Let’s talk about employee scheduling – I know – it’s an incredibly boring subject. But if you’re using a paper schedule, or Excel, you are simply spending too much of your time managing shifts, time off requests, shift swaps, and more. In true David Letterman fashion, here are our top 10 (3!) employee scheduling pitfalls:
3. Your employees are always asking “When do I work?”
You’ve heard this question time and time again: “When do I work?” and I’m sure you’re very tired of answering. After you’ve spent countless hours creating the employee schedule, published it very prominently in the break room (where it is always posted!), your employees still come to you for this information.
We’ve heard about this issue from hundreds of customers, especially those with younger employees who are very accustomed to using a computer or their mobile phone for everything.
The solution: With online employee scheduling software, like TrackSmart Scheduling, you’ll be able to create and publish the schedule online. Your employees will be able to check the schedule from any computer, tablet, or mobile phone. You’ll never answer this one again!
2. Your labor costs keep rising and rising
When you’re creating the schedule, you are juggling so many different things:
- When do I need employees?
- What positions do I need filled?
- Will this employee be available to work?
- Can these two employees work together?
On top of all of this information, you need to keep track of how much it costs to schedule your employees. This means checking how much it will cost to fill a shift, as well as calculating any employee overtime.
Many customers we’ve spoken with find it harder and harder to stay under their labor budget goals because of how difficult it is to calculate employee hours and overtime on a spreadsheet.
The solution: With TrackSmart Scheduling, your labor costs will be automatically calculated. You’ll get a breakdown of EXACTLY how much it will cost to schedule an employee, and you’ll be able to easily see if your employees are scheduled into overtime. And because you can adjust your overtime settings, it will be easy for you to follow the exact labor laws of your state, county, or municipality.
And the #1, employee scheduling pitfall is…
1. The employee schedule is immediately out of date as soon as you post it
This has to be the most frustrating aspect of employee scheduling. You’ve spent countless hours ensuring everyone’s needs are met, you’ve checked that you aren’t over your labor budget, and you post the schedule.
Then the changes come…
Without fail, you get a non-stop series of comments from your staff that they can no longer work specific shifts. Or you get unexpected new shifts that need to be filled. Or someone gets sick. While I’m sure you do your best to minimize schedule changes after posting, changes are inevitable.
The solution: With TrackSmart Scheduling, your employees are able to swap shifts, claim unfilled shifts, and more. This empowers your employees to make slight adjustments – with your approval of course! – so that schedule changes are easy.
Also, our communication tools make working with your staff easier. If there are changes to the schedule, you can simply republish it. When you republish the schedule, each employee receives an email with his or her customized schedule (and we’ll only email the employees with updated schedules). You can also email or text your staff directly from TrackSmart Scheduling.
It’s time to stop spending so much time scheduling employees. Sign up for a free trial of TrackSmart Scheduling for 14-days. You won’t even need a credit card to start your trial.
