How to Create an Employee Schedule That Works For Both, Management and Staff

What is an Employee Schedule?

An employee schedule is a roadmap of sorts, helping employee and employer stay on top of the work that needs to be completed and when it needs to be done. In addition, an efficient employee schedule gives staff a better sense of where they stand with their tasks when updating their work calendar.
An employee schedule considers the specific days and hours designated to an employee for paid work. It includes the details of an employee's shift, including the days of the week and the specific hours an employee is expected to work for an organization. Depending on the nature of the job and the business, one could work the same hours and days throughout one's career in an organization, or one's schedule could change based on the employer's needs.

With an efficient employee work schedule, an enterprise can streamline staff time, manage and balance the workload for different shifts, and keep team communication clear across verticals. In short, with effective schedules in place, a business is bound to run smoothly.

Creating an effective employee shift schedule template can be difficult. Businesses such as hospitality, retail, healthcare, and IT operate with hourly scheduled employees. It means that managers must devise a schedule that works for everyone, which can be a time-consuming process. Efficient management is reducing the time spent on the creation of schedules, yet accomplishing effective and seamless scheduling that is compliant with labor law.


Restaurantslife Features several articles that help employees and employers hit the right balance of productivity and job satisfaction. This article shows you howscheduling software can help automate and streamline task management. By taking into account past schedules, identifying available resources, recognizing demand and scheduling for it accordingly,employee scheduling software can lead to higher productivity and better job satisfaction.

How Can Efficient Employee Scheduling Benefit a Business?

Profit is the ultimate goal of every business. But poor scheduling can have a deleterious effect on a company's financial performance. In a study last year, Quinyx (a provider of workforce management tools) conducted a study, 'The Cost of Poor Scheduling- Lessons from 300 Operations Executives'. It polled 300 global operations executives, who shared insights on their priorities and the challenges they face in managing time-strapped workforces who do not work from an office desk.

The study revealed that the companies most affected during the pandemic were ones without scheduling software. Companies that did not have AI-driven workforce management lost 15% of their earnings and spent 25% more on salary costs alone. On top of that, most manual schedules committed three to eight labor law infractions a week, resulting in massive fines.

A poor employee schedule often leads to chaos in operations, poor productivity, unnecessary workplace stress and increased absenteeism. It forces employees to fill in on short notice for co-workers who don't show up even when scheduled to work. This is a major reason for staff conflicts, which in turn increase the employee turnover rate. There isn't a definitive way to tell if a company incurs losses because of a poor employee scheduling, but it certainly affects business.

What is proven though, is the positive impact that efficient scheduling can have on a business. Restaurantslife looks at some of the ways-

1. Increases Efficiency at Work- No one can argue that effective scheduling is a must when it comes to employee time-keeping and dividing the workload. When work is evenly and thoughtfully distributed among employees, they are motivated to work harder and their working relationship improves too. The lack of these things can lead to overworked employees and result in employee burnout, mistakes, and subpar performance. In contrast, an efficient schedule improves overall efficiency and creates a productive environment.
   
2. Ensures Employees Don't Miss Shifts- Scheduling can help businesses keep employees and owners organized by ensuring that shifts are not missed. Most employee scheduling apps use a cloud-based integrated structure to allow businesses and individuals to follow assigned shifts by maintaining schedules that are accessible to all, can be easily updated by relevant teams, and are easily managed from any part of the world. Part-timers in the restaurant, retail, and hospitality industries have different work hours every day, or work only on certain days of the week, which makes these features incredibly useful.
   
3. Boosts Employee Engagement- Problems related to over- or understaffing or inadequately managed schedules impacts employee engagement adversely. This could lead to high employee turnover. Your brand image can be negatively impacted as employee engagement plunges and operating costs rise. Scheduling mistakes can result in costly, time-consuming, and worrying consequences, especially for small businesses. Accurate and mindful scheduling with the right apps make sure that the satisfaction level of employees is always high, resulting in low operating costs, and preserves the reputation of your business.
   
4. Cultivates a Flexible Work Environment- Scheduling software automates the workers' roster, assigning work to only those whose work schedules match their available time slots. Allowing employees to choose their shifts reduces the manager's stress, while also benefiting both parties, because it creates a better work-life balance. Flexible work hours always benefit employees and create a positive and productive work environment.
   
5. Grows Profits- Besides reducing miscellaneous costs, efficient employee scheduling software enables managers to delegate tasks, while focusing on other parts of the business. Scheduling solutions allow high-demand situations to be handled more effectively, reducing chaos. Most new technologies have built-in analytics features that allow them to predict needs ahead of time, create effective schedules, and develop a foolproof plan. Keeping workers stimulated and stress-free is a benefit for employees as well as employers. This way, optimum work conditions can be created, and profits can be increased.
   
6. Helps Comply With Labor Laws- Numerous regulations in the United States ensure workplace fairness. For example, employers are required to adhere to strict guidelines concerning the number of hours employees can work each day. As part of these laws, employers must also give employees advance notice before making schedule changes. Moreover, it ensures that overtime is regulated and paid. The ease with which shift scheduling apps enable employers to comply with government regulations is a welcome benefit.
   

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Use the Best Scheduling Software

A scheduling system is crucial for any business as it helps manage resources more efficiently. The best employee scheduling software has automation built into the system, allowing managers to easily generate reliable schedules for a month, or even a week. As a result, it increases the punctuality of your employees.

The software you choose for your business can substantially improve the functioning of your workplace. With customizable features, choosing software over a manual application like Excel spreadsheets saves time and money.

