It is true that creating a suitable schedule for all your employees will make them more productive and happy, however, getting all the shifts right can also help you save thousands of dollars in the long run. No matter if you run a small, medium, or large organization, it can be stressful and daunting for you to schedule staff hours efficiently
But, don’t worry, our 2024 guide from below has got your back! To help you understand what you’ll have to do and to make the entire scheduling process easier, here is a list of our top seven tips and tricks that’ll help you create better and more suitable schedules for your employees:
1. Don’t Over-Complicate Things
As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, it can be quite daunting and complex for you to create shift schedules. Even though this is true, you’ll need to ensure that you don’t overcomplicate things, which means that you must guarantee that your employees can quickly and easily access their schedules. What can allow you to do this? Well, it’s simple, you’ll need to opt for using the right application or program that can be accessed by using a smartphone, tablet, or PC.
By using scheduling software, you’ll make everything more consistent for your workforce, and in return, they’ll be able to plan out their personal time better. Besides this, if they can easily access and see new schedules, they’ll be able to change shifts if needed, and the only thing you’ll need to do is to ensure that someone doesn’t get more shifts than needed. So, consider using an app or a program that’ll help you.
2. You Must Involve Your Staff Members
If there is one thing that you should remember from our list, it’s the fact that you must involve all of your staff members in the planning process. What does this mean you should do? Well, it’s simple, you’ll want to ask them what is important to them, for instance, by learning how they prefer their schedules to be made, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Another thing that you should focus on is the times that would be most suitable for them.
If one of your employees is a mom, it would be easier for her to work first shifts when her children are at school, while a different individual might find it better if they get the third shift. Though this might require more time, it’ll make your employees happy and they’ll have time for their families and hobbies, all of which can lead to them being more productive and actually like to work for your organization.
3. There Are Industry-Centered Apps That Can Help
Besides using apps that’ll allow your staff members to easily access their shifts, there is also a wide range of industry-centered apps that could help you. What are these apps? Well, for instance, if you run a catering company, apps such as quickstaffpro.com will allow quick and easy workforce scheduling that’ll tell you which on-demand staff is currently available. This means that you’ll no longer have to endlessly call or sift through sheets to figure out whether or not you have enough workers for the day.
4. Don’t Wait For The Last Minute
One of the things that I really hated in one of the companies I worked for is that I never knew my schedule in advance, instead, we used to get it a day before we had to go to work. This means that, for example, I couldn’t go out on a Friday, because I didn’t know if I would have to wake up for the first shift. Because of this, it’s crucial that you plan everything in advance, mostly because this will allow your workers to organize their time better.
But, there is one more benefit of creating a schedule in advance – if there is an emergency situation with one of your staff members, you’ll know exactly who is available to come in. Otherwise, not having enough workers might mean that you’ll experience downtime and delays, which will, of course, result in you losing money. Hence, if you want to avoid such situations, you should always create these lists on time.
5. Don’t Overwork Your Staff
A lot of business owners don’t pay attention to how much their employees work, which won’t only affect their health, but it could end up causing them to be less productive, depressed, and even anxious. Because of this, you should pay extra attention to how many shifts they have, how many hours they have worked overtime, and how many first, second, and third shifts a particular employee had during one month.
6. Consider Vacations, Holiday Seasons, And Sick Days as Well
Almost all companies offer their employees holidays, free days during the holiday seasons, and sick days, you’ll need to create a policy that’ll track all the leaves. This won’t only guarantee that everything is fair, but it’ll also allow you to have enough workers during these times. If not, you could end up facing a really big problem, which, in most situations, will result in you losing sales and, naturally, revenue.
7. Lastly, Ensure That You Have The Right Workers For a Shift
Lastly, you’ll need to ensure that you have the right workers for a shift. What does this mean? Well, for instance, you’ll need to have at least one employee in every department, meaning that you should ensure that there is. After all, if you don’t ensure this, you’ll certainly experience downtime and some problems might occur that you cannot solve right away because an employee isn’t there, thus, don’t neglect this.
Conclusion
Although creating a shift schedule can be quite time-consuming, daunting, and even stressful, it doesn’t have to be, especially if you know what can make the entire process easier. And, if you choose to follow the advice we’ve mentioned in our 2024 guide above, you’ll be able to make everything less difficult, and more importantly, you can ensure that your employees are satisfied.
Since you’ve now learned what you could – and definitely should do – you shouldn’t waste any more of your time. Instead, you should go back to our list, and start by arranging a meeting with your employees so that you can discuss what works for them and what they might want you to include in the schedule.