New innovative automated tools have now taken over many of the functions of the conventional spreadsheet used for workforce scheduling. The array of workforce scheduling tools available today helps to ensure that businesses are functioning at their highest capacity.
These tools can assist struggling management with workforce scheduling by providing an array of automation and communication capabilities.
There are numerous benefits to workforce scheduling for your business, but how does it affect your employees and help with employee retention? In this blog, we will look at what a smart workforce scheduling tool looks like, its benefits and how it helps to improve employee retention.
What Is Workforce Scheduling?
Workforce scheduling serves as one of the primary functions of workforce management. It entails calculating expected workloads, the number of staff required, locations for staff, etc. It can further include payroll management along with several other associated tasks.
Several key factors influence workforce scheduling, some of which include:
- Increased foot traffic (particularly in the retail and hospitality industries)
- Personnel availability and capabilities
- Significant increase in incidents (e.g., hospital visits around particular holidays)
In its most basic form, workforce scheduling is assigning the right staff to the right locations at the right time. Within this, you need to factor in employees’ preferences, requested time off etc. A simple enough task for small businesses, but an increasing headache as businesses get large or deal with complicated shift scheduling, such as hospitals.
What is a Workforce Scheduling Software?
Workforce Scheduling Software such as that produced by Softworks allows you to automatically input employee information, plan shift patterns and assign leave days among a host of other features.
It’s a technology that assembles information about shift schedules and makes them accessible to everyone, anywhere. Scheduling software also aids in the management of other vital data such as sick leave, payroll and tax management.
The more sophisticated your workforce scheduling tool is the more administrative tasks it can help to handle.
Why should we use Workforce Scheduling Software?
The most important asset of a company is the employee. They connect with consumers, manufacture goods, look after patients and serve to be the company’s face. Workforce scheduling software makes their life and yours easier.
It is challenging and pricey to hire new employees in your business. Thus, making sure your current staff are pleased serves to be the best approach to increasing employee retention and customer service.
In dynamic businesses where the change in the workload occurs regularly having an automatic scheduling plan to deal with these changes is essential.
Also minimizing time spent on administrative tasks frees up employees to take on more important work with a business.
How does Workforce Scheduling Software help in Employee Retention?
Workforce scheduling software can aid in employee retention in several ways. These may not be so obvious at the start, but each asset helps in employee satisfaction. They are as follows:
1. Improved Communication
The absence of feedback from supervisors is a typical concern for employees. Employees require feedback on their work. Managers should not presume that everyone is happy just because production is running smoothly.
Workforce scheduling software allows managers to monitor performance, which can help in establishing alerts to review performances involving all team members. As a result, you can enhance your workplace conditions by utilizing the information gathered from all employees.
With a better understanding of employee performance and satisfaction, you can greatly improve their time within your company.
A cloud-based system in which management can view and review employee data greatly improves their understanding of the workforce and allow them to implement changes where needed.
2. Increased Employee Input
Studies have shown that employees who are given more input into management, especially shift scheduling feel more satisfied in work. Intuitive self-service tools in which employees can see shifts, request swaps and days off etc. go a long way in making this a possibility.
To keep a balance and avoid engaging in long-run problems, make shifts as flexible as possible. Utilizing workforce scheduling software can aid employees in seeing their schedules and exchanging shifts with other co-workers in case of emergency.
Such tools allow management to keep track of events, for staff to cover for each other and increase income, sharing etc. This can all be done without the need for management input to help improve relations across the board.
3. Fair Treatment of Employees
Workforce scheduling software ensures that companies do not suffer from favouritism or human error in their shift planning. Automated tools ensure that each employee is allowed fair footing to increase workload, change shifts etc.
Time and attendance tracking tools help to ensure that management has a clear understanding of who is punctual and not taking advantage of your company time.
If employees see that they are being treated fairly across the board, this goes a long way to improving employee satisfaction.
By using tools such as Softworks which can keep track of days off, employee/management obligations etc., it is also much easier to ensure fair treatment in the workplace.
4. Reduced Administrative Tasks
Utilizing workforce scheduling software helps reduce a large amount of mundane administrative tasks for your workforce.
From management to employee level, scheduling, recording and payroll work can be tedious and time-consuming. Tasks that employees simply do not want to do.
By using smart software, you can remove the need for these tasks to be done manually. This frees up large portions of the workforce to work on more important and interesting aspects of your business.
Management can have better relations with employees, employees can focus on customer care.
If you improve your employees’ time at work you are sure to improve the chances of retention for a long time to come.
Conclusion:
The benefits and features of workforce scheduling software are numerous. Employee retention is just one aspect that can be improved with the right software on your side. Remove tedious tasks, increase satisfaction in the workplace and ensure that things run smoothly within your business.