With employee scheduling software solutions, employers can be considerate towards employees' needs and preferences and, at the same time, create reliable schedules that don't adversely affect the work. Most solutions offer built-in templates and help avoid scheduling conflicts. Good scheduling software also creates schedules for multiple locations, teams, and projects.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Identify Resources

Planning is very important when creating employee schedule, especially if you want your schedule to be realistic. First off, figure out the scope of work your team will be responsible for and get a complete picture of every resource available on a project. For example, calculate the number of people working on a specific project, take into account any vacation or planned leave time they may have when the project is on, and schedule work accordingly.

It helps to have an additional resource on board to complete a project successfully. You'll be able to consider how much money you can afford to set aside for contractors and consultants, and ensure your budget is within your limits. It helps in cost optimization, while also ensuring that deadlines are not missed.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Create Schedules in Advance

Work schedules created at the last minute may have been admissible in the workplace of the past. However, in today's hyper competitive environment, unplanned work can leave employees so stressed, it could impair their productivity.

An employer has to consider that we now live in a gig economy --a phenomenon that has seen a massive rise during the pandemic. Many skilled professionals have chosen to go solo, instead of dealing with the pressure of full-time jobs, because everyone wants to have a healthy work-life balance and avoid burnout. But one of the major reasons for this shift has also been because working professionals want more control over their work timings.

A schedule created in advance eases the burden off employees. In addition, it reduces unpredictability and creates a better and balanced work environment. However, employees must also understand that last-minute changes are inevitable.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Accommodate Employees' Needs

An efficient employee schedule always keeps everyone's needs in focus. Understanding an employee's priorities may work well in the long run for a company. The best way to understand an employee's needs is to understand their priorities and commitments before onboarding them. For example, someone may be still studying and prefers an afternoon shift. Or, someone may like an early evening workout session and prefers to finish their work commitments early in the day. Accommodating employees' choices is a sure way of winning them over and encouraging them to be better committed to your business.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Allow Employees to Trade Shifts

Most companies do not encourage employees to trade shifts because of the confusion it could bring about. But most scheduling software do provide a shift trade board, allowing for a simpler and more organized approach to trading shifts that prevents last-minute confusion.

After all, isn't it better to work with -- and not against -- your staff! An online trade board makes it easy for employers to enable staff to trade shifts. As a result, most problems arising from last-minute shift changes are eliminated, and a sense of camaraderie is built because employees feel their voice is being heard, and this fosters loyalty. Online shift trade boards are also good for businesses with part time or short-shift workers.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Have an Absence Management Plan

One of the most important things you can do as a manager is to have a set of guidelines that lets your employees pre-plan their vacations. It also minimizes last-minute absenteeism, which always comes at a cost for businesses, especially if it's someone who oversees an entire team or an important aspect of the operations.

But there are emergencies when an employee may go on unplanned leave, and finding someone suitable to fill in for the absent employee may not always be immediately possible. It's therefore important to have a backup plan ready for both types of leave- planned and unplanned. Knowing that you have a backup plan means that when something comes up during those crucial times, you will be more than prepared to handle things calmly and continue working towards your project's goals without worry.

Tips to Improve Employee Scheduling- Ask for Feedback on Your Calendar

Developing a schedule is never easy. Even though you may feel like you have exactly what's best for your employees, they might take a slightly different approach. And that is okay. When it comes down to creating an effective schedule, the more feedback one gets, the better it is. But there will always be some room for improvement.

It's a good idea to ask your employees for suggestions on what can improve the schedule before you create one for your team. This will make employees feel heard and motivated, and reassure them that they have a role to play in setting up their own schedules. Ultimately, incorporating their priorities into the final schedule is crucial because it makes them feel valued and included.

Top 3 Employee Scheduling Software

Zip Schedules- Zip Schedule allows you to streamline the process of employee scheduling. Its mobile app enables you to create schedules that include the preferred shifts of employees and share them with everyone. Its internal messaging system allows human resources managers to send messages to the staff in real time, while managing their leave requests, checking availability, and booking new shifts without additional support.

The app also allows users to create schedule templates that work for them. With these work schedule templates, one can easily add, modify, or delete details without having to go in manually every time. This tool works well for companies that want to save time on common tasks such as reviewing staff requests, approving them, and overseeing shift trading-offs. It also makes it easier for companies to reduce labor costs with its built-in labor tracking and forecasting features.

Zip Schedules easily integrates with employee time clock software. For small businesses with 20 or fewer employees, Zip Schedules can be purchased at $19 per month per location. The mid-tier slab costs $39 per month and can accommodate up to 50 workers. Businesses with over 50 employees can opt for the custom solution which is cost-effective and can caters to all of their needs. Zip Schedules can be purchased through Hubworks, an online app store that provides integrated solutions for all types of businesses in the food industry.

When I Work- Auto-scheduling is an integral feature of When I Work. Employees can schedule their time-off requests and trade shifts through a mobile application. Managers can even limit clock-ins to specific locations and shift times to ensure punctuality. With this employee management solution, managers can integrate time-off requests with a time clock, lowering labour costs.

In addition, auto-scheduling processes allow shifts to be made with just one click and several employees are notified simultaneously when schedules are published. It's also possible to import timesheets for quick payroll processing. When I Work has an Essentials version at $4 per user per month, an Advanced version at $6 per user, and a Complete version at $8 per user.

Homebase- Homebase is the ideal solution for small businesses. It incorporates an easy "drag and drop" interface, productivity platform, and GPS integration with any device. Homebase's software integrates seamlessly with multiple POS and accounting solutions so businesses can easily streamline processes quickly and effectively. This scheduling software is completely cloud-based. In addition to keeping track of daily hours, breaks, overtime and checklists, employees can also manage important tasks, projects and client relationships within a secure online environment. Its powerful time-tracking capability ensures that employees are 100% accountable for their hours. It has a basic free plan that includes scheduling, and time and attendance management. The chargeable essential package with additional features starts at $16 per month per location, and goes up to $80 per month per location.