TIME PRIORITIES FOR TOP MANAGERS

A Time Use Paper by

Mark Ellwood, President, Pace Productivity Inc.
International Association of Time Use Researchers (ATUR) Conference,
Halifax, November 2005

This paper focuses on the fourth theme of the IATUR conference, The Changing Structure of
Work Time. It examines the role of the manager and how much time he or she spends on key
management priorities. Emphasis is on such major activities as planning, customer relations and
managing people. It also identifies the impediments to managerial effectiveness, such as
administrative tasks. A key finding is that during a work week that is longer than average,
managers face a major challenge in focussing on their highest priority activities.
Additionally, managers expectations are examined. By plotting actual time versus ideal, this
paper demonstrates where gaps occur, usually on higher priority planning and people
management activities. The paper examines trends from the past 15 years and shows the impact
that technology and organizational change has had on the manager. Despite the addition of
technology, the job of a manager hasnt actually changed much. In some cases technology
inhibits as much as it empowers.
Other work studies have relied on observations or diary study. The data for this paper is based on
over 200,000 hours of real time data gathered by Pace Productivity Inc. since 1990 with the
innovative TimeCorder time tracking system.

TIME PRIORITIES FOR TOP MANAGERS

By Mark Ellwood, President, Pace Productivity Inc.
Presented to the International Association of Time Use Researchers Annual Conference, Halifax,
Canada, November 2005

INTRODUCTION
Managers spend much of their time doing everything but managing. With all of the daily crises,
pressures, and trivial tasks that are thrown at them, it is tough for the typical manager to stay
focused on the things that are important.
The classical definition of the organizational manager is one who plans, organizes, coordinates
and controls. However, the reality is that there are numerous, mundane activities that take up a
managers time some of which actually impede his or her productivity. Many of these nonpriority tasks are unavoidable; they come with the job, but are never written in the job
description. Managers try to focus on their priorities, but often get bogged down in the
requirements of the job.
So how do managers spend their time? What are their priorities and where are the gaps versus
what they do and where they should spend their time?
Henry Mintzberg explored the subject in 1968 with his seminal study of five senior managers
(CEOs) each for a week at a time. He captured data through a technique called structured
observation. In his analysis, he divided their activities into those that are concerned primarily
with interpersonal relationships, those that deal primarily with the transfer of information, and
those that essentially involved decision-making. Within these three main activities, he defines
ten roles; the manager as figurehead, leader, liaison (informational), monitor, disseminator,
spokesman (informational) and entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and
negotiator (decisional).
John Kotter conducted an observational study from 1976-1981, visiting 15 general managers
across the U.S. He visited each one three times over 6-12 months, interviewing them for at least
5 hours and observing their daily activities for 35 hours. He summarized their activities into
agenda setting (pursuing goals, priorities and strategies for financial, product and organizational
issues) and network building (developing cooperative relationships with bosses, peers,
subordinates, their subordinates subordinates, and outsiders).
Michael C. Mankins surveyed top management team members in 2003 to understand how teams
invest their collective time. He found that they spend too much time discussing issues that have
little or no direct impact on company value. He focused solely on the time that top management
teams spent together in a year, rather than looking broadly at their day to day activities.

Much of management literature discusses how managers interact, what skills they must possess,
and how they provide leadership. However, there is a paucity of research dealing with the day to
day activities of what managers must do to fulfill the functions of their job description. Other
research does not take into account what managers actually do to complete the tasks that are
consistent with their job descriptions. Are production managers actually overseeing production?
Do research managers direct research? And are sales managers directing sales people?
This paper, which is a summary of corporate time studies, captures what other approaches have
not - that much of the time the manager is not doing what he or she is supposed to be doing.
Instead she becomes bogged down in doing lesser tasks that might be assigned to other
departments. Or she spends time on administrative tasks that do not advance the job. Or, that he
spends time on some activities that simply cannot be categorized into any meaningful managerial
activity. Travel time is an example of this. For managers, travel time to other offices, customers,
plants, association events, or vendors needs to be recognized as an occasional element of the
typical work week that has to occur. But it is not managing.
Managers have limited resources; budget, staff, technology, and scope of authority. Time is also
a limited resource for them. By understanding how they spend their time, organizations and
individual managers can design programs to ensure that productivity is maximized. Productivity
in a knowledge worker environment can be defined as the efficient allocation of limited
resources.
Decades ago in The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker encourages managers to Know Thy
Time. He proposed that: Effective executives, in my observation, do not start with their tasks.
They start with their time. And they do not start out with planning. They start by finding out
where their time actually goes. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back
unproductive demands on their time. Finally they consolidate their discretionary time into the
largest possible continuing units. This processis the foundation of executive effectiveness.
His advice is just as relevant today. The challenge is to easily measure the time they spend.
Hence this report, a collection of studies conducted for corporate clients. Participants tracked
their own time using Pace Productivitys proprietary TimeCorder* device for two weeks. The
device works like a series of stopwatches and is very simple for participants to use. They just
press one single alphabet key on the device each time they begin a new activity. The keys are
coded to activities and each one works as a timer. Participants enjoy the process because it gives
them instant feedback, resulting in a participation rate of about 95%.
Each study tracked different activities. Thus this paper reviews diverse studies and summarizes
general trends. See Appendix 1 for methodology details.
Overall, we find that managers work long hours, but are not able to devote as much time as
they would like to their major priorities. They get bogged down with administrative
functions that eat up at least one-quarter of their time.

* TimeCorder is a registered trademark of Pace Productivity Inc.

1. MANAGERS WORK LONG HOURS, AND MORE THAN THEY

WOULD LIKE
Overall, managers work 49.4 hours each week. This includes all of the work they do during
regular work days at their office. It also includes work done during evenings or on weekends,
whether at home or at the office. It also includes lunch, breaks and personal time during normal
working hours while at their work location, since this is time not spent with family or in leisure
pursuits. Commuting time is not included, unless work is being done while travelling. This might
include a cell phone call made while driving to work, or paperwork being done while on a train,
bus or subway.
The typical managers week is about 2 hours more per week than non-managers, who average
47.2 hours per week of work time, measured in the same manner.
As shown below, the more senior the position, the longer the work hours. Presidents find
themselves working 20 hours more per week than the average non-management employee. There
is no relief from the burden of work the more senior one rises in the organization. Perhaps as
Johanthan Gurshuny points out, Work, not leisure, is now the signifier of dominant social
status. Evidence from three UK time diary studies (1961, 1983/4 and 2001) shows that over this
period the Veblen-type negative relationship between social status (as indicated by human
capital) and work time is reversedhigh human capital is now associated with longer hours of
work.
Graph 1.

HOURS WORKED PER WEEK BY MANAGERS

70
60
HOURS

50
40
30
20
10
0
President

Sales
Senior
Middle
Manager Manager Manager

All
NonManagers managers

Actual Hours

66.5

52.1

52.9

47.3

49.4

47.1

Ideal Hours

58.4

49.7

48.0

46.0

46.6

44.1

For perspective Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins reported that average employees (i.e.
managers and non-managers) in 2001 devoted 45 hours per week to paid employment, up from
42 hours in 1991. Their results are consistent with work hours reported by Jonathon Swan and
Gary L. Cooper in 2005, showing 44 work hours per week in the UK in a study of working
3

families. Clearly, managers work longer hours than average employees. When Swan and Cooper
asked why, over half of all the parents we surveyed felt that long hours were necessary simply
to get their job done.
The graph above compares actual hours to ideal hours. At the beginning of a typical time study,
participants are asked for their ideal hours on each of the items that they are about to track. (See
Appendix 3 for methodology and Appendix 5 for results.) This provides an additional benchmark
for comparison, reflecting employees attitudes about how they would ideally spend their time.
On average, managers cite 46.6 hours per week as an ideal.
Thus their 49 hours of work are almost 3 hours more than they would ideally like. The same is
true for all levels of managers, though the gap widens for presidents who face a wider gap of 8
hours between actual and ideal time.
This difference between actual and ideal hours is slightly less than results from the Tabulator
questionnaire, featured on Pace Productivitys web site, GetMoreDone.com. The questionnaire
asks respondents to allocate time across 11 activities for a full 168 hour week (i.e. 24 hours X 7
days.) Data is available from 18,000 respondents. Among those who are employed (across a
wide variety of jobs), total work hours are 46 per week on the Tabulator questionnaire. Ideal, or
desired hours are just 39 per week.
In addition to understanding how time is spent, TimeCorder studies measure how busy the job is
based on how many interruptions there are. The more frequently participants change activities,
the busier the job. Frequency of activities is expressed in a duration figure. This is derived
from hours tracked divided by the number of events tracked on a TimeCorder device. It is
expressed in minutes per event. It shows how often managers typically change from one activity
to another. Lower figures indicate shorter events, hence more interruptions.
Based on the length of durations, presidents are able to work for longer, more concentrated
chunks of time, typically 42 minutes. Other managers, faced with more frequent telephone calls
and employee interruptions, have lower average durations per activity, ranging from 15 to 18
minutes, as shown below in Graph 2.
Graph 2.
DURATION OF TYPICAL ACTIVITY
BY MANAGERS
50
40
30
20
10
0

