Tips for a successful shift plan

Know your business and employees

It’s important to know when your busy times are and when work is traditionally slow to make the right decisions about staffing. Looking at historical data can help you see trends, so you know how many people to schedule on shift.

Most businesses also need people with certain skills at different times. For example, a warehouse may need one person with a forklift license and three without. Make sure you know which staff members have the skills you need, so you can schedule them accordingly.

Know the rules and regulations

There are many laws and regulations that govern human resources, including federal, state and local laws. Keep up-to-date with rules that govern overtime, breaks and the length of shifts.

Some shift planning software solutions include modules that help you stay compliant with labor laws and notify you when laws change. Understanding and following the rules can save you time and stress in the future.

Consider employee needs

You’ll have a happier, healthier and more productive staff if you take their schedules and preferences into account when shift planning. Modern shift planning tools allow employees to enter their availability directly into the app, and shifts are scheduled based on this information. This also leads to fewer shift swaps and less employee absenteeism.

It’s also good practice to avoid overly long shifts and ‘clopens’, which is when an employee is scheduled for a closing shift one night and the opening shift the next day. Avoiding these difficult schedules ensures that your employees are better rested and helps with your staff retention efforts.

Publish your schedule early

States have started adding predictive scheduling laws to labor regulations. These laws state that you must give staff advance notice of their schedule, most commonly 14 days notice. Even if you’re not in a predictive scheduling state, you should still publish staff schedules early.

This ensures employees have plenty of time to make any necessary arrangements, such as organizing childcare. Some of your staff may also have a second job, and an early schedule can help them arrange their schedule with a second employer.

Communicate effectively

Make sure employees can see the schedule easily and make any necessary changes. Shift planning software can often make this easier, as most allow staff to view calendars and will send notifications of any shift changes.

It’s also good to let your staff know the reasoning behind your shift planning strategy. Although it’s not necessary every week, but if you suddenly have to schedule people for extra shifts or reduce their hours, let them know why.

Be prepared for changes

Life happens, so you have to be prepared to make changes regularly. Some shift planning software has the function to let employees access and change schedules themselves. You then just have to log in and confirm these changes.

This saves you time, results in fewer no-shows and lets employees feel in control of their schedule. It’s also a good idea to have a list of employees who don’t mind working an extra shift, you can then rely on them to jump in if another employee calls in sick.

Review regularly

Once you have a schedule that seems to work, you may be tempted to copy and paste it from week to week. However, your business is always changing. Reviewing the schedule regularly helps you understand when times are busy and when they’re quiet. This way you can ensure that both the business’ needs and your employees’ needs are being met.

Shift Planning Tools for Success

Around 45% of employers use paper to plan schedules, but technology can make shift planning easier. Some businesses may find a full HRIS, or Human Resources Information System, works for them. Most HRIS software includes scheduling and attendance tracking capabilities, as well as functionality that supports other HR activities, such as payroll, compliance and recruitment.

Other businesses may only require shift planning software. This generally has the ability to automatically schedule shifts and communicate with staff but lacks the broader functionality of HRIS software. Whether you choose HRIS or a dedicated shift planning software, look for the following features to make scheduling easier.

• Auto-scheduling: If you’re looking to save time, this is the most important feature in shift planning software. It looks at past schedules, employee requests and the number of hours people want to work. With this information, it automatically creates a schedule for your approval, saving you hours of work.
• Staff calendars: If you’re using paper, spreadsheets or whiteboards to assign shifts,you may experience an event where staff miss their assignments, or read them incorrectly. Software that lets employees view their personal work calendar makes it easy for them to see when they’re working next. Many apps also notify you when employees have viewed the schedule, so you know they’re aware of upcoming shifts.
• Communication tools: Shift planning software makes communicating schedule changes easy. Many tools automatically notify employees when their schedule changes, helping you send reminders to note when their shifts are starting or ending. The best apps also allow your team to communicate with each other. This can be used for scheduling, such as swapping shifts, and to build a better workplace culture.
• Analytics: Shift planning software can track a wide range of data, such as when your employees sign in, when they take breaks and how much they’re working. Many tools also help you track labor costs, enabling you to make informed decisions about schedules, thus supporting the management and growth of your business.
• Employee Self-Service: Some platforms allow your employees to manage some aspects of their schedule. This can include entering availability or requesting time off, swapping shifts, claiming available shifts and clocking in and out. Helping employees take advantage of these features frees up more of your time while also giving them some control over their schedule.

Shift planning is essential to your business, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. With the right shift planning tools and knowledge of how to make the process easier, you can quickly provide schedules for your employees, so you can spend your time and energy on other tasks.