers. 8 hour working day.

Answer 1

The idea is going to be successful!

for a programmer, only about 4 hours are effective in a working day

Came to work - the timer started. Left work - the timer was saved. So all 12 hours a day will become effective.

Another thing is when you are a freelancer and sell your watch to a customer at a good hourly rate.

Another thing is when you are a hired worker and sell your watch to a customer at a good hourly rate. And stop ... the same thing happens after all.

This also takes time. How to take this into account in time trackers?

The road to work, lunch, rest, turning on the computer, communication - all this takes time, working time.
You need to take into account so that investors are satisfied. You can even enter your own correction factor, they say, look at how hardworking our employees are (or vice versa). You can adjust this coefficient to KPI or tell the formula to employees so that they adjust it themselves. Let, for example, sleep with a mouse in their hands.

In general, advise what nuances need to be discussed with investors so that both parties are satisfied?

I think we need to ask each of the parties about it. On the other hand, missed deadlines are entirely the responsibility of managers, not programmers. Therefore, you need to think first of all about yourself.

We are talking about the constant employment of remote workers. 8 hour working day.

Stop stop stop. Why did you need a timer if you already know in advance that it will measure 8 hours every day?

Answer 2

Will they understand that only about 4 hours are effective for a programmer in a working day?

We xs whether they will understand or not.

Plus, the programmer spends part of the time thinking about solving the problem. He spends part of his time on documentation, on forums.

This is either a separate design task, or goes into the main one.

Plus, we have such collaborators whose duties also include correspondence with customers, discussing difficult issues by phone. This also takes time. How to take this into account in time trackers?
The analyst also spends part of his time on checking tasks, part on formulating tasks. He doesn't come up with this either. First you need to think a lot, look at other sites before making a decision. How is this to be taken into account?

So take it into account.

what nuances need to be discussed with investors so that both parties are satisfied?

There is only one nuance - the customer must understand in advance that work on his task is not measured only by the time it took to write the code, which eventually went into the project. The task includes everything - design, testing, management, requirements collection, deployment, training and further support.
But whether to show this detail to the customer or not depends on him. There are adequate people who understand everything and want to see it. There are adequate ones, but they do not want to dive, they trust the developers. There are inadequate ones, which I start a debate in the form of "and here it took you X hours to design, and why didn't you meet X - 1 hour 59 minutes?" .
This is more and more a matter of trust, explaining how to build it is impossible in the answers on the Toaster. If we talk about the success of the idea, we have implemented a time tracker for many years, and if people are explained that it is needed not to squeeze the last juice out of them, but for the customer to pay for every aspect of their work, then no one will sabotage it. But just with unorganized colleagues who forget to mark the time, it will be difficult to fight.

Answer 3

I myself answer my own question - working with the tracker is bliss. It is very convenient to demonstrate your work at the planning meeting. Everything starts up in Trello, is fixed in the Time Doctor, right through Trello you can click on the play.
Any time that you spend on work purposes is very easily fixed and you develop such discipline in yourself that it will help you in any case.