Minutes per Activity

President

Sales
Manager

42

15

Senior
Manager
16 4

Middle
Manager
18

All
NonManagers managers
18

14

2. ONLY THREE-FIFTHS OF MANAGERS TIME ADDS VALUE TO

THE ORGANIZATION
The pie chart below shows a weighted average of 565 individual activities combined into 12
major categories. These results run across 38 different managerial jobs. For an individual
managers job, time typically falls into just 6-8 categories.
Note: Throughout this report, activities are types of work that managers tracked. Categories
consist of a number of activities grouped together. Activities cited may appear to be quite large
relative to the categories. This is because not all participants tracked that activity. Their results
are weighted, depending on the participation level. Activity results are shown in Appendix 5.
On average managers tracked 22 activities; the maximum anyone tracked was 26 (corresponding
with letters of the alphabet on the TimeCorder device.) Some of these activities are fairly obscure
and have only been used by single clients. However, of the total, 194 activities are more popular
and have been tracked by at least 10 people. Time study participants tracked these activities; they
were not given the category names while they gathered data.

Graph 3.

How Managers Spend Their Time

Miscellaneous
5%
Personal Time
8%

People Management
18%

Travel
2%
Training
2%

Strategy / Analysis
1%
Planning
8%

Administration
25%

Selling
8%
Customer
Administration
9%

Internal Operations
7%

Customer Service
7%

Focusing on the first 7 categories clockwise (people management, strategy / analysis, planning,
selling, customer administration, customer service, and operations) only 59% of a managers
time is spent on activities that add value. Organizations need to recognize that operating at
100% efficiency or 100% capacity is simply not feasible. Time for major priorities is limited.
Numerous requirements will inevitably eat up time that managers would like to allocate to their
priorities.
We define these job priorities distinctly from job requirements. Priorities are activities that affect
results at least a month in the future. In the pie chart above, they are the first three or four pie
sections clockwise from the top; people management, strategy / analysis, planning, and for some
managers, selling.
Job requirements are those unwritten or administrative tasks that are a necessary part of being an
employee in the organization or that must get done eventually. These include administration,
training, travel, personal time and miscellaneous activities. For managers, they can account for
up to 41% of the time!
In between the high priorities and the necessary requirements are responsibilities. These
involve job functions that are written in a job description that must get done today. Generally
speaking, they include elements in the next three pie sections after priorities; customer service,
customer administration, and internal operations, though elements from other sections might
come into play.

Following are brief descriptions of the main categories:

Planning Activities oriented towards developing new products / services / clients, etc.
Strategy / analysis Reviewing business results to aid in planning
Selling Direct contact with prospects or customers to obtain additional business
Customer Administration Internal activities that support sales and service
Service Responding to customer requests or provision of products and services
Administration Required internal activities not connected with main priorities
Internal Operations Internal work that keeps the organization running
Training Personal and professional development done on work time
Travel Travel to customers, other offices, but not commuting
Personal time Lunch, breaks, calls to spouse, short medical appointments, etc.
Miscellaneous Activities not covered elsewhere

3. MANAGING STAFF DOES NOT GET THE ATTENTION THAT

MANAGERS SAY IT SHOULD
Managers expect their job to be managing people, but only a small percentage of their time is
spent doing this. Prior to beginning their time studies, managers were asked for their ideal
expectations. They were also asked to respond to four open-ended questions related to their jobs
and productivity.
The first of these open-ended questions is What are the most important things you need to do in
your job? The objective of this question is to gauge whether actual time tracked on various
activities matches up with stated intentions. Managers might believe their focus ought to be in
one area. But because of their lack of appropriate skills, or the day to day pressures of ongoing
crises, or their own bad habits, they are unable to allocate the right efforts towards their
priorities. Their responses to the open-ended questions are coded to match a list of 97 pre-set
responses. (See Appendix 1 for complete responses.)
By far, the most frequent response to the question about priorities is manage staff, provide
direction, coach, cited by half of all managers. (Note: percentages add up to more than 100%
because many respondents give more than one answer.) Responses cited by at least 5% of
respondents are shown below. Details are in Appendix 4:

Table 1.
QUESTION 1
In your job, what are the most important things you need to do?
Manage staff / provide direction / coach
Prospecting / generate sales / orders / marketing
Provide customer service / support / satisfy needs
Manage operations
Time planning / planning / focus
Build relationships, meet, contact customers
Paperwork / administrative tasks
Train staff
Communicate well, E-Mail, internal communication

50%
20%
17%
9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
5%

Clearly, respondents see themselves not as managers of processes or projects, but of people.
While this sounds intuitive and obvious, the reality of how time is spent is different than
managers expectations. As shown in the main pie chart (Graph 3) and the table below, less than
one-fifth of managers time is spent in the area of people management. This category
represents 8.8 hours per week of the typical managers time or 18% of the work week. He or she
conducts 24 different activities of about 23 minutes each.

Table 2.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT CATEGORY

Hours per Occasions Duration in
Ideal
week
minutes
Hours
3.3
9
22
4.1
6.1
20
18
8.2
10.8
23
28
9.4
4.3
7
35
3.5
8.8
24
23
9.2

Difference
vs. Ideal
-0.8
-2.1
1.4
0.8
-0.4

Sales managers spend more time than other managers on people management. This is because
their results are directly attributable to the sales reps who work for them. They know that
developing their people is important to their own success. Hence they spend more time here,
while they spend less time on general planning activities, covered in another section of this
report.
In general, managers dont expect to spend any more of their time on this crucial area of people
management. Based on their input provided prior to their time studies, they would ideally like to
spend 9.2 hours per week on people management. Their actual time is just 0.4 hours short of this
ideal target. Within the sub-groups, presidents would like to spend slightly more time managing
people, while senior managers would like to spend 2 hours less.
But the category encompasses a variety of activities. Within the category, a key activity that
relates to managers primary goal of managing staff is an activity called coach, mentor and
train staff. Overall this takes 2.8 hours per week among those who tracked it, as shown in Table
3 below. This is very much short of the 4.1 hours they would ideally like to spend on this
activity. Coaching just isnt getting the attention that managers want. Assuming the typical
manager has between four and eight employees reporting to him or her, each employee may only
get one session per week of less than half an hour to cover everything.

Table 3.
ACTIVITY: COACH, MENTOR AND TRAIN STAFF
Hours per Occasions Duration in
Ideal
week
minutes
Hours
Middle Manager
2.1
8
17
5.3
Senior Manager
2.2
10
13
3.7
Sales Manager
3.5
8
27
4.4
President
1.4
2
43
0.5
All Managers
2.7
7
24
4.1

Difference
vs. Ideal
-3.1
-1.5
-0.9
0.9
-1.3

4. ADMINISTRATION IS A MASSIVE TIME HOG FOR MANAGERS

In the first of the four pre-study questions, paperwork and administrative tasks are well down the
list of managerial priorities cited. Typically, these activities are mentioned as a main priority by
only 6% of managers. Clearly, handling paperwork is not what they perceive their job to be. Yet
administration is the largest category of activities that a manager is engaged in.
Administrative tasks are not acknowledged in other analyses of managerial time, but are an
unavoidable reality of work. We define administrative tasks as those that dont necessarily
advance work toward achieving its major objectives, nor directly support these activities.
Instead, they are necessary requirements of the job. They might support the operations of the
organization, such as filling out time sheets, reports, and paperwork. They might support the
dissemination of information, through internal, non-planning meetings. Or they might support
other workers, providing assistance by answering questions or filling in for others. Or they might
be activities that could be delegated entirely to an assistant, to another department or to
technology, with no changes to the managers performance.
In the pre-study questionnaire administered prior to conducting a time study, the second question
is What things, outside of your control get in the way of your productivity? Since we began
asking the question in 1990, the issue of paperwork and administrative tasks continues to lead the
responses to this question across all job categories. For managers and non-managers alike, the
percentage is the same. 20% of respondents cite administration as an impediment. See Table 4
below for responses to the second open-ended question cited by more than 4% of managers.

