The 40-Hour Conundrum: Rethinking Time Tracking for Modern Agencies

Jun 27, 2024

Gray McKenzie, CEO and founder of ZenPilot, discusses the evolving landscape of time tracking in agencies. He challenges the traditional 40-hour workweek, advocating for a focus on productive output over mere hour logging. The conversation highlights the importance of clear communication about the purpose of time tracking and how it can shape business decisions. McKenzie also explores tools like RescueTime to gain insights into actual work patterns and the need for regular team reviews to enhance efficiency and decision-making.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

Rethinking Time Tracking: Culture, Capacity, and Productivity

04:26 • 4min

Addressing Time Tracking Challenges in Modern Agencies

08:11 • 4min

Mastering Time Tracking for Productivity

12:29 • 16min

Mastering Time Tracking for Agency Success

28:09 • 8min

Optimizing Time Tracking Efficiency

35:42 • 13min

Is it ever possible to track 40 hours of work in a given week?

If not, what should the benchmark be?

What is time tracking for, anyway?

And how to talk about it with your team members in a way that makes them motivated, and gives you good insights?

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray and Kuba discuss the challenges and best practices of time tracking in agencies. They explore how to communicate its purpose, implement effective processes, and use the data to drive business decisions.

Episode Insights:

💡 The real purpose of time tracking is to shape business decisions and help managers guide team members' focus

💡 Clear communication about why you're tracking time is crucial for team buy-in

💡 Using tools like RescueTime can provide more accurate data on how time is actually spent

💡 Weekly reviews of time tracking data can help coach team members to be more efficient

💡 Time tracking data should inform decisions on pricing, packaging, staffing, and process optimization

💡 Reframe time tracking as managing "units of energy" or impact rather than just hours

💡 It's important to share back with the team how time tracking data is being used to improve the business

Resources Mentioned:

🌐 Gray’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graymackenzie/

🌐 ZenPilot Profitability and Utilization Reporting: https://www.zenpilot.com/agency-profitability-and-utilization-reporting/?utm_campaign=agency-journey-ep-298-gray-time-tracking

⚒️ ClickUp: https://www.clickup.com/?utm_campaign=agency-journey-ep-298-gray-time-tracking

⚒️ RescueTime

⚒️ Harvest

⚒️ Everhour

⚒️ Toggl

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