If only scheduling your employees for shifts could be as easy as creating a grid with pencil and paper. This longtime shift planning approach is often as tedious for employers as it is annoying for employees, but time and attendance software presents solutions for both you and your team. Learn more below.
Shift planning is the scheduling of employees to fill each of your company’s required roles during a given time frame. Perhaps the most obvious shift planning example is how a small cafe might work:
To open at the crack of dawn, someone has to take the 5:00 a.m. shift. However, that employee likely won’t work until the cafe closes. Instead, another employee will come in at some point to perform the same work for the rest of the day. When that employee comes in, say at 1:00 p.m., the first employee will be relieved; their shift ends when the next employee’s shift begins.
Shift planning is the scheduling of employees so that all your company’s functions are properly tended to during your operating hours.
Shift planning sounds easy at first – how hard can it be to tell people to come and go at certain times? In reality, any small business owner who schedules employees on shifts (instead of a standard 9-to-5) can tell you that shift planning is full of challenges. The obstacles involved with shift planning include but arent limited to the following:
Editor’s note: Looking for the right time and attendance systems for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.
Time and attendance software solves many of the longtime problems with manual shift planning. The benefits of using software for your shift planning needs include the following:
Time and attendance software streamlines shift planning, reduces errors and cuts labor costs through advanced but user-friendly features.
Ready to invest in time and attendance software for your shift planning? Learn how to choose a time and attendance system, then keep what you’ve learned in mind as you read our time and attendance software reviews. Before you know it, you’ll be all set with a new software platform that leads to fair shifts, lower labor costs and happy, high-performing employees.