Table 4.
QUESTION 2
What things outside of your control get in the way of your
productivity?
Paperwork / administrative tasks
Customer requests -service / problems / complaints
Computer / system / equipment problems
Changing priorities / ad hoc / unplanned projects
Interruptions
Staffing / HR issues / changes / people absent
Phone calls / phone interruptions / inquiries
Meetings - too many / too long / unnecessary
Other depts. inefficient / make mistakes
Volume of e-mail
Fire fighting / emergencies
Volume of work / not enough time
Customers without appointments / walk-ins
Central office visits, interruptions, requests

20%
18%
14%
13%
12%
12%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
4%
4%
4%

The irony is that since 1990, computers and new software programs continue to proliferate; yet
there is no reduction in administrative tasks. This is because for the manager, the computer is not
an automation tool; it is an information-processing tool. With the increasing number of tools, or

programs available, from word processing to spreadsheet analysis and presentation software, the
options have also increased. Now, more scenarios can be checked out, more reports can be
printed for review, more data needs to be inputted. It is no surprise then that the issue of
paperwork and administrative tasks is seen as a huge impediment to productivity.
As shown in Table 5 below, the administrative burden is massive and takes up 11.6 hours of the
managers work week. This is 25% of his or her time. The activities in this category are also very
interruptive; 43 of them occur each week lasting 16 minutes each.
Administration is also an area where managers would like to spend considerably less time than
they do. Actual hours spent versus ideal expectations are the most dramatically different for this
category compared to others. Managers spend 11.6 hours in administration time, but would
ideally only like to spend 7.3 hours doing these activities. No one likes doing paperwork.
Administration time increases as one moves higher in the organization (see table below). Some
of the time in this category is simply staying in touch through networking, writing and
responding to e-mails or communicating with head office. Nonetheless, even when
communication activities are excluded (some of which are routine and some of which are people
management), administration for presidents is still 11.7 hours per week or 18% of the time.

Table 5.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

ADMINISTRATION CATEGORY
Hours per Occasions Duration in
week
minutes
9.8
39
15
13.6
46
18
10.9
37
18
14.1
26
32
11.6
43
16

Ideal
Hours
7.6
9.8
6.2
14.8
7.3

Difference
vs. Ideal
+2.2
+3.8
+4.7
-0.7
+4.3

Some of the shortest activities, in terms of typical duration, occur within the administration
category, as shown below in Table 6. Many could be delegated.

Table 6.
ACTIVITY
Paperwork and general administration
Handling mail and filing
Payroll procedures
Internal communications
Filing
Interact with support units
Read and respond to emails, memos
Internal queries
Supplier / vendor calls
Technology issues
Plant liaison
10

Duration in minutes
4
6
7
9
10
10
10
12
12
12
13

5. PLANNING TIME HAS NO EFFECT ON HOURS WORKED

The planning category involves activities that are forward thinking. These activities deal with the
long term; introducing new products or developing strategy. The orientation towards the future is
not high on the list of priorities for most managers. Caught up in the day-to-day flurry of
interruptions, inquiries, reports and meetings, it becomes difficult for them to consider much
more than a day ahead. This is reflected in the question In your job, what are the most important
things you need to do? While 7% mention day-to-day / time planning, only 2% cite long term
planning. This is reflected in the number of participants tracking these two activities; 43% have
tracked daily planning while only 9% of managers have tracked long term planning.
In fact, planning is a challenge for many managers. In the third of the pre-study open-ended
questions, participants are asked, What things within your control get in the way of your
productivity? The highest ranked issue that respondents give is time management. This
response, as well of some of the others, shows that many of them just arent very good at
managing their time and planning. Major responses to the third open-ended question are shown
below:

Table 8.
QUESTION 3
What things within your control get in the way of your
productivity?
No response / nothing
Time management / poor planning
Paperwork / administrative tasks
No focus / too many things at once / prioritizing
Interruptions by phone or in person
Doing others' work / being too helpful
Not saying no
Procrastination
Meetings - long or too many
Not enough delegation
Volume of e-mail

16%
12%
11%
9%
7%
5%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%

Daily planning includes determining what needs to be done today, scheduling appointments,
reviewing materials for meetings and outlining project priorities. For those involved with selling,
preparing for customer meetings is also included.
Long range or strategic planning looks at a horizon that ranges from a few months to a few years
ahead. It examines business trends, determines general direction for the organization, staffing
needs, new product development, marketing initiatives and expansion projects.
The activity related to daily time planning typically takes 2.2 hours per week. This means each
day, managers who track this activity spend 26 minutes on planning each day. This is no greater

11

than non-managers who also spend 2.2 hours per week on time planning. The difference is that
managers would ideally like to spend just slightly more time than non-managers on this activity;
2.3 hours versus 2.1 hours for non-managers.
On the fourth of the open-ended questions, 21% of managers indicated improving time
management would enhance their productivity. Improved time management allows managers
to deal with the daily onslaught of interruptions, delegate more effectively to their team, and plan
more thoroughly for meetings and coordinate projects more effectively. However, an investment
in time management cannot reduce the time spent in other areas. We tested a number of
hypotheses, correlating time spent by individuals on time planning versus time spent in a number
of other areas.
Essentially, all of the hypotheses show no correlation. (See Graph 4, below) That is, increased
investments in time planning did not result in decreased investments in other areas. The range of
time planning was from zero (among those who had included it as an activity for tracking) up to
5 hours per week.
Time spent on daily planning does not tend to be correlated to:
total hours worked
time spent in meetings
length of meetings
coaching time
paperwork
frequency of interruptions
GRAPH 4
Time Planning Time Versus Hours Worked
25

20

15

10

0
1

13

19

25

31

37

43

49

55

61

67

73

79

85

91

Hours Worked Per Day by Managers

12

97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 151 157 163 169

Time Spent on Daily Planning

For the category as a whole, senior managers and presidents, being higher in the organization,
spend more time on planning compared with middle managers and sales managers. But they also
do more planning than they would ideally like, as shown below.

Table 7.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

PLANNING CATEGORY
Hours per Occasions Duration in
week
minutes
4.7
10
28
9.8
18
32
4.1
14
17
14.8
20
44
4.0
13
19

Ideal
Hours
5.5
7.2
4.2
13.6
4.1

Difference
vs. Ideal
-0.8
+2.6
-0.1
+1.2
-0.1

Not only do some managers spend more time on the category than they would like; some of them
spend more time specifically on an activity called long term planning than they would like.
Managers who tracked this activity spend 3.7 hours per week on it, but ideally would only like to
spend 2.4 hours. At the higher level, more time is spent on long range planning; 5 hours for
presidents. But remarkably they would only like to be at 2.5 hours!
While time planning may not affect hours spent in other areas, there is some evidence from other
Pace Productivity Inc studies that increased planning time results in increased sales results.

