A new time-tracking policy announcement is not exactly a confetti moment for any employee.
According to research cited by O.C. Tanner, only 15% of workers are convinced their leaders can handle future change and disruption.
The term “time tracking” alone can set off alarm bells throughout your workforce due to concerns about mistrust and micromanagement.
Add the natural resistance to change processes, and introducing the new policy becomes a more challenging undertaking.
So how do you show workers you can be trusted? By providing privacy assurances, addressing concerns about time tracking, and using a tone that inspires confidence.
When written right, the first email can shift your employees’ focus to the benefits of time tracking.
This article shows you how to write an email that breaks through the initial resistance and helps your team members embrace employee monitoring. You’ll also see templates that can help you write the email today.
Quick Summary
- Employees are generally sensitive to time tracking because it feels like micromanagement.
- Start by creating learning resources and other documentation that will aid the transition. Link to these resources in the email.
- Create an engaging email subject line because it determines how employees read the rest of the message.
- Transparency and privacy guarantees can help cut through the tension. Outline what the time tracker will and will not do.
- Highlighting how time tracking addresses current workplace problems can also help break resistance and get workers on board.
- Introduce its tool and provide an overview of its best features.
How to Create a Time-Tracking Introduction Email
Once you’ve picked the best employee time-tracking solution for your business model, you should do the following before sending out the first email:
- Create a detailed manual: A step-by-step guide that covers every aspect of the tool can reduce employees’ concerns about the kind of data you want to collect.
- Prepare FAQs: List the questions your employees will most likely ask, starting with the obvious concerns surrounding privacy infringement and micromanagement. Keep answers direct, short, and honest.
- Provide demo access to the admin panel: To remove any trace of resistance, you can take transparency to the next level by showing every employee the kind of data team leads and supervisors will get their hands on.
- Create a robust onboarding process: This should include demos, video tutorials, Q&A sessions, and one-on-one training. Your email should spell these out with relevant links.
Now let’s talk about how to write the email.
Create a friendly subject line
Your email subject line triggers feelings that follow your employees into the email body.
A perfectly written policy announcement can land badly if their psychological defences are already up. That’s why you must get it right.
You have different options:
- Ease them in without mentioning time tracking: in the subject line. In this case, the subject can be a summary of the time-tracking policy.
📨Example: Making Work Hours Clearer and Fairer for Everyone
- Call for collaboration: It should sound like an invitation to help out the company shape the time-tracking policy.
📨Example: Help Us Test a Better Way To Log Work Hours
- Mention the benefits of time tracking: Including the problems you intend to solve in the subject line will help workers feel more at ease.
📨Example: Introducing a New Solution To Untracked Overtime, Burnout, and Payroll Inconsistencies
Maintain a direct but calm tone
The email should be a calm, human conversation that directly addresses the new policy. It shouldn’t sound like an imposition or an introduction to an ultimatum.
We consider the collaborative approach the best because employees react better when they feel like they are part of the decision-making process.
However, you can make it clear that the decision follows months of deliberations and employee input.
Avoid leaning on heavy corporate speak, as you may come off as hiding your true intentions.
Explain how time tracking solves issues and improves work standards
Time-tracking applications are designed to solve problems. Mention those problems.
You can outline specific examples within your company. These could be recent setbacks that cost you a client, delayed employee payments, or resulted in failed project deadlines.
Even if your team members feel they have not struggled with any particular issue, highlight the challenges management faced in making some processes more efficient. Also, explain how these issues have been affecting the company’s ability to do right by employees.
For example, overtime and extra effort may not have been recognized and compensated in the past.
Mention the added benefits of time tracking
Lean into time tracking features that specifically benefit employees, such as compensation that matches previously unnoticed efforts, lunch break and end-of-work reminders, and improved productivity insights.
You should also highlight under-the-radar bottlenecks that time tracking removes and the prospect of better pay when the data helps the business grow.
Outline the rollout process
It’s always the best idea to deploy changes like these in phased rollouts. Notify your team about the rollout schedule and what they are expected to do before specific deadlines.
Include links to FAQs, demo access, and other documentation you created
Finally, add links to the learning resources you created and encourage workers to use them to get started.
Time-Tracking Announcement Templates
Let’s go through different types of templates that can help you introduce time tracking without alienating your employees.
Email template 1: Problem-solving
Subject: Collecting Work Insights to Resolve Payroll Inconsistencies, Prevent Burnout, and Balance Workloads
Hi everyone,
Over the past [time period], [Company Name] has [brief wins – e.g., grown, taken on more complex projects, expanded into new markets]. We achieved these milestones/wins by overcoming numerous challenges/setbacks through sheer effort and professionalism.
