One of the most important aspects of managing a business is employee scheduling. Scheduling employees allows you to maximize productivity and minimize costs.
Scheduling is also an area where mistakes are easy to make. The wrong scheduling decisions can lead to unhappy employees and loss of revenue, so it’s important to take the time to learn how to schedule your employees correctly.
How to Proceed with Employee Scheduling?
The process of employee scheduling is a complex one and can be broken down into the following steps:
- Decide on the best time to schedule employees. The first step in the process is deciding when to schedule employees. You may want to schedule employees during peak times or when there is less customer traffic.
- Determine how many employees you need for each shift. After deciding which days to schedule your employees, you will need to determine how many people are needed for each shift. This may vary depending on what type of business you own and what services or products you offer.
- Consider the skills and experience level of your employees. You must also consider whether the employee has any special skills or experience that would allow them to work more efficiently than others doing their job would be able to do so.
- Work out an hourly pay rate for each position based on their experience level, skills, and training requirements. The hourly rate should reflect everything that goes into making an employee productive at their job.
7 Mistakes to Avoid in Employee Scheduling
Here are seven mistakes you should avoid for employee scheduling:
Mistake 1- Not having a strategy:
If you don’t have a plan, it’s easy to make mistakes. For example, if you’re not sure how many employees you need on each shift or what skills they should have, it’s easy to accidentally schedule too many people on one shift who don’t need to be there. And if you don’t know what skills are needed, it’s hard to ensure that someone who doesn’t have the right skills is scheduled for a task that requires those skills.
Solution: Write down your operating procedures for employee scheduling, including how many people need to be there for each shift and what skills they should have.
Mistake 2- Not scheduling enough employees for peak times:
If your business has a lot of customers at certain times, such as during lunch or dinner rush, you need to make sure that you have enough people on hand to handle the business. If not, you could have customers waiting or frustrated customers who leave without spending money.
Solution: Employee scheduling should cover the expected peaks in your business. For example, if you expect a big rush of customers mid-morning and mid-afternoon, it’s best to have enough employees scheduled during those times. Also, schedule more than one employee for each shift during peak times so that no one is left alone with too many customers.
Mistake 3- Creating an imbalance in their work-life balance:
Employee scheduling for slow times can also help retain employees looking for more flexible schedules. By giving them some flexibility in their work schedules, you’ll be able to retain valuable talent that would otherwise leave due to unfair treatment or lack of work-life balance.
Solution: Work with your team members to identify additional training or professional development opportunities that could help them grow within their roles. This will help them gain new skills, making them more valuable in the long run. You may also want to cross-train some employees so they can fill in during absences or shifts if needed elsewhere in your organization.
Mistake 4- Not posting schedules promptly:
The longer you wait to post the schedule, the more likely someone will need to make changes. And if someone has to make changes, then it’s more likely that something will go wrong — either because of confusion about where people are supposed to be and when or because of scheduling conflicts with other employees.
Solution: Post schedules two to three weeks in advance, allowing employees to request changes if possible. This gives them time to plan their lives and manage their time accordingly.
Mistake 5- Not training employees on the scheduling system you’re using:
Training your employees on how to use your scheduling software is important in getting the most out of it. If you don’t train them, they won’t be able to make the most of its features or know how to use it well. Training also encourages them to be more engaged with their work schedule and helps them understand why certain shifts were scheduled.
Solutions: Train employees to use the software and add and edit their schedules. This will help them eliminate any confusion about what needs to be done and allow them to add notes about their work hours if necessary. Also, ensure they know how to access the calendar from anywhere so they can check it without going into the office.
Mistake 6- Over-scheduling employees:
Over-scheduling can create a lot of unnecessary stress for both employees and managers. It can also cause problems if employees have too many hours a day or week because they may not have enough time between shifts to take breaks or go home. It can also make it harder for managers to manage their staff if they have fewer people available than they need at any given time during their shift schedule cycle (or vice versa).
Solution: Before your first scheduled day, make sure your team has been trained on how to use the system. This will ensure that they understand their shifts and know how to set up their schedules.
Mistake 7- Ignoring data analytics:
If you’re not using data to inform your decisions, you’re missing out on a powerful tool for improving efficiency, productivity, and profits. One of the best ways to use data analytics is by analyzing employee scheduling patterns. This will help you identify inefficiencies and make better decisions about how many workers you need at different times of the day or week.
Solution: Step up your scheduling game with data analytics. Data analytics gives insight into your employees’ work and when and where they need help. It helps you determine which schedules are the most efficient for your business. This will save you time and money in the long run because it eliminates guesswork from your scheduling process.
WorkInSync is a solution that helps you create and manage your employee schedules in real-time. This is especially useful if you’re managing a large workforce who need to coordinate their schedules with other employees, such as those moving into dorms or apartments.