6. ORIENTATION TOWARDS CUSTOMERS IS ALMOST EQUALLY

DIVIDED BETWEEN SELLING, SERVICE AND CUSTOMER
ADMINISTRATION
Overall, 24% of the typical managers time is related to customer activities. These comprise 12
hours per week, split across three categories (Tables 9, 10, 11 below) Even among non-sales
managers, the figure is a healthy 14%. At the high end, those who are in a sales management role
spend 28% of their time in customer-related activities.
Selling consists of those activities that are in direct contact with prospects and customers to
increase business. It includes sales meetings with prospects, phone calls, prospecting calls and
follow up activity. These activities might be directed towards increasing business among current
customers, in addition to finding new prospects and selling products to them.
Finally, customer administration consists of the internal activities required to support customer
activity. Some of these relate to sales; order processing, credit approvals, collections, preparing
quotes. Others relate to internal work required to provide service; following up on requests,
changing customer status, preparing for annual reviews, or completing paperwork related to new
accounts.

13

Customer service is conducting activities that are of direct benefit to a customer, once they have
become a customer. This includes installing products, training customers, answering inquiries
about their orders, managing their accounts, resolving problems, handling complaints or
arranging deliveries.
Many sales managers are not just directing their sales staff, but often have their own accounts as
well. Among those who track customer or prospect sales meetings, typical hours are 2.5 per
week. This consists of 4.1 meetings per week of about 37 minutes each. This is just 2 minutes
longer per meeting than the amount spent by typical sales reps.
The following table is repeated from Key Finding # 3. It shows the orientation of managers
towards selling, the second most popular response to this question. To some degree, this reflects
the inclusion of sales managers in the sample. Excluding them, responses related to providing
customer service moves up to the second highest position. Selling doesnt disappear entirely
though. Even among middle managers who are not responsible for a sales team, the selling
category still adds up to 2.3 hours per week.

Table 1. (repeated)
QUESTION 1
In your job, what are the most important things you need to do?
Manage staff / provide direction / coach
Prospecting / generate sales / orders / marketing
Provide customer service / support / satisfy needs
Manage operations
Time planning / planning / focus
Build relationships, meet, contact customers
Paperwork / administrative tasks
Train staff
Communicate well, e-mail, internal comm.

50%
20%
17%
9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
5%

The third response to the pre-study question, providing customer service, recognizes that even
as a manager, customer issues need to be dealt with. This might include responsibility for key
accounts, etc. The tables below show results for the three customer-related categories. Customer
administration is actually the largest in terms of actual time, though selling is a key category
where managers at all levels want to spend more time.

Table 9.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

SELLING CATEGORY
Hours per Occasions Duration in
week
minutes
2.3
10
13
0.9
2
35
5.9
20
18
5.4
10
33
3.8
12
18
14

Ideal
Hours
4.2
1.7
9.6
7.4
6.2

Difference
vs. Ideal
-1.9
-0.8
-3.8
-2.0
-2.4

Within the selling category, the activity called sales meetings with customers averages 37
minutes per meeting. Telephone calls, by their nature are much shorter, lasting just 11 minutes
each. This is true whether the call is one initiated by the manager or whether it is an incoming
call.
Occasional calls are made to existing customers to renew orders or to ensure the customer
doesnt switch to another supplier. These retention calls are just slightly longer than prospecting
calls 13 minutes each. In the financial services industry, customers often walk in to buy
products without an appointment. Usually these are handled by non-managers and last 23
minutes. When managers handle this type of prospect, the meetings are slightly shorter, 18
minutes each.

Table 10.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

SERVICE CATEGORY
Hours per Occasions Duration in
week
minutes
3.7
18
12
4.6
17
16
3.6
13
17
8.2
10
52
3.6
16
13

Ideal
Hours
3.8
3.5
3.9
9.6
3.7

Difference
vs. Ideal
-0.1
+1.1
-0.3
-1.4
-0.1

Customer queries make up a large portion of service time. Among those who measured this
activity, typical time spent per week is 2.6 hours. 12 queries each are fairly short, taking 13
minutes each.
Customer issues rank as the second highest impediment to productivity (See Table 4). This
stands out as an ironic comment on work priorities. Many of the respondents in our sample are
responsible for service. This is reflected in providing service, ranked as the third highest item on
their list of key priorities. Yet, customer requests are seen as an impediment. (If it werent for
all those intrusive customer problems, I could get more of my work done)

Table 11.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

CUSTOMER ADMINISTRATION CATEGORY

Hours per Occasions Duration in
Ideal
week
minutes
Hours
8.2
22
23
6.7
1.7
1
134
0.9
5.1
15
20
6.0
0.5
1
24
0.7
4.6
14
20
4.9

Difference
vs. Ideal
+1.5
+0.8
-0.9
-0.2
-0.3

As shown in the table above, presidents do very little customer administration work, delegating
these activities to those more junior in the organization. Lower level managers in turn have an
opportunity to delegate these activities to their employees, but often dont.
15

7. TIME SPENT ON INTERNAL OPERATIONS DIMINISHES WITH

SENIORITY
Organizations exist to meet customers needs. In order to meet these needs, the organization
needs to add value to resources. A resource might be a raw material that is processed into
finished goods. A resource might be a group of employees who are organized and trained to
provide services. A resource might be data that is processed, collated, or broadcasted. Or it may
be materials that are distributed in a unique manner, via retail stores, delivery trucks or virtual
warehouses. Or a resource might encompass professional expertise that is used to contribute to
client welfare.
Internal operations consist of activities that the manager oversees to add value to resources.
These operations require planning by the manager. They also require day-to-day involvement in
ways that front line employees cannot do because of their lack of experience, authority, problem
solving ability, knowledge of other departments, etc. This is where the managers steps in to
oversee internal operations. This might include opening the office, managing cash, dealing with
systems issues, handling property maintenance, dealing with regulatory issues, overseeing
equipment maintenance, overseeing data entry, and overseeing general operations activities.
These activities add up to 3.5 hours per week. At 12 minutes each, these are generally the
shortest events. There is a wide mix of activities in this category, with no single activity
dominating. Among the sample of 385 managers, the two activities tracked by the largest number
of people are operational activities (43 managers) at 3.7 hours per week and review reports (44
managers) at 1.3 hour per week.
Operations time diminishes significantly with seniority, from a high of 5.4 hours for middle
managers to a low of 1.0 hours for presidents. They are removed from low level, day-to-day
operations, as they should be.

Table 12.

Middle Manager
Senior Manager
Sales Manager
President
All Managers

OPERATIONS
Hours per Occasions Duration in
week
minutes
5.4
25
13
4.0
21
12
1.6
6
16
1.0
2
34
3.5
17
12

16

Ideal
Hours
5.3
4.7
1.0
0.6
3.1

Difference
vs. Ideal
+0.1
-0.7
+0.6
+0.4
+0.4

8. COMPUTERS ARE AS MUCH A HINDRANCE TO MANAGERS AS

THEY ARE A BENEFIT
The third highest ranked response to the question What things outside of your control get in the
way of your productivity? is related to technology (See Table 4). The response is computer /
system / equipment problems cited by 14% of managers. As noted already, the issue of
paperwork has not lessened at all over the last 15 years. In the last two decades, one of the
benefits that software and hardware manufacturers promoted was the elimination of paperwork.
The promise was that everything could be automated. However, in some cases, computer
systems cause more paperwork because they require more reports to be read, more data to be
inputted, more business plan scenarios to be investigated, or more presentations to be prettied
up. Not only that, but managers often become frustrated because the system is down, the
software doesnt work, the upgrade isnt compatible with the previous version, the password has
changed, a virus has caused data to be lost or the interface is not intuitive.
Based on participant interviews, some of the miscellaneous time that they track relates to down
time, computer problems, dealing with a help desk, and other computer issues. Although the time
spent is relatively small, the aggravation and inconvenience associated with computer issues is
large.
One impact of technology that is noticeably low relates to e-mail. The volume of email is cited as
a productivity issue on the second question in Table 4 by only 6% of managers. This low level
may reflect polarized attitudes toward e-mail. For most managers, e-mail has become a necessary
and effective communication tool. At once, it replaces the memo, the meeting, the fax and the
phone. It also removes the barriers of distance and time; one can send a message anytime from
anywhere. Yet e-mail is also considered an overwhelming burden. Countless unnecessary,
redundant, trivial, or spam e-mails overwhelm the typical manager who may spend a half day or
more after returning from a trip, simply clearing through hundreds of e-mails. Yet on balance,
the pros outweigh the cons. Thus the issue of e-mail volume ranks low on the list of productivity
inhibitors.
(Note: We occasionally tracked e-mail time, with one study indicating 3.6 hours per week.
However, our interest is in what is achieved rather than the medium used. So e-mail time is
tracked within various activities. E-mails to employees, for instance, might be included under the
supervision activity.)

