Standard times: how long should a routine task take?

Key takeaways

A standard time is the agreed time a trained person should take to complete one item of a routine task to the done standard, including normal checks. Setting one for each repetitive task turns volumes into hours, makes capacity and cost planning possible, and gives a fair basis for comparing in-house and outsourced work. It is a planning tool, not a stopwatch on people.

• Time 20 to 30 typical items, not your best ones.
• Add an allowance for exceptions and checks.
• Volume × standard time = hours needed.
• Review standards when the method changes.

What is a standard time?

A standard time is the expected time to complete one unit of a task, such as one invoice or one listing, using the agreed method. It comes from work measurement, a field going back to Frederick Taylor and the Gilbreths, but for office work a simple version is enough: time a sample, take the typical figure and add an allowance.

• How UK SMEs can use outsourcing to handle repetitive tasks
• Time and motion study for office work: a modern version

How do you set one?

Ask a trained person to time 20 to 30 normal items using the written method. Take the median rather than the fastest. Add an allowance for checks and exceptions, often 10% to 20% as a GBL rule of thumb, or time exceptions separately if they are common.

• Use the written method, not a shortcut.
• Time 20 to 30 typical items.
• Take the median.
• Add an allowance or time exceptions separately.
• Record the date and method version.

• Work sampling: measure where office time goes, quickly
• Count your task volumes before you outsource anything

How do standard times help planning?

Multiply volume by standard time to get hours. In an illustrative example, 400 purchase invoices a month at 5 minutes standard is about 33 hours; at an indicative offshore rate of £9–£18 an hour that is £300–£600 a month, not a GBL price. These are example figures. The same sum shows when volume will outgrow current capacity.

• Work out your cost per task before you outsource
• How many outsourced seats does a small business need?
• BPO cost per hour in the UK

When should you not use standard times?

Avoid using standard times to rate individuals, which damages trust and encourages shortcuts. They also mislead for tasks with very variable items or heavy judgement. Use them for planning and comparison, and look at accuracy and turnaround alongside speed.

• Time tracking for outsourced teams: useful or intrusive?
• Right first time rate: the quality number that cuts cost

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an outsourcing quote looks expensive until the business times its own work and finds the task takes twice as long in-house as assumed. Standard times put both on the same footing.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Standard time checklist

Set each standard with these points.

• Written method used.
• 20 to 30 typical items timed.
• Median taken.
• Allowance agreed.
• Reviewed when the method changes.

• ECRS: simplify a repetitive task before you hand it over

Next step

Send us the tasks you want to plan. We will help you set standard times and turn your volumes into hours and cost.