A well-planned employee schedule is essential for running a successful business. When employees know what their weekly schedule looks like and what is expected of them, they get into a routine and plan around other parts of their lives.
This improves productivity. And as you already know, the more productive your employees are, the better your return on investment will be.
Therefore in this article, I will show you how to create a working employee schedule and how to manage it effectively …
Get rid of the outdated pen and paper method:
If you are still using the pen and paper method of managing employees, I suggest you stop doing this. The problem with writing everything down on a piece of paper or a book is that it can be very easily lost or damaged. It also allows employees to cheat as they can easily attract the attention of their friends.
The best alternative is to provide the employee with a scheduling app that works on both desktop and mobile devices. The data collected from here cannot be easily lost as it is backed up in the cloud. In addition, employees cannot force their friends to work with their friends, as modern software only allows the use of facial or fingerprint recognition software.
Employees do not even need to visit their workplace to view the schedule, as they can view it on their mobile devices. The app will notify them if the schedule is changed. This makes it easier for them to prepare ahead of time.
Understand what every employee needs:
What makes your employees happy should be taken into account when setting the schedule, as companies with happier employees outperform the competition by 20%.
So interview all employees to find out which schedule makes them happier. Since work is a team effort, it is essential to interview team members together. Some important questions to ask employees are what shift they prefer, who they prefer to work with, how many breaks they want, etc.
It is difficult to remember what each worker wants. So make sure you find an employee scheduling app that allows you to add that information. When creating a schedule, you’ll see what each employee wants.
Release schedule in advance:
The schedule should be started 3-4 weeks in advance and released at least 2 weeks in advance. The work can take up a significant part of employees’ daily lives. But more than two-thirds of this is spent out of work. This makes it easier to plan the rest of their lives. If they plan to take a day off or go on holiday, they are informed in advance. This gives them enough time to make changes and/or find a replacement.
If you publish a schedule at the last minute, you risk making your employees unhappy. Many will come back to you for changes. Making changes and finding temporary staff to cover the holidays will be a chaotic process for you.
Use of data:
You probably won’t create the best employee schedule on the first try. But you don’t have to worry about that because over time your employee scheduling software will accumulate a lot of data.
You will know various things, such as the timing that employees actually prefer, which employees you should keep and which you should let go, the replacements you should hire (which better fit your schedule), and many other important details.
So watch the analysis part of the design software. Some programs even have artificial intelligence that automatically analyzes your data, predicts what will work for your company, and offers you a schedule of employees.
Hire an expert:
Many experts know how to get the most out of your employees and the data collected by your scheduling software. Hire one for a month or two to train your managers to better manage their employees’ schedules.
Now use these tips to manage your employees’ schedules
These are my top tips for managing employee schedules. Follow them and you’ll see improvements in attendance, employee happiness, productivity, and your bottom line.