9. MANAGERS ARE NOT GETTING THE TRAINING THEY WANT

When asked, What could be done to enhance your productivity? both the highest response and
the fourth highest response relate to improved personal skills. (Table 13, below) Managers want
to improve their time management and increase their overall training. Managers who track
personal development typically spend 1.3 hours per week on it, about 2-3% of their time. This
typically consists of 2.4 sessions of 33 minutes each. Managers would ideally like to spend 1.5
hours per week on professional development activities.

17

Table 13.
QUESTION 4
What could be done to enhance your productivity?
Improve time management / planning / organization
Increase staff to delegate /increase admin support
Reduce paperwork / administration
Increase training
Structure / clarify schedule, tasks, staff better
No response / nothing
Increase / improve computers / systems
Increase delegation
Select priority activities / focus
Better / bigger / private work environment

21%
16%
12%
11%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%

10. MANAGERS ARE SATISFIED WITH THE PERSONAL TIME THEY

SPEND WHILE ON THE JOB
On average, managers eat lunch, take breaks, call spouses and conduct other personal business
for 4.1 hours per week, the equivalent of about 49 minutes per day. Per week, actual results
almost exactly match the ideal expectation for this activity of 4.2 hours.
In the fourth open-ended question, mention of extra breaks, fitness facilities, nap breaks are
almost never mentioned as a means to increase productivity. Managers find their break times
sufficient.
If there is wasted time at work, it does not appear to be among managers. As shown in the
previous sections, the manager may not be entirely focussed on her highest priority activities, but
she is certainly busy and engaged with active work.

11. VERY LITTLE TIME IS SPENT ON ANALYSIS

One of the fundamentals of effective management is business analysis. Yet very little time is
spent on this category, just 0.6 hours per week or 1 % of time as a category. This is exactly equal
to expectations.
Activities within this category include marketing analysis and strategy (0.9 hours among those
measuring it) and business plan analysis (1.3 hours among those measuring it). Some data
analysis may have been tracked within the planning category, related to long term planning, or
setting objectives. To set an objective, one needs to know the current status.

18

12. SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF TIME ARE SPENT ON

TRAVEL AND MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES
Averaged across all managers, travel takes up just 1.0 hours per week. However, unlike other
categories, this category contains just a single activity, business travel. Among those who tracked
travel (24% of managers), the figure is higher, 3.5 hours per week. This consists of 5 trips of 43
minutes each. Ideally, the sub-group of managers who tracked travel would do much less, just
2.1 hours per week. Managers prefer to do their work at a central location rather than spending
their time travelling.
Miscellaneous is also a category with a single activity. It averages 2.5 hours per week. It can
include dealing with computer problems, filling in for another persons job, office
announcements, etc. 53% of managers spend less than an hour per week on miscellaneous
activities.
Small as these other activities are, they nonetheless add up, along with personal time and
administrative time, to 41% of managers time that is non-value added.

19

13. IMPLICATIONS

Work hours continue to increase across all jobs for a number of complex reasons. In
particular, those rising in the organization will find themselves working longer rather than
less. There are no leisure time perks associated with seniority. But longer hours do not
necessarily mean more high priority work gets done.

Managers cannot be expected to work 100% on their top priority activities all the time. 60%
is an average target for value added work. The figure plummets for high priority tasks.

Increased time management training should focus on better quality focus of activity, not on
saving time.

Bring back the secretaries. The elimination of clerical assistance in favor of technology
solutions may have had detrimental effects. The way to reduce administration time is to give
it to someone else to do.

Directing and coaching people is difficult to make time for when crises abound. Yet
managers need to make this area more of a priority.

Many customer activities are not high level priorities, nor low level requirements, but fit in
the middle; day to day responsibilities. They comprise the activities that need to be done each
day, but must be done without compromising planning and people activities.

20

APPENDIX 1 : TIME TRACKING METHODOLOGY

This paper does not deal with one particular study designed to determine managerial
effectiveness. Rather it summarizes and collates data from a number of corporate time studies,
each of which was designed with a different purpose. It is a summary of data combined from 98
time studies commissioned by corporate clients. Typically these were designed to identify what
activities make up the day of a group of employees. For this paper, managers have been isolated.
Pace Productivity Inc. has conducted these studies on behalf of corporate clients since 1990.
The database of results gathered from 1990 to 2005 contains over 170,864 hours of real time
data, covering 678,979 events.
Focusing on managers only, this group of 385 participants tracked their time for 42,639
cumulative hours, recording 126,401 events.
The purpose of the typical study is to improve organizational effectiveness by creating an
environment where employees can spend the greatest amount of time on their highest priority
tasks. The corollary to this is that they should spend as little time as possible on their lowest
priority tasks those that do not contribute directly to results.
In other academic research, the interest has been to study the role of a manager how he or she
is effective in doing the job. In this study, the concern is more about what is to be achieved
what the output of the job is. For instance, regardless of whether the manager uses meetings,
face-to-face contact or email, are sales calls being made? Are orders being processed? Are
customer service reps being coached to do their jobs better?
The TimeCorder electronic device used to gather the data was introduced in the spring of 2004.
The previous version of the device was slightly larger and heavier and had a flip top lid. The
newer version of the device is 4 inches wide by 7 inches long (deep).

The TimeCorder device allows users to easily track their time by pushing buttons associated with
pre-coded activities. It has a series of buttons labeled A to Z. Each button is associated with an
activity. Each time a study participant presses a new button, time stops recording on the previous
activity and begins recording on a new one, like a chess clock in reverse. In addition to
cumulative time, the TimeCorder also tracks the number of occasions for each activity. When a
button is pressed, the count for that activity increases by one. In the report, the accumulation of
21

these is referred to as occasions. By dividing cumulative time by the number of occasions, a

typical duration is derived. It is the average length of time for which an activity occurs,
expressed in minutes. Data recorded with the TimeCorder is tracked accurately to the second.
Employees consistently embrace TimeCorder studies with enthusiasm. This is because a unique
methodology that a) gets them involved from the beginning, b) asks for their input c) makes the
process fun and d) gives them instant feedback. Cooperation level, based on an initial review of
raw data is approximately 96%.
Typically the managers in this database are middle managers and above. For instance, production
line supervisors or team leads for clerical staff are not included.
Following is a list of industries from which data has been collected:

Financial Services
Manufacturing
Wholesale Distribution
Retail
Consulting
Banking

Advertising Sales
Travel
Computer Software
Professional
Hospitality
Public Service

Manager - New Product Development

Manager of Customer Service
Manager - Product and Market Analysis
Manager of Personal Banking Staff
President
Sales Manager
Senior Manager
Store Manager
Treasurer
Vice President

Typical jobs covered include:

Area Manager
Business Banking Center Manager
Branch Manager
Chief Financial Officer
Clerk of Works (Municipal)
Deputy Clerk
Director
Facility Manager
General Manager
Various Middle Managers
Manager - Customer Support

Typically, the purpose for conducting a time study was to gather data to:
Increase organizational effectiveness
Recruit qualified managers and staff
Train managers to acquire and apply new skills
Eliminate activities that dont contribute to primary job functions
Provide appropriate technology that automates mechanical, clerical, repetitive tasks
Introduce systems that facilitate communications without adding to administrative work.

22

APPENDIX 2: PRE-STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE METHODOLOGY

588 managers responded to the form part of the pre-study questionnaire. This is higher than the
number of people who participated in the time studies because questionnaire responses were
occasionally collected from participants at time management seminars.
The four questions are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

In your job, what are the most important things you need to do?
What things outside of your control get in the way of your productivity?
What things within your control / personal habits get in the way of your productivity/
What could be done to enhance your productivity?