However, these challenges exposed the following issues that we must address:
- [Problem 1 – e.g., extra hours going unnoticed or unpaid]
- [Problem 2 – e.g., uneven workloads across teams]
- [Problem 3 – e.g., last-minute rushes on projects]
- [Problem 4 – e.g., burnout or fatigue from sustained overtime]
We want to turn things around.
We believe tracking our work hours will fix these problems and improve our working standards. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be deploying a tool that helps us:
- [Benefit 1 – e.g., distribute workloads more fairly]
- [Benefit 2 – e.g., ensure pay reflects the hours actually worked]
- [Benefit 3 – e.g., improve planning, scheduling, and project costing]
- [Benefit 4 – e.g., reduce stress and prevent burnout]
What the time tracking tool will not do
The new time tracking app is not intended to be a surveillance system. [Company Name] recognizes the effort and professionalism you bring to work every day, and we do not want a tool that undermines that devotion.
That recognition, along with our shared values of [e.g., respect, fairness, transparency], inspired our decision to introduce this new policy.
We chose [Tool Name] specifically because it aligns with these principles. It does not:
- Take screenshots
- Record your screen activity
- Capture keystrokes or mouse movements
- Record calls and messages
Which data will time-tracking collect?
The time-tracking tool will collect the following data points:
- [Data point 1]:[How it helps]
- [Data point 2]:[How it helps]
- [Data point 3]:[How it helps]
- [Data point 4]:[How it helps]
- [Data point 5]:[How it helps]
Roll-out plan
To make this transition smooth and respectful of everyone’s time, we will roll out [tool name] in stages:
Phase 1 – Introduction and learning
We have prepared the following resources to introduce [tool name] and answer common questions:
- [link] – quick start guide
- [link] – faqs
- [link] – short video/demo
During this phase, we will [reduce regular work hours by x hours per day/set aside x hours per week] so you can learn the tool without adding to your workload
Phase 2 – Trial run and practice
- Dates: [date range]
- Activities: account setup, logins, and basic onboarding.
Phase 3 – Full adoption
Starting [start date], we will use [tool name] for [payroll/billing/scheduling/project reporting].
We will review how things are going after [x weeks] and adjust where needed. We will send follow-up emails to notify you about schedule changes.
We understand that this introduction changes how we work, and questions are expected. Please feel free to reach out to [email and name] with any questions.
Yours,
[name]
[title]
[company name]
Email Template 2: Short email with intended follow-ups
Subject: Making Work Hours Clearer and Fairer for Everyone
Hi [team/everyone],
As we continue to hit new milestones and exceed expectations at [company name], we are also mindful of the challenges we must address to maintain and improve our standards, ensure staff welfare, and boost productivity.
We are excited to introduce [tool name], a time-tracking tool that will help us achieve these objectives.
This is not about surveillance. [company name] values your professionalism and wants everyone’s effort to be visible, fairly rewarded, and sustainable.
This recognition and our dedication towards improving our work standards inspired our decision to implement this new work policy.
With time tracking, we can:
- [List what time tracking will help you achieve]
We decided to deploy [Name of time-tracking tool] because it aligns with our vision and goals. The program [enter core features that will win employees over].
For now, our work operations and processes remain unchanged. We are still planning a phased roll-out and will contact you soon with dates, steps, and expectations.
In the meantime, you can learn more about [tool name] and the new work process using these resources:
- [link] – quick overview
- [link] – how it works and key features
- [link] – faqs
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to [contact person/team] at [email/channel].
Yours,
[name]
[title]
[company name]
Email template 3: Collaborative announcement
Subject: Help Us Test a Better Way To Log Work Hours
Hi everyone!
As we continue to grow and hit milestones, we always take time to assess areas where we can improve. We need to create better project strategies, capture extra hours more effectively, rebalance workloads more efficiently, and prevent stress and burnout.
To achieve these objectives, we explored various solutions, and we are excited to announce a pilot program with [Name of the Tool], a privacy-focused [Add main feature] time-tracking tool.
Our primary goals for this trial are to evaluate the tool’s compatibility with our work process and how time tracking helps us collect the data we need to improve our working standards.
How the trial run will work
We will run a short trial over [X weeks] with volunteers from [Insert where volunteers should come from].
We will share simple setup instructions and a quick “how to use it” guide.
During the trial, we will ask participants to:
- Log their hours and tasks in the tool, and
- Share honest feedback about what they like, where they are confused, what they consider concerning, and areas that require improvement.
At the end of the trial, we will look at both the numbers and your feedback before deciding what happens next.
How to join
If you are willing to be part of this trial, please reply to this email or fill in this quick form: [link].
Thanks in advance to everyone open to testing this with us.
[Your Name]
[Your Role]
Time-Tracking Introduction Email Examples
I’ll show you a practical example of different emails introducing time tracking. As I’ve mentioned, ensure you adapt the templates to your company’s makeup, staff, and the tool you intend to use.
