How time tracking lead GrabOn to a faster pace at reaching objectives
Meet GrabOn – a trusted brand and pioneer in India’s affiliate e-commerce industry. As a market leader in the country’s coupons and deals space, the company is known for maintaining high-quality standards through its unique user interface and user experience. Today, GrabOn is the top player in the coupons and deals industry in India.
Behind every successful company is a team that is passionate about what they do. GrabOn's team consists of 70 employees working in 12 teams – many of whom use DeskTime. With more than 4000+ merchant partnerships and counting, the GrabOn team works effortlessly to help users save valuable resources on everything from home goods, clothing, and food to travel, health, and much more.
Time tracking as a way to save valuable resources
As the old saying goes: “Time is money.” And saving time means saving money which is a philosophy that GrabOn holds dear. So it came as no surprise that a company working in the field of saving money for others opted for a time and money-saving tool for themselves as well. By partnering up with DeskTime, GrabOn aimed to boost their overall productivity and efficiency ratings and keep everyone on the team accountable.
As GrabOn's Director of Product Marketing Raghu Prodduturi notes:
“We started using DeskTime to enable self-accountability and improve productivity. Too much time was being wasted to ensure employees stay productive, and we saw it as something that could be easily automated.”
DeskTime's time tracking and management software offered them just what they needed – a fully automated time management solution that works equally well in a remote and in-office setting.
Increased performance and better time management
When asked if there were any surprises or striking conclusions after implementing DeskTime in their office, Raghu replies affirmatively. GrabOn follows objectives and key results (OKR), and DeskTime's Project and Task tracking turned out to be one of the most useful features in the toolkit since it was able to produce an impartial and precise analysis of how task deadlines were met.
Having used a swiping system to manage their workforce, GrabOn soon discovered that it didn't really reflect the true state of work. The company has a well-established work/break policy to guide their day. While people started and left work well within the desired work-hour frame, there was no way to actually see how they were spending their workday.
“Implementing DeskTime showed a positive effect – if previously only 50-60% of task deadlines were met, with DeskTime this number rose to 80%. ”
Raghu notes that it served as an indirect productivity bump that ensured more work was being done, leading to a faster pace at reaching objectives.
The importance of avoiding burnout
As a company, GrabOn believes a person can give their best when they’re in a relaxed state of mind. For example, their cool office space bears testimony to this fact. Their workspace is the very definition of “style means substance.” Comfy sleeping pods, relaxing bean bags, well-ventilated and cosy spaces, an “Idea Zone,” and an elegant Table Tennis room are just some of the perks that help the team unwind and cook up some brilliant ideas. In turn, employees are asked to keep a productive mindset and be efficient in the 8 hours they work every day.
Raghu says that implementing DeskTime was a no-brainer. The team received a heads-up, along with a thorough explanation that supported the choice to take up time tracking. Everybody was on board. It was beneficial when the entire team switched to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. DeskTime was the easiest way to keep everybody accountable to complete the minimum required work hours.
“Besides, it introduced more structured working habits. And as a result, more work was being completed. Maintaining structure in your work, taking regular breaks, and spending more productive work hours help to eliminate overtime and follow deadlines. ”
Employees don't mind using DeskTime and support work transparency
Raghu notes that the team is generally okay with the company using time tracking. As with all new things, some people were apprehensive about it at first, but most team members admit that time tracking has boosted their productivity.
Firstly, team leaders don't have to spend so much time checking up on people and their work progress in person. That, in turn, helps to avoid workflow disruptions. Secondly, the work is transparent, and everyone can follow and work on their individual work habits. And thirdly, DeskTime's ease of use, user-friendly interface, fair pricing, and great user support made it a great choice to stick with in the future.
Finally, when we asked if Raghu would recommend DeskTime to other companies, he replies that he would because
“it's a great way to avoid micromanagement while maintaining an overview of all work processes. The most important part is creating a safe and transparent workspace environment where the company can follow how the team reaches its objectives while not casting doubt on their integrity of work. ”