When first starting out, many small businesses rely on such tried and true employee scheduling solutions as paper calendars and mechanical time clocks. Even in the high-tech world of today, many businesses continue to find that such tools are sufficient. Yet other businesses may face difficult employee scheduling challenges that demand the latest innovations, particularly when experiencing rapid growth. To address this need, a broad range of employee scheduling software applications have been developed. When diligently used, the right such system can yield distinct benefits, including efficiency gains that go straight to the bottom line.
Depending on the employee scheduling system you choose, it will enable you to:
• Confidently schedule appointments and meetings
• Coordinate multiple schedules among employees
• Keep accurate records on how prompt and reliable your best employees are, and which ones have a history of lateness and absenteeism
• Maximize use of your facilities and supply chain
• Efficiently handle vacation requests
• Comply with any applicable labor, tax, and insurance rules, including union and insurance regulations
• Anticipate and handle the challenges of seasonal changes and business growth
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Try out some Web-based solutions
Companies which work on a project basis, especially those with outsourced tasks and freelancers to consider, can find a web-based employee scheduling solution particularly beneficial. Another selling point for this option is the fact that many of these web-cased employee scheduling solutions are available for immediate sign-up and can have you up and running within hours. Some even offer a temporary password and free trial period, allowing you try out them out with no commitment.
I recommend: WhenToWork offers an unlimited 30-day free trial, and boasts a full feature set, including automatic shift scheduling based on your employees’ preferences and availability.
WorkSchedule.net also offers a free 30-day trial, and was designed to allow for easy customization, including the creation of your own fields. You can view a flash demo of
ScheduleAnywhere.com anytime, or set up a time for a live demo. It was created by Atlas Business Solutions, makers of Visual Staff Scheduler Pro.
Consider your specific needs.
Every business is unique, and not every employee scheduling solution is right for everyone. You may be most interested in scheduling for multiple locations. Maybe printable schedules is your key need. Perhaps you want to be able to import and export your data, or be able to easily back it up or restore it. Some business owners most value password protection, while others require robust reporting features, or the ability to view their employee scheduling information by day, week, month, employee, shift, or project.
I recommend: TechWeb's research library includes white papers on a wide variety of business topics, including employee scheduling.
Keep your employee scheduling on your desktop.
A web-based solution isn't right for everyone, particularly those looking to integrate their employee scheduling application with other software already installed on their desktop PC or network.
I recommend: TimeCurve was designed specifically to meet the employee scheduling needs of small and mid-size businesses, particularly service businesses, and to integrate with the popular QuickBooks accounting application. A limited free trial is available through their website.
Kronos, Inc. offers a variety of employee scheduling software options, including an application dedicated to retail businesses. Their website also provides downloadable white papers covering absence management, analytics, and other human resources management issues, and a video with a detailed overview of their products.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Consider an upgrade. If your business is already established and you have a system in place to handle your employee scheduling needs, you may not want to start from scratch. It may be possible to retain some elements of your current configuration while adding some new ones.
- Time really IS money. For many business, employee scheduling is tied direction into their cost distribution plans. If this applies to you, make sure that you select a system that allows you to allocate your employee scheduling resources in the way you want, whether by location, job, or project.
accounting: The ability to apply your own rules on overtime, breaks, etc.
- Money is money, too. There are significant advantages in integrating your employee scheduling software with your payroll application or service. Consider making this a requirement for any system you choose.
The official source of Employee Scheduling is the Employee Scheduling page at Business.com
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