Human Capital Management (HCM) professionals are unique as their roles often interact with a wide range of employees and a variety of key areas in an organization, including payroll, accounting and human resources, to name a few. With all of these interconnected responsibilities, time management is a skill required in all positions to make sure tasks are completed accurately, efficiently and on time. While most of us would like to think we manage our time effectively, we often don’t take the time to audit how we work and challenge ourselves to think differently about how we might utilize different tools and strategies to improve our performance. Year-end can be an interesting opportunity to put your current work practices to the test, and you might consider a few new ways of working that could make your days run a little more smoothly in the new year.

Customize your work calendar

A well-organized work calendar can help you allocate your time efficiently each week. With over 15 years of experience in project management and urban planning, Amy Roots relies on her calendar as a key tool to stay connected with her team. “If you aren’t doing so already, your first step is to always share your calendar with your team members to make sure everyone has shared access. As someone who manages others, I think it’s important to be transparent about how I’m spending my time so my staff know when and how they can connect with me. I also think it’s a great way to role model time management techniques for those around me.”

When it comes to task management, there are a variety of simple ways to keep yourself on track. Roots elaborates, “For HCM professionals, your calendar can be used to schedule reminders for repeating activities like processing payroll or receiving weekly timesheets. You can colour code your calendar to provide visual cues for how you intend to prioritize your work for the upcoming week. You can also hold dedicated work time if you need to focus on a specific task, but try to avoid overbooking this time as you don’t want to create a headache anytime someone wants to book a meeting with you.”

Understand and evaluate your weekly priorities

At the beginning of each week, hold time for yourself to set your priorities. This requires asking yourself some basic questions, like “Which priorities can I complete on my own” and “Which priorities require coordination with others?” Take action immediately on those involving others, whether it be sending an email or booking a meeting. Most organizations also tend to have a natural workflow where certain days of the week are better suited for meetings and collaborative tasks while others are better for scheduling time to complete independent tasks.

Once you’ve set your priorities, it’s important to revisit them and hold yourself accountable. Roots clarifies, “If you find that you aren’t consistently completing your priorities, you need to be able to find the cause of the problem. Sometimes it’s as simple as being too vague with your timeline, saying you’ll finish something by the end of week instead of picking a specific date. Other times, it’s underestimating how much time a task will take or overcommitting yourself to assisting others. If you struggle doing this on your own, consider involving your manager in the process. Treat your touch bases as prioritization meetings and come prepared to share your own recommendations for what you consider to be your high-priority activities. Over time, you’ll be better and better at allocating your time and energy to the right things.”

Clear your inbox, clear your mind

At the end of each week, consider holding some time to organize and file your emails. During the week, it’s easy to let them get away from you and end up overwhelmed as you stare at an inbox full of unanswered messages. However, if you approach managing your email a little differently, it can be a very productive way to set yourself up for the week ahead. Roots explains, “Answering and archiving emails on a Friday can be a great way to bookend your week. I use this as a time to follow up and act on any unanswered emails and add to my to-do list for the following week. The goal isn’t necessarily to have a completely empty inbox, but even reducing my emails from 100 to 50 allows me to close my week with a better understanding of what’s waiting for me on Monday morning.”

With competing priorities and pressing tasks, most of us don’t feel like we have time to take a step back to evaluate how we do our job. It’s easy to fall into a routine of completing our work in a way that we’re used to, as changing our work routines might seem daunting and uncomfortable. The truth is, we can all benefit from better understanding our own workflows, and even minor changes can go a long way. Even if you’re not ready to do away with your trusted to-do list just yet, experimenting with different time management techniques may allow you to rethink your approach to the work week and lead to a little less stress and a little more efficiency in the process.





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