Managers and HR personnel can spend up to eight hours a week just creating schedules for the following week, especially if shift patterns are complex or the workforce is large. When scheduling conflicts arise, the quality of work may be affected and an even greater number of hours may be wasted working the kinks out! Implementing scheduling software can help to prevent these dilemmas while also providing a number of other benefits.
While not every type of scheduling software will offer every single benefit, the following are a few benefits that may be obtained by using certain types of software. When selecting scheduling software or HR software programs that have built in scheduling software, it is important to make sure that the software has the functionality that you need. Make your priorities clear to the vendor so that they can help you enjoy the scheduling software benefits as quickly as possible following implementation.
Allows Collaborative Scheduling
With collaborative scheduling, employees set their own availability and manage shift trades. This allows managers and HR professionals to simply ensure that all shifts are covered and approve employee requests and input. Managers can save up to 80 percent of the time previously spent creating schedules by sharing scheduling responsibilities.
Mitigates Availability Conflicts
By allowing employees to set their own availability and help collaborate on schedules, scheduling conflicts may be automatically mitigated. Errors with time off requests will be minimized and employee satisfaction will be increased as employees are able to make the schedule work for their needs. By allowing employees to work a schedule that they prefer, the organization may see productivity gains.
Saves Labor Hours
Many scheduling software programs allow schedules to be easily carried over from previous weeks, then altered using a drag-and-drop method. Employee names may be dragged onto a shift, or shifts may be dragged from one day to the next to make scheduling fast and simple-saving labor hours and dollars. Many programs even update and save automatically, which can save time from looking for the save button and can prevent calamities in which the schedule is accidentally erased before saving.
Provides Sophisticated Staffing Information
Some scheduling software programs work with other HR and business data to provide sophisticated information regarding staffing needs. This can help to avoid conflicts caused by under staffing, but can also prevent your business from paying out overtime or scheduling unnecessary shifts. Scheduling software may also let you know whether your business is meeting your labor percentage goals or provide information about exactly how close you are to meeting those goals.
Lets Employees Access Schedules Remotely
Many scheduling software programs have mobile accessibility that allows employees to view their schedules remotely 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If desired, employees may even set up the portal to provide SMS or email notifications within a set amount of time before shifts begin. These options help to prevent issues with employees misreading the schedule or forgetting shifts, so that the business can function seamlessly and the employees can get the most from their downtime.