We’ll use Traqq in our examples and lean into its focus on privacy.
Email Example 1: Problem-solving with full details
Using Work Insights to Fix Unnecessary Burnout, Workload Imbalance, and Inadequate Compensation
Hi everyone,
Mantlers’ recent growth and remote work adoption have brought about some challenges in managing work hours.
We’ve noticed team members logging extra hours that go unnoticed, receiving pay that does not fully compensate for their work, and experiencing burnout while handling complex projects.
We want to change all that.
In the coming week, we will introduce a new time-tracking tool across the company. The idea is simple: collect and manage work hours to:
- Distribute workloads more fairly,
- Ensure pay reflects worked hours,
- Improve productivity, and
- Prevent burnout.
In the future, our work hours data will help us refine project costing and budgeting, increase transparency with clients, boost our competitiveness, and enhance working standards.
What the Time Tracking Tool Will Not Do
To be clear, the new work policy is not intended to be a surveillance measure.
We specifically selected Traqq as our time-tracking solution because it aligns with our principles of privacy protection and work autonomy.
It does not take screenshots, record screens, or capture mouse movements and keystrokes.
The tool only logs active and inactive work hours and helps us turn the data into actionable insights.
The Roll-Out Schedule
There will be a phased roll-out to ensure we respect each team member’s work hours and help everyone get on board as seamlessly as possible. We’ll observe the following phases:
Phase 1: Learning and training
Duration: January 1 to January 10, 2026 (2 hours each workday)
We’ve provided the following helpful resources to give you a quick tour, introduce you to Traqq and its features, and answer questions you may have regarding the application:
During the stated period, you may access the learning resources for 2 hours each workday.
Your team lead will contact you with details about one-on-one training sessions. Your training sessions will also fall into these allocated hours.
Phase 2 – Initial test run and practice
Duration: January 12 to January 16, 2026
Log in to Traqq using the invitation email you’ll receive on January 9 and start tracking your work hours throughout the specified duration.
Note your observations, concerns, questions, and recommendations during this time. A feedback form will be provided before the end of phase 2.
Phase 3 – Full adoption
We intend to fully adopt the program from February 3, 2025, after collecting and reviewing staff feedback.
Work hours and operations will revert to the status quo after January 16.
Reach out to Rachel at rachel.byrn@mantlers.com
Yours,
Samuel
Head of Operations
Email example 2: Short form with intended follow-up
Collecting Work Insights to Power the Next Phase of Our Journey
Hi everyone at Mantlers!
We’ve had an incredible year. Growing our portfolio by 85%, while maintaining 90% client satisfaction and keeping our team intact, are clear indicators that we are ready for the next phase of growth.
To achieve our shared goals of improving work standards and scaling our operations, we must first address a few issues we’ve identified. They include recurrent extended work hours, burnout, payroll admin issues, uncompensated overtime, and project scoping inaccuracies.
After deliberations with team members and management, we are happy to introduce Traqq, a privacy-focused time-tracking tool that will help us collect the data we need to resolve the issues mentioned above.
This is not about surveillance. We selected Traqq because it aligns with our strict dedication to privacy protections and high security standards.
It will not capture or record screens, eavesdrop on communication, or log keystrokes or mouse movements.
The program will only collect active and inactive work hours to provide insights into work patterns.
For now, our work operations and processes remain unchanged. We are still planning a phased roll-out and will contact you soon with dates, steps, and expectations.
In the meantime, you can learn more about Traqq using these resources:
- FAQs
- Demo
- Manual
- Tutorials
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Rachel at rachel.byrn@mantlers.com
Yours,
Samuel
Head of Operations
Email example 3: The collaborative approach
Help Us Test a Better Way To Log Work Hours
Hi everyone!
Our recent surge in operational growth and workforce expansion calls for a new way to collect better insights into work hours. Our current methods will fail to meet the complexity of these operations when we scale.
We also need to collect and analyze work hours more effectively, resolve historical payroll issues, and capture precise data on project durations.
To achieve these objectives, we explored various solutions, and we are excited to announce a pilot program with Traqq, a privacy-focused time-tracking tool.
Our primary goals for this trial are to evaluate the tool’s compatibility with our work process and how time tracking helps us collect the data we need to improve our working standards.
How the trial run will work
We will run a short 3-week trial with volunteers from any department.
Each volunteer will receive simple setup instructions and a quick “how to use it” guide.
During the trial, we will ask participants to:
- Log their hours and tasks in the tool, and
- Share honest feedback about what they like, where they are confused, what they consider concerning, and areas that require improvement.
At the end of the pilot program, we will review the data and your feedback before deciding what happens next.
How to join
If you are willing to be part of this trial, please reply to this email or fill in this quick form.
Thanks in advance to everyone open to testing this with us.
Samuel,
Operations Manager
