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Hoping for some opinions on a work situation.
I work for a large IT reseller who have traditionally sold hardware/software but are now trying to expand their services business. I do project based installation and configuration work.
The company has recently implemented a timesheet system which is used to track project time and ultimately charge customers.
It has not been done that well imo as the projects I need to book my time against are rarely set up in the timesheet system and I always need to waste time chasing the internal team who book me to do this (why they cannot create them in the timesheet system whilst booking me to do work I struggle to understand).
The person that implemented the timesheet system has just sent out an email stating that timesheets for this week must be completed by midday on Friday and needs to include any work taking place this weekend.
I am scheduled to work this Saturday and there is a 75% chance that the work will be completed in this time. I have an arrangement with the customer that we can work on Sunday if we hit issues. I have done this lots of times before and it works well.
My quandary is how can I fit this in with the instruction that the timesheet must be submitted by Friday lunchtime. This instruction also stated that any time not entered would not be considered for utilisation which is a key input to my bonus.
I kind of feel that I am being stitched up here. I understand that the company want a nice clean month end but am pretty resentful that there is a chance that I could lose out because of it. I will work this weekend but am then thinking of refusing to do any weekend work when a similar situation arises with respect to weekends and month ends.
I am hoping that some people work in similar roles can share whether this situation is common or whether it is a naive approach by my company based upon it's product selling rather than service selling background.
Thanks to everyone who read this far!
I've always booked the maximum that I'm likely to work, then let them know afterwards what I actually worked.
That way they have to change it all, and eventually realise it's not worth the additional work created by trying to get ahead of the game in the first place.
If they don't change it, you get paid more than you worked. But you have an email trail of proof that you were honest and asked them to change it.
If they do change it, you get paid for what you actually worked.
Either way you can't lose out.
Put Saturday and Sunday down on your timesheet. That's what I'd do.
Common practise in service companies. As someone else said, just enter both days full and worry about it later. My previous outfit used to ask us to adjust down the next week's hours if we didn't use all of a weekend after booking it. Same charge to the client in the end.
Have the timesheet tool finish the week on Friday, and the weekend days go onto next week. Simples.
Except not exactly, as our rules require us to submit on Friday at 5.30 or so, which doesn't help if you are working late. Also doesn't help if the last month in a quarter ends on a Wednesday. In those cases we are encouraged to submit what we think we are going to work then edit it later.
Or you could just do what I do and do it a few weeks late. Problem solved.
I must admit I didn't read it- but perhaps you should be asking yourself, are you being awkward enough?
Thanks for the responses. I think that I am going to enter the worst case but be totally open about it as suggested above.
I was pretty annoyed at the dictatorial tone of the email - thanks for the advice- I feel a lot more chilled about it now.
Chasing people to complete timesheet is always going to be a thankless task hence the dictatorial tone!
I tthin you are reading to much into it.. The time sheet entries are so the company can bill the customer accordingly.. When working with multiple customers across multiple projects it can get messy very quickly.
If there's no obvious activities to book your time against, then simply book it against the closest approximation and advise your manager accordingly.. 'couldn't cook time for x so I booked it on Y.
Bloody hate time sheets! Place I worked at years ago decided to introduce them, then the boss started asking awkward questions as to why the time put down on the sheet didn't add up to exactly the same as an actual working day, he was a bit put out when it was pointed out that apart from loo breaks, and getting drinks, there was the time spent filling out the time sheet, the time spent trying to find other members of staff who weren't at their desks when clients phoned up to talk to them, the time spent on the phone answering his endless queries about jobs, etc.
I estimated I spent fifteen-to twenty minutes out of every hour just answering the bloody phone, most of the calls were his. 👿
Bloody hate time sheets! Place I worked at years ago decided to introduce them, then the boss started asking awkward questions as to why the time put down on the sheet didn't add up to exactly the same as an actual working day, he was a bit put out when it was pointed out that apart from loo breaks, and getting drinks, there was the time spent filling out the time sheet, the time spent trying to find other members of staff who weren't at their desks when clients phoned up to talk to them, the time spent on the phone answering his endless queries about jobs, etc.
I estimated I spent fifteen-to twenty minutes out of every hour just answering the bloody phone, most of the calls were his.
I,too, have hated filling out timesheet in the past, but where I work now doesn't do this. I think the boss would have a heart attack if he were to track how much time was wasted on projects which were cancelled or supposedly trivial tasks...
How on earth are you expected to fill in time sheets for time that hasn't happened yet? Crystal ball? Was the system designed by Bloody Stupid Johnson?
Fill in Saturday and Sunday, when they challenge it tell them your TARDIS was on the blink.
Your being a bit awkward, but so are they..
Depends where you sit in the organisation though or where your boss sits.
As with most things (been there done that) having a word with the right people helps. First thing is to get it sorted that booking codes are generated when the job is agreed. There should be some process where the person generating them is told what to generate.
(why they cannot create them in the timesheet system whilst booking me to do work I struggle to understand).
It sounds like there is a missing link....
As for work in advance then you just need agreement that you will book what you need then correct on Monday or as somebody said make the week end on Friday.
The most overused phrase in management
Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions...
Would it not make sense to try and find the person who sent the email and politely explain to them what your situation is and ask for guidance on what to do? Not in a "See, you're a moron." manner, but in the manner of "I want to cooperate with you, can you please clarify what I should do so that I can follow your instructions."
I have lots of experience of things like this blowing up and then, with hindsight, realizing that it all could have been sorted out by talking to someone face-to-face (my fault more often than not). It's really easy to sound dictatorial in emails, it's possible they didn't mean to. Also, when you have to deal with lots of paperwork from lots of people, you have to just insist on people following the procedures otherwise the whole system just falls apart. For the person writing the email, you are just one faceless source of frustration out of many. It's legally safer for them to write the memos in a dictatorial manner than to give the impression that the recipients have any choice about compliance.
That's the problem when you let bean counters run a company.
Nealglover had it answered though.
Er - I think somebody has got the wrong end of the stick and run with it, somewhere along the lines. I have similar system, but we have to complete timesheets by midday the day after the last working day, or the machine sends increasingly aggressive emails, cc'ing up the chain of command as it goes. It started out as quite entertaining, but now I feel like one off those rats trained to hit a button or it gets an electric shock.
Anyways, yeah that's insane, and surely fraudulent to claim for time you haven't worked ? Put through both days and let them sort it out, and try and speak to the organ grinder not the HR monkey and get the proper information about the rules.
Errr! ask your line manager?
In a very similar situation most months, i either:
1) book it all and tell someone what iv'e done and they can sort it out, as I can't edit my sheet after the fact.
2) or ignore it till I get someone calling me up then tell them the problem and resort to 1).