What is a Good Staff Schedule? – A Guide to Effective Employee Scheduling
Creating a good staff schedule is a complex task that goes far beyond simply allocating working hours. It involves balancing the company's needs with employee wellbeing, while also considering financial and legal requirements. But what does it really mean to have a good staff schedule? The answer to this question varies depending on who you ask within the organisation.
For Employees: Balancing Work and Free Time
For employees, a good staff schedule is one that gives them influence. It's a schedule that takes their desires and needs into account, both in terms of working hours and time off. Employees value flexibility, where they can plan their personal life without compromising their work obligations. If their requests for time off are met, while also receiving correct pay for their hours and allowances, they will likely consider the staff schedule to be good.
For Schedulers: A Puzzle That Needs to Fit Together
Staff schedulers view the staff schedule as a puzzle that must fit together in an efficient and legally compliant manner. For them, good terms for staffing and scheduling means having the right tools to optimise resource utilisation and ensure that rules and regulations are followed. It also means being able to make quick, informed decisions based on updated data and managing changes and adjustments effectively. When all the pieces of the puzzle are in place and all shifts are covered, schedulers believe they have created a good staff scheduling solution.
For Management: Finance and Efficiency
Management often focuses on the finances when it comes to shiftplanning. A good staff schedule for them is one that stays within budget while also being easy to create and adjust using employee scheduling software. They need a clear overview of the costs associated with each staff schedule and how it impacts the organisation's overall financial health. Management also seeks the ability to analyse data from previous periods to improve staffing and scheduling processes and minimise unnecessary costs, such as overtime and temporary staff expenses.
For Payroll: Accuracy is Key
Payroll staff are primarily concerned with ensuring the staff schedule provides accurate data on working hours and allowances, which can be directly transferred to the payroll system. If the employee scheduling app generates accurate information, and no errors occur in the payroll process, payroll staff will consider the shiftplanning to be good. For them, it’s all about precision and reliability.
How to Achieve a Good Staff Schedule
Creating a good staff schedule is far more than simply assigning employees to specific times. It is a constant balancing act between meeting individual needs and ensuring all requirements – financial, legal, and operational – are met. When employees thrive with flexibility, schedulers have the right tools, management stays within budget, and payroll has precise data, the employee scheduling becomes an effective tool for the entire organisation.
It requires an employee scheduling software that is not only tailored to today’s needs but can also grow with the organisation and handle the dynamic requirements that arise. If you manage to find this balance, your employee scheduling software will become a key factor in the success of the business and employee wellbeing.
Are you ready to take your shiftplanning to the next level? Try our employee scheduling software today and discover how it can optimise your workforce. Book a free demo and see how our system can help you take control of your shiftplanning and ensure you never lose sight of the bigger picture again.