The distribution of response that respondents gave in the table below shows that the first
question elicits the largest number of responses, 2 per person on average. The third question,
generating only 1.1 responses per person, is the most challenging for respondents. This is
because it requires them to attribute productivity shortfalls to their own behavior. Essentially,
people do not like to admit that their own experience, work habits or skills are part of the
problem
Question #

# of responses

1
2
3
4

1151
1104
650
651

Average # of responses
per person
2.0
1.9
1.1
1.3

APPENDIX 3 : IDEAL EXPECTATIONS: METHODOLOGY

Prior to beginning a time study, participants are asked to estimate their ideal hours. Those are the
hours they would like to work on the various activities on the list they are given in an ideal
situation. This list has a maximum of 26 items. Participants are first asked to estimate their total
ideal hours per week, including breaks, evening and weekend work. They are then given a set of
tokens; coins or small candies such as Smarties or M&Ms are usually used. They are asked to
count a number of candies corresponding with their total hours. For instance a 45 hour ideal
week would require 45 candies. The rest are put aside. Then, they allocate the tokens according
to ideal times for each activity; 2 tokens on the first, 3 on the second, and so on. By forcing
participants to use no more than their total allocation of tokens / candies, results for individual
activities are guaranteed to add up. However, participants are encouraged to change their total
allocation during the exercise, if needed. They are also encouraged to write down half hours or
quarter hours, using the tokens as a rough guide only.

23

APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES

The following tables summarize responses from 588 participants on 4 questions. Single
responses have been deleted.
1. In your job, what are the most important things
you need to do?
Manage staff / provide direction / coach
Prospecting / generate sales / orders / marketing
Provide customer service / support / satisfy needs
Manage operations
Time planning / planning / focus
Build relationships, meet, contact customers
Paperwork / administrative tasks
Class visits, monitor / improve instruction
Train staff
Communicate well, E-Mail, internal comm.
Compliance
Communicate with stakeholders
Staffing / personnel issues
Complete tasks on time
Investigate/ fix problems / complaints
Know the job, products and policies well
Maintain safe, positive environment
Marketing / PR / promotion / demos
Be organized
Long range planning
Attend meetings
Financial modeling / analysis / control
No response / nothing
Performance management
Train myself / build knowledge base
Recruiting and training
Set goals, forecasts / review goals
Accounting / Budgeting
Provide support to internal groups / boss
Support internal groups or boss
Improve student performance
Make profit / minimize loss / manage cash
Maintain current business / retention
Research / analyze
Cash, custody, ABM duties
Foster continuous improvement
Make decisions
Obtain / check information / audit
Policy - Implement / develop
Collect past due accounts
Credit review / assessment / monitoring
HR Admin
Merchandising

# of responses
292
119
99
51
43
42
35
32
31
29
23
19
19
18
16
16
16
16
13
13
12
11
11
11
11
10
10
9
9
9
8
8
7
7
5
5
5
5
4
3
3
3
3

24

50%
20%
17%
9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
5%
5%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%

1. In your job, what are the most important things

you need to do?

# of responses

Prepare pricing / quotes / estimates

Scheduling
Teambuilding
Thinking
Collateral documentation
Design materials / new products / ideas
Follow up
Maintain property / equipment
Manage/ purchase product mix /inventory / stock
Networking
Programming

3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

2. What things outside of your control get in the way of

your productivity?

# of responses

Paperwork / administrative tasks

Customer requests -service / problems / complaints
Computer / system / equipment problems
Changing priorities / ad hoc / unplanned projects
Interruptions
Staffing / HR issues / changes / people absent
Phone calls / phone interruptions / inquiries
Meetings - too many / too long / unnecessary
Other depts. inefficient / make mistakes
Volume of e-mail
Fire fighting / emergencies
Volume of work / not enough time
Customers without appointments / walk-ins
Central office visits, interruptions, requests
Questions from staff
Environment - noise, cold, location, privacy
Traffic / Travel
Requests from peers / other departments
Doing other people's jobs
Building maintenance problems / construction
Change
Tight deadlines
Equipment problems / parts issues
No response / nothing
Requests / interference from senior management
Classroom coverage / teacher absenteeism
Internal communications / people hard to reach
Information overload / keeping up with material
Lack of role clarity / structure
Procedures / policies
Socializing / conversations / questions
Untrained / inexperienced staff
Various responses
Delivery problems

117
105
80
78
72
71
63
51
42
37
29
26
25
23
19
14
14
12
11
9
9
9
8
8
8
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
25

1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

20%
18%
14%
13%
12%
12%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
4%
4%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%

2. What things outside of your control get in the way of

your productivity?

# of responses

Discipline issues
Lack of information / missing information
Reading junk mail
Union contracts
Bureaucracy / procedures
Credit notes / problems
Customer indecision / changes / reluctance
Market pricing
Outside fundraising demands
Time planning / planning
Training - lack of
Appointment cancelled / customer not cooperating
Collections
Customer line ups
Lack of administration support
Lack of budget
Lack of teamwork / poor attitude
Politics
Time taken up by training
Weather
Community agencies that require attention
Competition
Correspondence
Difficulty reaching customer, getting information
Family / children / domestic responsibilities
Others opinions / agendas
Pricing / order processing
Surveys
Takeovers
Trade shows

5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

3. What personal habits get in the way of your

productivity?

# of responses

No response / nothing
Time management / poor planning
Paperwork / administrative tasks
No focus / too many things at once / prioritizing
Interruptions by phone or in person
Doing others' work / being too helpful
Not saying no
Procrastination
Meetings - long or too many
Not enough delegation
Volume of e-mail
Lack of knowledge / training on products, duties
Not being organized
Customer requests / situations / complaints
Staff questions

97
68
67
50
44
27
26
24
21
21
21
20
19
17
15

26

1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

16%
12%
11%
9%
7%
5%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%

3. What personal habits get in the way of your

productivity?

# of responses

Lack of delegation
Socializing / gossip / breaks / calls to friends
Perfectionism / too detail oriented
volume of work
Socializing or too long with customers
Changing priorities / ad hoc / unplanned projects
Mistakes / inefficiency by others in organization
Staffing issues / people absent
Distractions / no discipline / daydreaming
Open door policy
Burnout / sickness / lack of concentration /stress
Long phone calls / volume of calls
Travel plans / Driving
Various responses
Answering e-mail as it happens
Customers without appointments
Doing tasks I don't enjoy
Lack of motivation
Resolving conflicts, lack of teamwork
Family / children / domestic responsibilities
Emergencies / last minute issues
Filing / inefficient personal filing
Inexperience
Pricing / quote preparation
Trade shows
Train staff
Untrained staff
Community agencies that require attention
Computer / equipment problems
Internal communications / lack of
Lack of time / volume of work
More firm with customer in early appointments / close
Slow / inadequate / old computers
Staffing / HR issues / changes / people absent

13
13
12
11
10
9
9
9
8
8
7
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

4. What could be done to enhance your productivity?

Improve time management / planning / organization
Increase staff to delegate /increase admin support
Reduce paperwork / administration
Increase training
Structure / clarify schedule, tasks, staff better
No response / nothing
Increase / improve computers / systems
Increase delegation
Select priority activities / focus
Better / bigger / private work environment
Increase cooperation / teamwork / communication
Reduce / ignore / eliminate interruptions

# of responses
124
94
71
63
53
48
43
34
28
26
18
15

27

2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

21%
16%
12%
11%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
3%

4. What could be done to enhance your productivity?

# of responses

Better / faster / accurate information systems

Effective internal communications
Reduce workload / increase hours in day
Reduce number of meetings
Delete tasks / give to other departments
Learn to say no
Better filing system
Higher rate authorization / lending authority
Improve direction from middle management
Streamline processes
Improve screening of referrals / phone calls
Increase time for selling / contacting customers
More time / more hours in the day
Reduce e-mail
Improve tools / materials
Use technology more / learn
Annual Review process - shorten
Better discipline / concentration / less socialize
Do it now
Do it right the first time / be accurate
Improve attitude / confidence
Increase salary
More customer contact / visits
Reduce traffic, travel, parking
Relieve overcrowding of students
Accounting / Budgeting
Educate customers
Improve printer / access
Increase budgets
Increase support from other depts./ centralization
Try to be less perfect
Work from home

