To assess the workload of your team, there is no need for tracking all the work performed to the minute. The good news is that you can develop a high level view quickly. Follow these steps:
- Meet with each employee to identify the main duties and their associated volume.
- Track activities for a couple of weeks.
- Incorporate seasonality and non-standard work.
- Summarize the data and prepare a graph on time distribution (see below).
- Perform sensitivity analysis. Explore alternative work scenarios which are applicable.
The above chart shows the distribution of workload for the year. A few things to note:
- The busiest time is in June/July.
- For the remaining months, there is slack.
- As the estimates are crude, the graph shows that there is sufficient buffer for this group to take on more work outside June/July timeframe even if the actual workload is 25% higher.
- During the months of June and July, additional resources are needed to manage the crunch.
This simple approach provides a high level view for management to gauge whether the staff are overworked, determine how best to allocate resources and redistribute work.
© Connie Siu 2012. All rights reserved.
Would people in general be able to assess their own work load objectively without having bias as to how am I going to be evaluated or concern for promotion?
The bias certainly exists. However, progressive individuals would be frank with the situation they are in. When the workload is overwhelming, it would be smart to seek help. When the workload is too light, it would be advantageous to request for more challenges.