5 Tips for Creating Perfect Employee Schedules

One of the most time-consuming tasks for managers is scheduling staff.

Planning out shifts, managing time-off requests, handling unexpected leave and casual schedules while trying to meet your business’s needs - it all takes hours of your day that could be spent accelerating the success of your business.

So, the big question: how do you schedule staff effectively? Are there any tips and tricks to making a schedule for your staff that won’t waste your time while taking into account all the nuances of your business?

Below we reveal five tips on how to create a schedule that keeps your business running smoothly and ensures staff satisfaction.

Use reliable scheduling software

If you’re wondering how to create effective schedules, chances are you have been doing it manually for longer than you would care to admit. While it is entirely possible to rely on a pen and paper for this task, it’s inefficient.

You need reliable scheduling software.

It enables you to automate employee management and streamline staff scheduling. A task that would take precious time to complete can be finished in minutes with a comprehensive workforce management solution.

foundU has all the features you need to calculate total schedule costs, clock-in/out, schedule staff and more. Book a demo and you’ll see just how it can make your life easier.

Plan out schedule templates before adding specific employees

After implementing your scheduling software, it’s time to plan and customise schedules that suit the needs of your business and your employees.

It’s best to start with creating schedule templates – think of which roles you need to fill on which days. Do you need managers and assistant managers in the same shift? Do you require more staff on the weekends? Fill in the roles you need, and only then add the actual names. It will make scheduling much easier.

Plus with foundU's templates, you can save any schedules you've built as a template and load it into a future week.

Know how to create efficient teams

During peak times and busier days of the week, you will want to have the most efficient employees with you. Create teams that can handle more demanding schedules, and fill up the schedule with your more experienced staff.

During quieter periods, team up inexperienced employees with veterans. They’ll have more time to learn and build their skills, and you can worry less about customer complaints and dissatisfaction.

Allow employee access to schedule for work

Employee access to schedules is a must. You need to enable your employees to see exactly when they’ll be expected to come in.

A bonus is that access to scheduling software will allow them to swap shifts and agree on schedules between themselves. If an employee needs to take a day off due to an emergency, they can swap shifts in a click and leave you to handle more important matters.

Impose deadlines for time-off requests

Including a strict deadline for time off requests is critical if you want to avoid staffing issues. Require all employees to submit their requests in an appropriate time frame, but leave room for illnesses and other emergencies.

A comprehensive scheduling software will enable you to handle days off, leave compensation and more in just a few clicks.

The bottom line?

Scheduling staff doesn’t have to be a complicated, time-consuming task. With the help of the foundU platform, you can manage your entire workforce with ease and handle any scheduling issues within seconds.

Book a demo to find out how foundU can help solve all your scheduling worries, and help you boost your efficiency and productivity.