12
12
11
9
8
8
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

28

2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

APPENDIX 5 RESULTS BY ACTIVITY

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate

Planning
Other projects
Long range / strategic planning
Develop business case
Special project work
Review DTL and daily overview
Management meetings
Meetings with market manager
Meetings / interaction with supervisor
Sales planning, targets
Process Improvement - procedures
Time planning and scheduling
Planning - Presentation Preparation
Project Management - status, updates
Prepare for customer interaction
Purchase materials
Set, implement and track objectives
Research and development
Product development consulting
Production issues
Product management consulting
Policy Matters / procedures
Prepare for customer marketing calls
Area network planning
Develop new staff schedule
Product design consulting
Plan / run campaigns
Advertising
Post implementation review
Manage staff suggestions
New product pilot / testing

8.9
3.7
3.2
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.6
2.5
2.3
2.2
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.3
1.3
1.0
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0

19
5
8
6
12
3
10
11
6
4
9
16
5
4
8
2
3
2
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
0
2
0
0
0

27
44
23
29
16
61
17
13
22
31
14
8
20
20
9
33
19
24
32
14
19
15
36
11
17
38
6
27
0
0

3.0
2.4
3.2
2.5
2.0
2.1
0.0
1.4
1.8
2.9
2.3
1.0
2.4
1.9
2.8
3.2
2.7
1.0
2.0
0.7
1.3
1.9
0.5
0.7
1.0
0.6
0.2
0.9
0.6
1.0

5.8
1.3
0.0
0.7
1.1
1.0
2.6
1.2
0.6
-0.7
-0.2
1.0
-0.6
-0.6
-1.5
-2.2
-1.8
-0.3
-1.3
-0.1
-0.7
-1.3
0.0
-0.3
-0.7
-0.4
0.0
-0.9
-0.6
-1.0

Sales process - retail

Commercial credit application
Selling in the store
Marketing - direct with customer
Customer or prospect sales meeting
Prospecting in person and on phone
Sales meetings with walk-in prospects
Business development
Sales calls outbound
Business Lunch / Sales Socializing
Client / prospect meetings in office
Branch marketing
Incoming sales calls

3.6
3.5
3.3
3.3
2.4
2.4
2.0
1.8
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0

8
4
37
9
4
5
7
3
7
2
3
1
5

28
48
5
22
37
31
18
36
11
43
26
43
11

2.5
2.1
2.4
7.6
2.9
3.0
1.9
2.9
2.2
0.9
1.6
2.2
1.8

1.1
1.4
0.8
-4.4
-0.5
-0.6
0.1
-1.1
-0.9
0.4
-0.3
-1.2
-0.8

Selling

29

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate
1.0
3
17
1.8
-0.9
0.8
3
14
2.4
-1.7
0.7
4
10
1.9
-1.2
0.5
1
50
0.7
-0.2
0.5
2
13
1.7
-1.2
0.5
1
24
1.4
-0.9
0.5
3
9
1.1
-0.6
0.4
1
27
1.3
-0.8
0.4
1
26
1.7
-1.2
0.4
1
19
1.4
-1.1
0.3
1
28
0.0
0.3
0.2
1
10
1.3
-1.0
0.1
1
14
1.4
-1.2

Prepare quote / proposal / estimate

Close rental agreements
Existing customer touchbase call
Demos and Shows - prepare, attend
Retention calls - outbound / inbound
Small business sales calls, meetings
Sales letters or emails to prospects
Annual reviews - customer interaction
Commercial marketing - one to many
Business deposit account application
Deposit accounts (current accounts)
Fill out order form with customer
Investments - small business
Management
Branch administration, HR
Inventory management
Service management
Group meetings, kick-offs, updates
Sales management
HR resource planning
Coach, mentor and train staff
Peer groups - meetings, rallies
Staff questions, answer routine items
Supervision
Relationship management
Department / staff / team meetings
Assist staff, answer coworker queries
Personnel Issues
Credit adjud. & underwriting coaching
Performance management
Running sales meetings
Run staff meetings
General policy & procedures coaching
Recruit, select, coach new staff
Staffing, OT planning, interview
Personnel reviews and hiring
Management meetings
HR issues and administration
Skill building - team
Daily huddle
Lead implementation of changes
Reward and recognition activities
HR - new hires
Scheduling & distribution of work
Complaint resolution coaching

5.5
3.9
3.4
3.3
3.1
3.0
2.7
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.9
1.8
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.2

14
16
10
5
6
11
7
3
10
10
4
2
10
4
4
4
2
2
9
2
4
3
4
4
2
4
2
1
1
1
1

24
14
21
38
31
17
24
54
13
12
29
47
11
25
23
23
45
39
7
27
16
22
15
14
22
10
21
21
11
11
14

2.0
1.8
3.8
1.9
3.1
1.6
4.1
0.9
5.4
2.6
2.7
1.4
1.8
0.5
2.2
1.9
1.5
1.2
1.7
1.1
0.4
0.8
1.9
0.8
1.6
1.1
1.2
1.8
0.8
1.4
1.0

3.5
2.1
-0.4
1.4
0.0
1.4
-1.3
1.6
-3.3
-0.5
-0.7
0.4
0.0
1.2
-0.7
-0.5
-0.1
0.0
-0.6
-0.1
0.6
0.2
-0.9
0.1
-0.7
-0.4
-0.6
-1.3
-0.5
-1.2
-0.8

Credit review / adjudication / approval

8.1

66

1.7

6.4

Client Admin.

30

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate
7.6
12
37
2.9
4.7
5.5
10
32
1.8
3.8
4.0
12
20
2.2
1.9
3.7
20
11
3.8
-0.1
3.7
4
49
2.9
0.8
3.6
9
23
1.4
2.2
2.9
4
45
1.3
1.6
2.5
8
20
2.7
-0.3
2.1
4
31
3.1
-1.0
2.0
5
24
1.3
0.8
2.0
8
14
1.2
0.7
1.9
5
21
3.6
-1.7
1.5
2
38
1.3
0.1
1.4
6
13
2.3
-0.9
1.3
5
15
1.4
-0.1
1.2
4
20
0.7
0.5
1.1
2
37
1.2
-0.1
1.1
2
28
1.7
-0.7
0.9
3
16
0.3
0.6
0.9
4
13
3.2
-2.2
0.9
9
6
1.6
-0.7
0.8
3
15
1.4
-0.6
0.8
3
18
1.9
-1.2
0.8
3
17
1.5
-0.8
0.7
2
19
1.4
-0.7
0.7
2
25
3.5
-2.8
0.7
4
9
0.2
0.5
0.7
2
24
0.4
0.2
0.7
4
11
1.1
-0.5
0.6
6
6
1.1
-0.5
0.6
3
12
0.9
-0.4
0.5
5
6
1.6
-1.1
0.4
1
38
0.3
0.2
0.4
2
10
0.8
-0.4
0.4
1
19
2.3
-1.9
0.4
2
13
1.3
-0.9
0.3
2
12
1.6
-1.2
0.3
1
14
1.1
-0.8
0.3
1
31
0.0
0.3
0.2
1
10
1.5
-1.2
0.2
1
15
0.2
0.0
0.2
1
8
1.9
-1.7
0.2
1
8
0.6
-0.4
0.1
0
18
0.6
-0.5
0.1
1
7
1.5
-1.4
0.1
0
17
1.4
-1.3
0.1
1
10
0.4
-0.3

Commercial sales and administration

Commercial credit app development
Collections / aging accounts
Process payments, pay-offs, cash (a)
Risk rating evaluation / monitoring
Daily prep. + takeover of credit / invst.
Commercial credit administration
Retail compliance
Small business sales
Small Business administration
Cash & custody
Marketing admin (not with customer)
Small business sales and service
Build new customer info on computer
Credit administration
Comm. loan compliance, follow up
Annual review admin. (internal)
Collateral documentation
Business loan app (>$250K) - Admin
Arrangement letter - prepare, review
Order Entry
Approve trades / orders
Borrowing / credit fulfilment
Business loan app (<$250K) - Admin
Complete sales request - postcall
Business loan app (< $250K)
Refunds, customer transfers, LDW
Business deposit acct. app - Admin
Monitor customer activity
New credit applications
Cash loss
Order Taking
Business loan app (> $250K)
Small business loan compliance
Open new acct. / documentation *
Exception reporting
Evaluate and verify orders
Estate account - internal Admin
Deposit / current accounts admin
Renew term deposits
Merchant services application - Admin
Rate exceptions / deal structuring
OPC Liaison
Jobbed Orders
Open term deposit account
Investment fulfillment
Investments - Admin

31

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate
0.1
1
10
0.4
-0.3
0.1
0
60
1.6
-1.5
0.1
0
19
0.5
-0.4
0.0
0
0
0.0
0.0

Cash management administration

Respond to questions - loan reviewer
In-Store Service Work
Exception fund - administration
Client Service
Non small business duties (ie. retail)
Write customer letter or e-mail
Meet with customers - face to face
Merchandising
Customer inquiries - complete request
Client visits
Problem loan management
Problem solving / investigating
Problem resolution with customer
Incoming client account inquiries *
Commercial service inquiries - phone
Follow up with customer
Analyze / resolve service issues
Pricing strategies
Receive, handle complaints
Commercial service inquiry
Transfer orders
Credit inquiries
Account maint. / admin. (service)
Acknowledge complaint
Estate account - customer interaction
Review or print customer balances

7.5
3.1
2.7
2.6
2.6
2.1
2.0
1.7
1.7
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1

15
11
4
7
12
4
5
6
7
28
9
15
3
4
5
3
3
2
2
5
1
1

30
17
38
24
13
31
26
18
14
3
10
5
20
16
10
15
13
8
12
3
10
3

3.1
2.4
0.5
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.6
2.5
2.2
2.0
1.5
1.3
1.3
1.7
1.3
2.0
0.6
0.6
1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9

4.4
0.8
2.2
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.3
-0.8
-0.5
-0.5
-0.1
0.0
-0.2
-0.7
-0.4
-1.3
-0.1
-0.3
-0.9
-0.9
-0.8
-0.8

Financial / budget review, forecasting

Business plan analysis
Marketing analysis and strategy
Create new product ideas
Review sales results
Survey analyses - customer/employee
Competitive data gathering

2.5
1.3
0.9
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.1

5
2
1
3
5
1
0

33
35
38
14
8
21
31

1.3
0.7
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.7
1.5

1.2
0.7
-0.1
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-1.4

Personal development

1.3

34

1.5

-0.2

After sales portfolio management

Morning review
Investigating problems with partners
Sales adjudication
Updating case - input after opening
Transactional adjudication
Operational activities
End of day review

8.8
6.2
5.5
4.7
4.6
3.8
3.7
3.0

19
27
39
16
37
79
6
14

27
14
9
18
8
3
38
13

2.6
3.6
3.0
3.4
2.9
2.0
1.4
2.7

6.2
2.6
2.5
1.3
1.7
1.8
2.3
0.3

Strategy / Analysis

Training

Internal Operations

32

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate
Instock issues - Review, transfer etc.
2.7
9
19
2.3
0.5
Close case - documentation
2.7
19
9
2.8
-0.1
Open case re customer complaint
2.7
20
8
2.1
0.7
Implementation
2.3
11
12
2.2
0.1
OPCC discussion - review options
2.0
13
10
1.9
0.2
Handle cash, payables, receivables
2.0
10
13
1.4
0.6
Branch control checklists
1.6
12
8
2.3
-0.7
Pricing Support
1.5
15
6
0.0
1.5
Negotiate with partner re complaints
1.4
7
13
1.7
-0.3
Review reports or evidence
1.3
6
13
1.5
-0.2
Service partner issues
1.2
3
21
1.8
-0.6
Discuss maintenance issues
1.2
6
12
1.2
0.0
Investigation - self - manuals, references
1.2
8
8
1.8
-0.6
Closed cases - follow up / investigate
1.2
9
8
1.2
-0.1
Premises / housekeeping
1.1
6
11
1.1
0.0
Property Maintenance
1.1
4
15
2.0
-0.9
Machine / equipment maint. & repair
1.0
5
13
1.1
-0.1
Receiving, transferring parts
0.9
5
11
1.4
-0.5
IT Systems - maint. / changes
0.8
3
15
0.9
-0.1
Downtime - PC, host, telephone
0.5
2
20
0.6
-0.1
Security admin. / review / check
0.5
3
12
1.9
-1.4
Regulatory / legislated compliance
0.4
3
9
1.0
-0.6
Purchasing Requisitions0.3
2
9
1.4
-1.0
Research and input systemic issues
0.1
1
8
1.2
-1.0
ABM deposits / monitor service
0.1
1
4
1.3
-1.2

Administration
Morning / end of day process
Internal non-customer / queries
Other internal administrative duties
Paperwork and general administration
Gather info for management guide
Responding to Voice, E-Mail
Attend non-customer meetings
Read and respond to e-mail, memos
Handling mail and filing
Attend internal meetings
Internal meetings
Daily support package (ex loans)
Internal communications
Handling mail, sorting
Internal audit
Networking activities
Admin Support - various activities
Correspondence
External vendor meetings
Head office communications
Strip cash drawer, deposits, etc. (a)

7.6
7.0
6.9
4.9
4.1
3.9
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.4
3.2
3.0
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.2
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.9

33

22
35
19
15
18
20
4
21
38
7
7
12
20
12
6
2
8
7
2
9
8

20
12
22
20
14
12
51
10
6
30
28
15
9
15
26
67
17
17
49
13
14

5.3
2.2
2.3
2.0
1.1
2.1
2.3
1.9
0.8
1.9
1.6
2.5
2.1
1.3
2.0
1.7
2.0
1.9
1.6
0.7
1.5

2.3
4.8
4.6
2.9
2.9
1.7
1.4
1.7
2.8
1.5
1.6
0.5
0.8
1.6
0.8
0.9
0.2
0.0
0.3
1.2
0.4

Category

Activity

Hours per Occasions Duration Ideal Difference

Week
Estimate
1.9
8
14
1.7
0.2
1.8
7
16
2.3
-0.5
1.6
7
15
1.6
0.0
1.6
6
16
1.3
0.3
1.5
4
23
1.1
0.4
1.4
4
20
1.4
0.0
1.4
4
21
1.6
-0.2
1.3
7
12
1.9
-0.5
1.3
4
18
1.5
-0.3
1.3
2
32
0.4
0.9
1.2
6
13
0.9
0.3
1.2
2
46
1.6
-0.5
1.1
2
33
0.7
0.3
1.1
3
20
0.5
0.5
1.0
5
12
1.2
-0.2
1.0
4
17
1.3
-0.2
1.0
3
18
1.8
-0.8
0.8
3
16
1.8
-1.0
0.8
3
17
1.3
-0.4
0.6
3
12
0.7
-0.1
0.6
3
12
0.7
-0.1
0.5
2
17
1.2
-0.7
0.5
3
10
0.5
0.0
0.4
1
20
1.5
-1.1
0.3
1
21
0.3
0.0
0.2
1
7
0.8
-0.7
0.1
0
16
0.7
-0.6

External communications
Review / approve routine items, letters
Prescribed reading
Exception reporting - Admin
Relief activities
Report preparation
Document call - sale in progress
Supplier / vendor calls
Senior mgmt. Queries / authorizations
Coordination of sundry items / events
Plant Liaison
Other meetings / external
Legal Issues, litigation
Fire fighting, emergencies
Interact with support units / depts.
Document prep, editing, distribution
Enter post dated cheque payments
Budget review, admin, monitoring
Review / action on transaction reports
Technology issues
Contact management - no sale yet
Review / prepare sales reports
Filing
Website design / admin
Internal control
Payroll procedures
Billing Issues / invoices
Travel
Business travel, ex commuting

3.5

43

2.1

1.4

Misc.

2.5

19

1.3

1.2

Personal time (including lunch)

4.1

10

25

4.2

-0.1

Miscellaneous
Personal Time

34

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GetMoreDone.com web site. Tabulator Module. Pace Productivity Inc.
Gershunny, Jonathan, Busyness as the Badge of Honour for the New Superordinate Working
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Kotter, John. What Effective General Managers Really Do. Harvard Business Review,
March-April 1999
Mankins, Michael C. Stop Wasting Valuable Time. Harvard Business Review, September
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35